[Deploy website]Introduction

  • The Problem: Building a React Native app is fun, but deploying to iOS can feel like hitting a wall of certificates, profiles, and configuration errors.

 

  • The Solution: This guide breaks down the deployment process into simple, bite-sized steps using two primary workflows: Expo EAS (the fast lane) and React Native CLI (the traditional route).
 

The Golden Choice: Expo vs. CLI

 
Use a clean markdown table to help your readers instantly decide which path fits their architecture:
 
Feature Expo EAS Workflow React Native CLI Workflow
Setup Time ~5 minutes ~30 minutes
Mac Required? No (Cloud builds) Yes (Requires Xcode)
Certificate Handling Fully Automated Manual configuration
Complexity Extremely Low Medium to High
 

 Route A: The Expo Way (Fastest & Easiest) MY FAV

 
Explain that Expo manages code signing in the cloud, removing the headache of manual profiling.
  • Step 1: Install EAS CLI — Log into your terminal using npm install -g eas-cli and eas login.
  • Step 2: Configure Project — Run eas build:configure to auto-generate your eas.json production profiles.
  • Step 3: Ship to TestFlight — Run the modern npx testflight command. Explain that Expo securely communicates with Apple App Store Connect to handle certificates natively.

Essential Prerequisites

 
Before touching any deployment commands, ensure you have the following setup completed
 
Apple Developer Account: A paid membership ($99/year) is mandatory to distribute via TestFlight or the App Store.
 

Apple ID with 2FA: Two-Factor Authentication must be enabled on the account handling the deployment.

[Step 1]Register the Bundle ID in the Apple Developer portal

Before App Store Connect will let you create the app, the Bundle ID must exist as an “App ID”.

  1. Go to https://developer.apple.com/account/resources/identifiers/list
  2. Click the blue ➕ next to “Identifiers”
  3. Select App IDs → Continue
  4. Select App (not App Clip) → Continue
  5. Description: type YOURAPPNAME
  6. Bundle ID: choose Explicit, and enter exactly:
    com.YOURAPPNAME.app
  7. Capabilities: tick Push Notifications (you’ll need it for notifications later). Leave the rest default.
  8. Click Continue → Register
Screenshot 2026-05-27 at 1.42.12 PM

 

  1. Select App (not App Clip) → Continue
Screenshot 2026-05-27 at 1.42.21 PM

 

Description: type YOURAPPNAME

Bundle ID: choose Explicit, and enter exactly:

com.YOURAPPNAME.app

 

Screenshot 2026-05-27 at 1.42.42 PM

Capabilities: tick Push Notifications (you’ll need it for notifications later). Leave the rest default.

Click Continue → Register

[Step 2]Create the app record in App Store Connect

 

  • Click the blue ➕ (top-left) → New App

 

  • Fill the dialog:
  • Platforms: tick iOS
  • Name: YOURAPPNAME (this is the public App Store name — must be globally unique; if taken, try YOUR APP NAME or YOUR APPLIVATION NAME)
  • Primary language: English (U.S.) — or English (India) if offered
  • Bundle ID: select com.YOURAPPNAME.app from the dropdown (it appears because you just registered it)
  • SKU: type YOURAPPNAME-ios (internal-only identifier, never shown publicly — any unique string works)
  • User access: Full Access

 

  • Click Create

 

You’ll land on the app’s dashboard.

Screenshot 2026-05-27 at 1.40.44 PM

[Step 3] Build the iOS app 

In your terminal:


cd /Users/poonam/MobileApp/apps/mobile

eas build --platform ios --profile production

You’ll be prompted:

  • “Do you want to log in to your Apple account?” → Yes

 

  • Apple ID → enter the email of your new Apple Developer account

 

  • Password → enter it → then your 2FA code (from your trusted device)

 

  • EAS picks your Team automatically (if you have more than one, choose the new one)

 

  • “Generate a new Apple Distribution Certificate?” → Yes

 

  • “Generate a new Apple Provisioning Profile?” → Yes

 

  • Push Notifications key — if asked to set one up → Yes (you ticked Push earlier, this wires it)
Screenshot 2026-05-27 at 1.40.44 PM

[Step 4]Upload the build to App Store Connect

Run this in your terminal (needs your Apple login again)::


cd /Users/poonam/MobileApp/apps/mobile

eas submit --platform ios --latest

Prompts:

  • “Log in to your Apple account?” → Yes → Apple ID + password + 2FA (your new account)

 

  • “What would you like to submit?” → it auto-detects the latest build (buildNumber 3) → confirm

 

  • EAS asks for the App Store Connect App → pick TheLineCricket (com.YOURAPPNAME.app) from the list

 

  • If it asks to create an App Store Connect API Key → Yes (lets future submits run without 2FA)

It uploads the IPA to App Store Connect (~3–5 min). When done, the build appears under your app → TestFlight tab after Apple finishes processing (~10–15 min).

 use Transporter, Apple’s free Mac app for uploading builds to App Store Connect manually. Since you have the EAS-built .ipa, this is the clean GUI route (no terminal/2FA dance).

Step 4 (manual) — Upload via Transporter

  • Install Transporter — open the Mac App Store, search “Transporter” (by Apple), install it (free).

 

 

  • Open Transporter → sign in with the same Apple ID as your new Developer account.

 

  • Click ➕ Add App (or just drag the .ipa into the window).

 

  • Transporter validates it (checks bundle ID, signing, etc.) — takes a few seconds.

 

  • Click Deliver.

 

  • Wait for “Delivered successfully” (a few minutes).

After delivery, the build goes to Apple for processing. In App Store Connect → your app → TestFlight, the build (buildNumber 3) appears as “Processing” then becomes available in ~10–15 min.

Screenshot 2026-05-27 at 3.59.37 PM

[Step 5] App Store listing (in App Store Connect → TheLineCricket)

A. The 3 things that cause first-submit rejections — get these right

  • App Privacy (left sidebar → “App Privacy”) — declare what data you collect (account info, photos, usage, ads/AdMob → “Data used to track you”). Apple auto-rejects if this is blank or wrong.

 

  • Demo account for review — your app needs login (username + OTP). Apple’s reviewer can’t receive your OTP, so in App Review Information you must give a test account + note. We need to set this up — see below.

 

  • Screenshots — minimum one 6.7-inch iPhone set (1290×2796). Without these you can’t submit.

B. Required text fields (I’ll draft all of these — just say the word)

  • Subtitle (30 chars)
  • Promotional text
  • Description
  • Keywords (100 chars)
  • Support URL → https://thelinecricket.com
  • Marketing URL (optional)
  • Privacy Policy URL → https://thelinecricket.com/privacy (already live ✅)

C. Settings

  • Category: Primary “Sports”, Secondary “Social Networking”
  • Pricing: Free
  • Age rating: fill the questionnaire (likely 4+ or 12+ if there’s user-generated content/chat → probably 12+)
  • Build: once it finishes “Processing” (~15 min), select buildNumber 3
  • Export compliance: you set ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption: false in app.json, so Apple shouldn’t even ask — if it does, answer No.

The demo-account blocker — important

Apple reviewers will open your app and hit the OTP login wall. They cannot get past it. Two options:

  1. Create a test account with a fixed OTP bypass — e.g. a special username where OTP is always 123456, documented in App Review notes. (Needs a tiny backend tweak.)
  2. Give them a real number you control + be available to relay the OTP during review (risky — review can happen any time).

Option 1 is the standard. I can add a reviewer-only bypass account on the backend (e.g. username applereview always accepts OTP 000000), scoped so it only works for that one account. Low risk, removable after approval.

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