Next steps

What’s left between “works end-to-end on my device” and “publicly shipped on GitHub + the App Store.” Living checklist — update as items land.

Sections:

  1. GitHub push
  2. App Store submission prep
  3. Post-launch / nice-to-haves

Conventions:

  • [ ] open, [x] done, [~] in-progress.
  • Items tagged external require Apple-side or github.com-UI work, not code.
  • Items tagged code / doc are in-repo.

GitHub push

Blocking

  • Commit the working tree. 8 commits landed: core library, iOS impls, SwiftUI screens, app shell, tests, screenshot automation, pre-launch docs, gitignore.
  • .gitignore covers the risky paths. Verified: .env, .dev-secrets, Cairn.xcodeproj/, vendor/, .bundle/, fastlane/screenshots/, .ipa, .dSYM, etc.
  • Privacy-policy URL. GitHub Pages deployed at https://glarue.github.io/cairn/PRIVACY. Referenced from docs/app-store-metadata.md.
  • Embed screenshots in README. Status, Pending Review, Setup Welcome — inline at 220px.
  • Repo description + topics. external. On github.com: short description + topics (immich, ios, swift, swiftui, photos, photo-management, self-hosted, photo-sync, immich-client, apple-photos). Set via GitHub UI.
  • Cut v0.1.0 tag. external. CHANGELOG.md already has the 0.1.0 section. One git tag v0.1.0 && git push --tags after the full code push lands.

Nice-to-haves

  • Branch protection on main — require PR + CI pass. GitHub Settings → Branches. Post-push.
  • Enable GitHub Security advisories. SECURITY.md already points at the private-advisory flow; the feature needs to be toggled on in the repo’s Security tab.

App Store submission prep

Ordered checklist — work through top to bottom.

1. Apple Developer account

  • Paid Apple Developer membership. external. $99/year. Without it, no TestFlight + no App Store. Enroll at developer.apple.com/enroll. Can take up to 48 hours to process.

2. App Store Connect setup

  • Create app record in App Store Connect with bundle ID app.cairn.ios. Watch for name collision — “cairn” may already be claimed or rejected as too generic. Fallback names: cairn for Immich, cairn — Immich sync, cairn · Immich.
  • Create App Store Connect API key. Users & Access → Integrations → App Store Connect API. Download the .p8 file and note the Key ID + Issuer ID. Export as env vars for Fastlane: 
    export APP_STORE_CONNECT_API_KEY_KEY_ID="..."
export APP_STORE_CONNECT_API_KEY_ISSUER_ID="..."
export APP_STORE_CONNECT_API_KEY_KEY_FILEPATH="~/.appstoreconnect/AuthKey_XXXX.p8"

3. Signing + provisioning

  • Set DEVELOPMENT_TEAM in Xcode. Open Cairn.xcodeproj → Signing & Capabilities → check “Automatically manage signing” + select your team. Persists across make generate runs.
  • (optional) Fastlane Match setup — make setup-certs. Only needed for multi-machine / CI / multi-developer setups where shared cert distribution matters. For a single dev on a single Mac with Xcode’s automatic signing, skip this entirely; make beta will use whatever signing Xcode is configured for. Match adds a private encrypted git repo to manage certs across machines, which is overkill for solo work.

4. Build + smoke test

  • Re-capture screenshots. make screenshots. UI has shifted since the last capture (sync card v2, Settings color icons, scroll-to-top, eager-persist-defers UI). Required before App Store submission; not required for TestFlight beta.
  • First TestFlight build. make beta — builds IPA, uploads to TestFlight. No screenshots / metadata required for TestFlight; only the IPA + ASC API key.
  • Smoke test on a real device via TestFlight. Validate: PhotoKit enumeration against a real library, end-to-end sync against your Immich, background refresh scheduling (simulator lies about BGAppRefreshTask).

5. Reviewer access

  • Reviewer Immich instance. docs/app-store-review-notes.md has REPLACE-BEFORE-SUBMISSION placeholders for URL + API key. Either (a) spin up a dedicated Immich kept live during Apple’s review window (~3–7 days), or (b) point reviewers at demo.immich.app with a note about rate limits. Apple has historically accepted option (b).

6. Submit

  • make release — builds IPA, uploads to App Store Connect.
  • Paste metadata from docs/app-store-metadata.md (description, keywords, subtitle, support URL, marketing URL).
  • Set category + age rating. Photo & Video primary, Utilities secondary, 4+. Answers pre-drafted in docs/app-store-metadata.md.
  • Paste privacy labels from docs/app-store-privacy-labels.md.
  • Paste review notes from docs/app-store-review-notes.md (with real reviewer credentials filled in).
  • Privacy policy URL. https://glarue.github.io/cairn/PRIVACY
  • Upload screenshots from iOS/fastlane/screenshots/en-US/.
  • Record and attach screen recording. Full end-to-end flow (setup → index → delete photos → sync → confirm trash → restore). Attach as App Review Attachment.
  • Submit for review.

Already done

  • Fira Code license file. LICENSES/FiraCode.OFL.txt — OFL-1.1 text with correct copyright line.
  • Accessibility pass. VoiceOver labels on all icon-only buttons, .accessibilityValue() on custom controls, accessibilityReduceMotion gating on all animations.
  • Version & build numbers. CFBundleShortVersionString: "0.1.0" + CFBundleVersion: "1" in iOS/project.yml.
  • App icon. Light + dark variants in place.
  • Screenshot pipeline. make screenshots produces light + dark sets for two device sizes.
  • Demand-evidence doc. docs/IMMICH_DEMAND.md — direction-verified list of GitHub discussions to cite + post on. Use #4341 as the primary citation.
  • Privacy policy. Live at https://glarue.github.io/cairn/PRIVACY.

Post-launch / nice-to-haves

Not blockers. Move up the priority list only if a user flags them.

  • Snapshot tests for SwiftUI screens. swift-snapshot-testing from Point-Free. Priority targets: Setup steps, DryRunSheet phases, PendingReviewScreen variants.
  • Background task validation on real device. Simulator lies about BGAppRefreshTask scheduling. One overnight charging run on hardware would confirm the real behavior.
  • Local OS notifications for backlog alerts. In-app banner exists; next step is UNUserNotificationCenter permission + edge-triggered fire from handleBackgroundRefresh + deep link.
  • cairn/v2 tag schema. Currently on v1. No pressure to bump; noting the extensibility hook for when a breaking change to run-breadcrumb shape is needed.
  • Android port. Deliberately deferred. CairnCore stays pure Foundation + CryptoKit so a Kotlin port is tractable. Decision criteria and port order live in the plan doc’s “Portability” section.
  • Push full source to GitHub. Force-push main over the skeleton branch once the app is in review.

Last updated: 2026-04-23. Keep this file honest — either mark items done or remove them when stale.