How to create the API key for the Apple App Store?

In this article you will learn which four Apple values the Brand Configurator asks for at step 7, where each one comes from, and how to create the API key in App Store Connect.

Contents

• What step 7 asks for
• Create the API key in App Store Connect
• Upload the key in the configurator
• If you lose the key

Fast lane

1. In App Store Connect, go to Users and Access / Integrations / App Store Connect API / Team Keys.
2. Click Generate API Key, enter any name, set Access to Admin and click Generate.
3. Download the key file. Apple allows this only once.
4. Copy the value for API Key Issuer ID from the top of the same page, and the value for API Key ID from the key list.
5. Get your Apple Team ID from your Apple Developer account under Membership details. It is not in App Store Connect.
6. Enter all four values at step 7 of the configurator and upload the key file into API Key.

What step 7 asks for

Step 7 is called API Keys and has an Apple block and a Google block. The Apple block has four fields. Collect all four before you open the step, because the configurator checks them against Apple as soon as you continue.

The two identifiers are easy to mix up. The API Key Issuer ID is a long UUID and belongs to your whole account. The API Key ID is a short ten-character string and belongs to the one key you just created.

You do not select an app anywhere in this step. The key works at account level and applies to all of your apps, so there is nothing app-specific to choose. Your Branded App is created after you submit your configuration.

Create the API key in App Store Connect

We need access to the App Store Connect API in order to publish your Branded App for you. Only the account owner can create this key.

1. Log in to App Store Connect.
2. Go to Users and Access.
3. Open the Integrations tab.
4. Select App Store Connect API in the left column. It is usually selected already.
5. Make sure the Team Keys tab is active, not Individual Keys. An individual key is tied to one person's account and cannot be used here.
6. Click Generate API Key, or the plus icon next to the Active heading.
7. Enter a name. The name is only for your own reference, so anything recognisable works.
8. Under Access, select Admin.
9. Click Generate, then download the key file.

Apple lets you download the key file only once and keeps no copy of it. Store it securely and do not pass it on to third parties. Provide it to us only through the Brand Configurator, because the key grants administrator access to your store account.

You can reuse the same key if you set up further branded apps later.

Upload the key in the configurator

The downloaded key goes into the API Key field at step 7, together with the three identifiers from the table above.

When you continue, we contact Apple to confirm the credentials work. If anything is wrong you see Api Key validation failed and cannot move on. That message is the same for every cause, so check all four values rather than assuming something is missing on our side. The most common cause is a swapped API Key Issuer ID and API Key ID.

If you lose the key

A lost key cannot be recovered, because Apple does not keep a copy. Revoke it and generate a new one instead. In App Store Connect, use Edit next to your list of active keys, then Revoke Key, and confirm with Revoke. A revoked key cannot be reinstated and stays visible under Revoked for 30 days.

The new key has a new API Key ID, so enter that new value in the configurator. Your Apple Team ID and API Key Issuer ID do not change.

The name and the access level of an existing key cannot be edited. Changing either one also means revoking the key and generating a new one.