User Manual

TestFlight Builds

View builds, edit What to Test notes, and schedule your release — without opening App Store Connect.

🛫 Builds list view

Builds section

The Builds section on the App Detail view shows all TestFlight builds for the current app version, with status indicators: processing, ready to submit, expired, invalid, and so on.

Tap a build to open the Build Detail view.

Build detail

Each build’s detail view shows:

  • Version and build number
  • Processing status — Mainline shows a banner if a build is still being processed by ASC
  • What to Test notes — editable directly in Mainline
  • Build expiry date
  • Attached version — the app version this build is associated with

Editing What to Test

  1. Tap a build to open its detail.
  2. Tap What to Test.
  3. Edit the text (no character limit enforced by ASC, but keep it concise).
  4. Tap Save. Changes are sent to ASC immediately.

Attaching a build to a version

Before submitting for review, you need a build attached to your editable version. In the Builds section:

  1. Tap Pick Build (shown when no build is attached to the current version).
  2. Choose the build you want to submit.
  3. Confirm. The build is attached and the Submission section updates to reflect it.

Scheduling a release

For builds that are ready for release (approved by App Store review), Mainline supports scheduling:

  1. Open the Submission section for the current version.
  2. Tap Schedule Release.
  3. Choose a release date and time.
  4. Save. The scheduled date is set in ASC; the version will release automatically at that time.

You can update or clear the scheduled date before it fires.

Beta group and tester management

Beta group management (adding/removing testers, creating beta groups) is handled via the official TestFlight section of App Store Connect. Mainline focuses on the build-management and metadata side of TestFlight rather than duplicating the tester management flow that ASC’s own iOS app handles well.

Common pitfalls

⚠️
Processing builds can take 10–30 minutes

After uploading a build with Xcode or CI, it takes time for ASC to finish processing. During this window, the build shows a "Processing" status and cannot be attached to a version or submitted. Mainline refreshes the build list automatically, but you may need to wait.