Get started with StoreKit Testing in Xcode

With StoreKit Testing in Xcode, Apple introduced the possibility to simulate and test in-app purchases and subscriptions in a controlled environment. By using StoreKit Testing, we can now test in-app purchases locally in Xcode without needing to connect to App Store Connect.

In this article, we'll look at how this approach works.

Let's dive in.

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Overview

To setup StoreKit testing in Xcode, the following steps are required:

1. Creating and configuring a StoreKit configuration file.
2. Enabling StoreKit testing in Xcode.
3. Test purchasing products.

Let's look at each step in more detail.

1. Creating a StoreKit configuration file

A StoreKit configuration file contains the in-app purchase options and their configurations. To create a StoreKit configuration file, Xcode provides a template:

There are two types of StoreKit configuration files:

• local - which we can use if we didn't set up the iOS application in App Store Connect or in case we want to try out new types of in-app purchases or subscriptions before setting them up in App Store Connect
• synced - which we can use if we already did setup in-app purchases in App Store Connect and would like to test them in Xcode.

Let's look at how to use both types of configuration files.

1.1 Configuring a local StoreKit configuration file

After creating a StoreKit configuration file, we can start configuring in-app purchase options the iOS application will provide.

As shown above, we can use the + button to configure different types of in-app purchases, set their product ids etc.

1.2 Configuring a synced StoreKit configuration file

To use a synced file, the creation dialog provides a sync option where we can configure which team and app to use with App Store Connect.

We cannot edit a synced configuration file unless we convert it to a local one.

2. Enabling StoreKit testing in Xcode

By default, StoreKit testing in Xcode is disabled. We can activate it by selecting the configuration file in the scheme editor:

To disable StoreKit testing, we can restore the default state by selecting none.

Test purchasing products

With a finished StoreKit testing setup, we can start testing our in-app purchasing code by purchasing products through our app. Every purchase will be simulated by Xcode.

After purchasing a product, we can use Xcode to manage transactions, for example to reset the purchase for testing purposes or to test a refund or a price increase.

We can open the transaction manager from the bottom buttons bar when the configuration file is open or from Xcode's menu Debug -> StoreKit -> Manage transactions.

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