How to beta test an iOS app with TestFlight, from the first upload to the first tester

TestFlight is Apple's beta testing service. You upload a build to App Store Connect, invite testers, and they install it through the TestFlight app. This guide walks through TestFlight beta testing for an iOS app, from the first upload in Xcode to a public link anyone can join.

Every step and limit here comes from Apple's App Store Connect help, checked on October 5, 2026. What testers send back, and where it lands, has its own guide: TestFlight feedback.

The short answer

Archive your app in Xcode and upload it to App Store Connect. Add up to 100 people from your team as internal testers, who can install it right away. For anyone else, create an external group: the first build goes through TestFlight App Review, then you invite up to 10,000 testers by email or with a public link. Each build can be tested for up to 90 days.

Step 1: upload a build from Xcode

1. In Xcode, choose Product, then Archive. The archive appears in the Organizer, which you can also open with Window, then Organizer.
2. Optionally click Validate App first. Xcode runs a quick automated check without uploading anything.
3. Click Distribute App.
4. Choose TestFlight & App Store for a build you might ship, or TestFlight Internal Only for a build only your team may test.
5. Click Distribute. Xcode signs the build and uploads it.

Apple has to process the build before it shows up in App Store Connect, and you get an email when that's done. Apple's upload page lists Xcode 26 or later for building iOS apps you upload. Transporter, altool and Xcode Cloud can upload builds too.

Pick TestFlight Internal Only with care. Apple's Xcode guide describes it as a way to "prevent a development build of your app from being submitted to the App Store." Such a build can only go to internal groups, never to external testers.

Step 2: add internal testers

Internal testers are App Store Connect users on your team. You can add up to 100, and they need no review, so this is where every new build should go first.

1. In App Store Connect, open your app and click the TestFlight tab.
2. Click the add button (+) next to Internal Testing and name the group.
3. Select Enable automatic distribution, so every new build from Xcode reaches the group without a click.
4. Click Invite Testers and pick the people. Someone missing from the list needs a user role in App Store Connect first.

Each tester gets an email and accepts it in the TestFlight app. Apple says "Internal testers can download and test all builds for 90 days."

Step 3: add external testers

External testers are everyone else: friends, customers, a mailing list, strangers from a post on X. Apple allows up to 10,000 per app, with two conditions:

• You need an internal group before you can create an external one.
• The build has to pass TestFlight App Review, and App Store Connect needs a Beta App Description and a Feedback Email under Test Information.

1. Click the add button (+) next to External Testing and name the group.
2. Click Add Builds, pick a build, and write What to Test: the notes testers see for this build.
3. Optionally select Automatically notify testers, so the build goes out as soon as it is approved.
4. Click Submit Review.

How long TestFlight review takes

Apple publishes no separate figure for TestFlight. Its App Review page gives one for all submissions, the same one behind App Store review times:

"App Review works around the clock, typically reviewing at least 50% of submissions in less than 24 hours and 90% in less than 48 hours."

Two more rules from the external testers page keep it fast after the first time:

"The first build you submit requires a full review, but later builds for the same version might not."

"You can submit up to six builds for TestFlight App Review within a 24-hour period."

Only one build of each version can be in review at a time. Admins get an email when a build is approved. A rejected build shows the reason under App Review in the sidebar.

Step 4: share a public link, or invite by email

A public link is the easy way to reach many testers: one URL you can post anywhere. In the external group, open the Testers tab and click Create Public Link.

Public Link

You can make the public link open to anyone or set specific criteria for who can join.

Open to Anyone

Anyone can join using the link.

Filter by Criteria

Filter who can join by device or platform.

Tester Limit

You can set the maximum number of testers in this group that can join using the public link.

Set Limit

CancelConfirm

• Open to Anyone lets anyone with the link join.
• Filter by Criteria limits who can join by device and OS version, for example iPhone on iOS 26 or newer. Testers whose device doesn't match can't accept.
• Tester Limit caps how many people can join through the link, anywhere from 1 to 10,000.

Two things to know about public links. Anyone can pass the link on, so people you never invited can join. And testers who join this way show up as anonymous: you see their installation date, sessions and crashes, but not their name or email. You can turn the link off at any time with Manage, next to Public Link.

To invite people you know, click the add button (+) next to Testers and add them by email, or import a CSV file. Email testers show up with their name and email address.

Internal or external testers?

What your testers do

Testers install the free TestFlight app, open your email invitation and tap View in TestFlight, or tap your public link. Then they tap Accept and Install. Apple lets each tester use your beta on up to 30 devices. When you upload a new build, testers get it through TestFlight like an update.

The 90 day limit

Apple's TestFlight overview says "You can test a build for up to 90 days." After that the build stops working for testers, so a long beta needs a fresh build at least every three months. App Store Connect warns you on the group page when a build is about to expire.

The limit runs the other way too. If you don't expire a build when testing is done, testers who were invited can keep using it even after the app is on the App Store. Expire it once the release is out.

Getting feedback from testers

Testers send feedback by taking a screenshot in your beta or from the TestFlight app, and it lands in App Store Connect with details about their device. The whole flow, and what TestFlight can't do with feedback, is in TestFlight feedback: where to find it.

For feature requests, a board inside the beta works better than screenshots: testers vote on each other's ideas instead of sending the same one five times. With WishKit the board ships in the beta and stays in the release, so the requests your testers posted are still there on launch day.

Frequently asked questions