Generating Tokens for API Requests

Overview

JSON Web Token (JWT) is an open standard (RFC 7519) that defines a way to securely transmit information. The App Store Connect API requires JWTs to authorize each API request. You create the token, and sign it with the private key you downloaded from App Store Connect.

To generate a signed JWT:

1. Create the JWT header.

2. Create the JWT payload.

3. Sign the JWT.

Include the signed JWT in the authorization header of each App Store Connect API request.

Create the JWT Header

To create a JWT to communicate with the App Store Connect API, use the following fields and values in the header:

To get your key ID for your team API key from App Store Connect, log in to App Store Connect and:

1. Select Users and Access.

2. Select the Integrations tab.

The key IDs appear in a column under the Active heading.

1. Hover the cursor next to a key ID to display the Copy Key ID link.

2. Click Copy Key ID.

To get your key ID for your individual API key from App Store Connect, log in to App Store Connect and:

1. Go to your user profile.

2. Scroll down to Individual API Key.

3. Click Generate API Key.

Here’s an example of a JWT header:

{
    "alg": "ES256",
    "kid": "2X9R4HXF34",
    "typ": "JWT"
}

Create the JWT Payload for Team Keys

The JWT payload contains information specific to the App Store Connect APIs, such as issuer ID and expiration time. Use the following fields and values in the JWT payload:

To get your issuer ID, log in to App Store Connect and:

1. Select Users and Access.

2. Select the Integrations tab.

The issuer ID appears near the top of the page. To copy the issuer ID, click Copy next to the ID.

Here’s an example of a JWT payload:

{
    "iss": "57246542-96fe-1a63-e053-0824d011072a",
    "iat": 1528407600,
    "exp": 1528408800,
    "aud": "appstoreconnect-v1",
    "scope": [
        "GET /v1/apps?filter[platform]=IOS"
    ]
}

Create the JWT Payload for Individual Keys

The JWT payload for Individual keys contains information specific to the App Store Connect APIs, and expiration time. Use the following fields and values in the JWT payload:

Here’s an example of a JWT payload:

{
    "sub": "user",
    "iat": 1528407600,
    "exp": 1528408800,
    "aud": "appstoreconnect-v1",
    "scope": [
        "GET /v1/apps?filter[platform]=IOS"
    ]
}

Determine the Scope of the Token

To reduce potential attack surface and improve security of your tokens, you can explicitly specify the scope of a token. The scope tells App Store Connect which requests it needs to accept for the token. If you unintentionally share a token with an unauthorized party, a limited scope reduces the requests that a potential attacker can make using the token.

The scope claim is an array of strings, each representing a request. Each scope entry includes:

• The HTTP GET method

• The URL path, for example, /v1/apps or /v1/ciWorkflows/1234

• The optional URL query string, for example, ?filter[platform]=IOS

App Store Connect rejects a token with a scope claim if none of the scope entries match the attempted request.

The following code listing shows an example of a JWT payload with a scope.

{
    "iss": "57246542-96fe-1a63-e053-0824d011072a",
    "iat": 1528407600,
    "exp": 1528408800,
    "aud": "appstoreconnect-v1",
    "scope": [
        "GET /v1/apps?filter[platform]=IOS"
    ]
}

With this payload, App Store Connect only allows you to fetch a list of iOS apps using the List Apps endpoint if you use the filter[platform]=IOS query parameter.

You can use a JWT without a scope for any request as long as the role of the API key allows it.

Determine the Appropriate Token Lifetime

For every request, App Store Connect calculates the valid time for a token, referred as the token’s lifetime, by subtracting the iat claim from the exp claim. For increased security, carefully consider the lifetime of tokens you create and choose a lifetime that doesn’t allow usage of the token for longer than necessary. For example, an appropriate lifetime for a token you use for a one-off request is two minutes. In contrast, consider using a token with a lifetime of 20 minutes for a long-running process that makes many requests with the same token. Additionally, consider generating a new token periodically throughout the process, instead of issuing tokens with longer lifetimes.

For most requests, App Store Connect rejects a token with a lifetime greater than 20 minutes. However, it accepts long-lived tokens for some inherently safe requests if:

• The token defines a scope.

• The scope only includes GET requests.

• The resources in the scope allow long-lived tokens.

If a token meets all the above criteria, App Store Connect accepts a token with a lifetime of up to six months for the following resources:

• Build Actions

• Build Runs

• Git References

• Issues

• macOS Versions

• Products

• Providers

• Power and Performance Metrics and Logs

• Pull Requests

• Repositories

• Test Results

• Workflows

• Xcode Versions

Sign the JWT

Use the private key associated with the key ID you specified in the header to sign the token.

Regardless of the programming language you’re using with the App Store Connect API, there are a variety of open source libraries available online for creating and signing JWT tokens. See JWT.io for more information.

Include the JWT in the Request’s Authorization Header

Once you have a complete and signed token, provide the token in the request’s authorization header as a bearer token.

The following example shows a curl command using a bearer token. Replace the text [signed token] with the value of the signed token itself.

curl -v -H 'Authorization: Bearer [signed token]' 
"https://api.appstoreconnect.apple.com/v1/apps"

See Also

Essentials

• Creating API Keys for App Store Connect API
• Revoking API Keys
• Identifying Rate Limits
• Uploading Assets to App Store Connect
• App Store Connect API Release Notes