Set up your App Store Connect API key for Appstead

Create the Sales and Reports API key, download its .p8 file once, and add the credentials Appstead needs for a live workspace.

A live Appstead workspace connects directly to App Store Connect. You give Appstead an API key with the Sales and Reports role, then it uses that key to read your app and sales-report data. No Appstead account or server is involved.

What you need

Appstead asks for four things when you add a live workspace:

• An App Store Connect Issuer ID
• An API Key ID
• The private .p8 key file
• Your Vendor Number for sales reports

Before you start

Create a new key for Appstead instead of reusing a key from another tool. The key needs the Sales and Reports role. That is the access level Appstead uses for its live workspace setup.

Apple only lets you download the private .p8 file once. Keep it private and available until you import it. Never put it in a code repository or send it in email or chat.

1. Create the API key

1. Sign in to App Store Connect and open API Keys.
2. Choose Team Keys, then choose Generate API Key. Team Keys is Apple's label for this page, not a separate Appstead account.
3. Name the key Appstead, or another name you will recognize.
4. Under Access, select Sales and Reports.
5. Choose Generate.

Apple's API-key guide has the full current flow and role details.

2. Copy the IDs and download the .p8 file

On the new key's row, keep these three items together:

• Issuer ID: the account-level ID shown near the top of the API Keys page.
• Key ID: the ID shown in the row for this new key.
• Private Key: choose Download API Key to save the.p8 file.

The Key ID and .p8 file must belong to the same API key. If Apple's download link is gone, create a replacement key. Apple does not keep another copy of the private file.

3. Find your Vendor Number

Appstead uses your Vendor Number to request sales reports. Open Payments and Financial Reports in App Store Connect and copy the Vendor Number shown for your account. It is an account-level number, not an app's Apple ID.

4. Add the live workspace in Appstead

1. Open Appstead, then go to Settings.
2. Choose Add Live Workspace and give it a clear name.
3. Paste the Issuer ID and Key ID.
4. Choose the downloaded .p8 file.
5. Enter the Vendor Number.
6. Save the workspace. Appstead validates the credentials before it starts importing data.

If the .p8 download fails on iPhone or iPad

Apple's download can fail on iPhone or iPad. Download the file on a Mac instead, transfer it directly with AirDrop or Files, then import it into Appstead. Delete temporary copies once the import succeeds.

If Appstead cannot validate the key

• Check that the Issuer ID and Key ID have no extra spaces.
• Make sure the selected .p8 file belongs to that Key ID.
• Confirm the key has the Sales and Reports role.
• Confirm that the Vendor Number belongs to the App Store Connect account you are adding.

Your key stays private

Appstead keeps the private key in Keychain for that workspace. It does not send your API key, sales data, or business metrics to an Appstead server.