In-App Purchases

In-App Purchases is under Services in the left sidebar once an app is open. It covers consumables, non-consumables and non-renewing subscriptions. Auto-renewable subscriptions have their own page; see Subscriptions.

The page lists every purchase with its name, Product ID, type and status. Above the list, Promoted on the App Store shows what you promote on your product page. Click a purchase to open its editor. It has five tabs: Details, Locales, Pricing, Availability and Review. Click ‹ All purchases to go back.

Create a purchase#

1. Click New Purchase… at the top right.
2. Enter a Reference name. Only you see it. Customers see the localized display name.
3. Enter a Product ID, for example com.example.coins100. Use letters, digits, dots and underscores. You can't change it later.
4. Choose the Type: Consumable, Non-consumable or Non-renewing subscription. You can't change it later either.
5. For a non-consumable or non-renewing subscription, decide on Family Sharing. Once it's on, it stays on.
6. Optionally add a Review note for App Review, then click Create.

You can change the reference name, Family Sharing and the review note later on the Details tab.

Get it ready for review#

Select the purchase. The inspector on the right shows a Before submitting checklist: Localization, Price, Availability and Review screenshot. Anything still needed is marked Missing.

1. Locales. Click Add locale. Enter the Display name (up to 30 characters) and Description (up to 45) customers see, then click Save for that locale.
2. Pricing. See Set the price.
3. Availability. Pick the territories where the purchase is sold. Leave Available in new territories on to include storefronts Apple adds later. Click Save. Saving replaces the whole territory list.
4. Review. Under Review screenshot, drop or choose a PNG or JPG of the purchase screen. Only App Review sees it. The file has to be one of the App Store screenshot sizes your app supports (for a Mac app: 1280 × 800, 1440 × 900, 2560 × 1600 or 2880 × 1800). Slipway waits for Apple to inspect the file and shows Apple's message if it is rejected, so a wrong size never sits silently as "Missing Metadata".

Set the price#

1. Open the Pricing tab. Current price shows the base territory and its price.
2. Under Set price, choose the base territory, then pick a price point. Each point shows what you receive after Apple's commission.
3. To change the price on a future date, turn on Start on a later date and pick the date.
4. Click Save.

Apple sets the price in every other territory from the base price. Saving replaces the whole price schedule, including any change you scheduled before.

Submit for review#

1. Check that the Before submitting checklist has nothing missing.
2. Click Submit for Review… in the inspector or on the Review tab, then confirm.

App Review checks the purchase on its own, without an app version. This only works once the app has had an in-app purchase approved. The app's first in-app purchase must go in together with an app version: finish its checklist so it reads Ready to Submit, then submit the version from the Submit tab. Every product that is Ready to Submit goes along, and the confirmation sheet lists them.

Promote it on the App Store#

Promoted purchases show on your product page and in search results, and customers can buy them before they install the app. You can promote in-app purchases and auto-renewable subscriptions.

1. Upload a promotional image. On the purchase's Review tab, add a 1024 × 1024 PNG under Promotional image. Apple reviews it before it appears, and its status shows next to the heading. For a subscription, the same field is on its own Review tab.
2. In Promoted on the App Store, click Promote… and pick the purchase or subscription.
3. Use the up and down arrows to set the order. The order here is the order on the App Store.
4. Turn off Enabled to hide a promotion without removing it. Turn off All users to show it only to customers who already have the app.
5. Click Remove to stop promoting it.

Not yet verified — Promotional images and promoted purchases use API calls Slipway builds from Apple's published API shape but hasn't yet tested against the live API. Slipway reloads after each change, so what you see is what Apple stored.

Delete a purchase#

Select it and click Delete purchase… in the inspector, then confirm. Apple only allows this before the purchase's first submission. After that, the button is disabled.

Rules Apple enforces#

• Product IDs are permanent. You can't change a product ID, and you can't reuse it, even after you delete the purchase.
• You can only delete a purchase before its first submission. After that, it stays in the list.
• Family Sharing can't be turned off. Once it's on for a purchase, it stays on.
• The first purchase goes with an app version. The app's first in-app purchase must be submitted together with an app version. Later ones can go on their own.
• One territory sets the price. You price the purchase in one base territory, and Apple equalizes the other territories from it.

Tips#

• Run through the checklist before you submit a version that adds a new purchase. A purchase that's missing metadata can't be submitted.
• The list loads when you open the page and reloads after each change you make in Slipway. To pick up changes made elsewhere, switch to another page and back.

Troubleshooting#

• "Couldn't load." The banner shows Apple's error. The most common cause is an API key whose role can't read in-app purchases. Check the key's role in App Store Connect under Users and Access ▸ Integrations; see Create an App Store Connect API key.
• "No in-app purchases yet." when you know there are some. Check that the app you're looking at belongs to the team you expect. Each API key only sees its own team's apps; see Add your first team.
• A save fails. Slipway's message includes Apple's reason. Fix the field it names and save again.