capacitor-apple-review-preflight

Capacitor Apple Review Preflight

Run a pre-submission or post-rejection Apple review audit for a Capacitor app.

This skill adapts the Apple guideline and rejection-rule corpus from truongduy2611/app-store-preflight-skills and narrows the workflow to Capacitor-specific project inspection.

When to Use This Skill

• User wants an Apple App Store review preflight for a Capacitor app
• User received an Apple rejection and wants the project audited against likely guideline failures
• User wants to check metadata, entitlements, privacy manifests, Sign in with Apple, subscriptions, or minimum functionality before submission
• User wants reviewer-notes guidance for a Capacitor iOS submission

Live Project Snapshot

Detected Capacitor, auth, subscription, analytics, and privacy-related packages: !node -e "const fs=require('fs');if(!fs.existsSync('package.json'))process.exit(0);const pkg=JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('package.json','utf8'));const sections=['dependencies','devDependencies'];const out=[];for(const section of sections){for(const [name,version] of Object.entries(pkg[section]||{})){if(name.startsWith('@capacitor/')||name.startsWith('@capgo/')||name.includes('firebase')||name.includes('sentry')||name.includes('revenuecat')||name.includes('purchase')||name.includes('subscription')||name.includes('auth')||name.includes('analytics')||name.includes('segment')||name.includes('amplitude')||name.includes('mixpanel'))out.push(section+'.'+name+'='+version)}}console.log(out.sort().join('\n'))"

Relevant Apple review file paths: !find . -maxdepth 6 \( -name 'package.json' -o -name 'capacitor.config.json' -o -name 'capacitor.config.ts' -o -name 'capacitor.config.js' -o -name 'Info.plist' -o -name '*.entitlements' -o -name 'PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy' -o -name 'project.pbxproj' -o -path './ios' -o -path './fastlane/metadata' -o -path './metadata' \)

Procedure

Step 1: Confirm This Is the Right Review Scope

Use this skill for Apple-facing review work, not for generic publishing.

If the task is mostly about screenshots, release setup, or store upload mechanics, combine this skill with capacitor-app-store.

Step 2: Identify App Type and Load the Right Checklist

Always read:

• references/guidelines/by-app-type/all_apps.md

Then add the checklist that matches the app:

• subscription_iap.md for subscriptions or IAP
• social_ugc.md for UGC or moderation-heavy apps
• kids.md for Kids Category
• health_fitness.md for health, fitness, or medical claims
• games.md for games
• ai_apps.md for AI or LLM features
• crypto_finance.md for crypto, trading, or financial workflows
• vpn.md for VPN and networking apps
• macos.md only when the submission also targets macOS

Use references/guidelines/README.md for the full guideline index when a rejection cites a specific section.

Step 3: Inspect Capacitor and iOS Project State

Start from the injected snapshot above, then inspect:

• package.json for Capacitor, auth, analytics, subscription, and SDK dependencies
• capacitor.config.* for app identifiers, app name, web asset config, and live update settings
• ios/App/App/Info.plist or the project-specific Info.plist
• any *.entitlements files
• PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy if present
• fastlane/metadata or other local metadata directories if they exist

Pay special attention to Capacitor-specific Apple review risks:

• social login providers without a Sign in with Apple path when required
• heavy WebView-only apps that may trigger 4.2 minimum functionality concerns
• third-party SDKs that imply Required Reason API declarations or privacy disclosures
• native capabilities enabled in Xcode but not justified by shipped functionality
• Capgo, Appflow, or other live-update flows that need clear reviewer notes and compliance boundaries
• missing or vague usage strings for camera, photo library, microphone, location, notifications, Face ID, tracking, or local network access

Step 4: Run Rule-Based Review Passes

Use the upstream rule files as the source of truth:

• metadata: references/rules/metadata/*.md
• subscription: references/rules/subscription/*.md
• privacy: references/rules/privacy/*.md
• design: references/rules/design/*.md
• entitlements: references/rules/entitlements/*.md

Map them onto the Capacitor app:

• metadata rules against App Store text, screenshots, preview videos, and review notes
• privacy rules against Info.plist, privacy manifests, SDK usage, and data collection flows
• design rules against app navigation, native value, login flows, and reviewer accessibility
• entitlements rules against enabled capabilities in the iOS project

If App Store metadata is not stored locally and asc is available, pull it with asc metadata pull --output-dir ./metadata. If not, audit local metadata sources and state what remains unverified.

Step 5: Produce a Capacitor-Focused Preflight Report

Use this format:

## Apple Review Preflight

### Rejections Found
- [GUIDELINE X.X.X] Issue summary
  - Evidence: file or metadata location
  - Why it matters for this Capacitor app
  - Fix: exact remediation

### Warnings
- [GUIDELINE X.X.X] Potential issue

### Passed
- [Category] Checks that looked clean

### Missing Inputs
- Metadata or review assets that were not available locally

Order findings by severity and make each fix concrete.

Step 6: Suggest Reviewer Notes and Submission Follow-Ups

When relevant, draft reviewer notes for:

• demo accounts or test credentials
• hidden or non-obvious features
• hardware dependencies
• subscription test flows
• AI moderation or content controls
• live-update behavior and what code can change post-review
• reasons for special entitlements or network behavior

Error Handling

• If app metadata is unavailable locally and asc is not configured, continue with the code and project audit and clearly mark metadata checks as partial.
• If the app is mostly a thin web wrapper, call out guideline 4.2 risk directly rather than burying it in warnings.
• If social login is present, verify whether guideline 4.8 requires Sign in with Apple before concluding the auth flow is review-safe.
• If third-party SDKs suggest Required Reason API usage, inspect PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy before assuming privacy compliance.
• If the user is asking how to fix a specific rejection, prioritize the cited guideline and only then expand to adjacent risks.