Frequently asked questions about EAS Metadata.
EAS Metadata is in beta and subject to breaking changes.
If you are creating or maintaining an app in the stores, keeping the app store information up to date can be a big task. When making small changes, for example, supporting a new app store region, you have to find and fill in the forms in an app store's dashboard. Then, after providing all the required information, that content still needs to be approved, where one word can be the difference between approval and rejection.
EAS Metadata aims to make this stage of app development as easy as possible. Using a simple configuration file, you can provide all the information to the stores without leaving your project environment. Combined with built-in validation, you get instant feedback about the content you provide, even before any review.
You can start using EAS Metadata by creating a new or generating a store config from an existing app. This store config lets you quickly update the app store information without leaving your project environment. Before pushing the changes to the app stores, EAS Metadata looks for common pitfalls that might result in an app rejection.
EAS Metadata comes with built-in validation, even before anything is sent to the app stores. This validation helps you iterate faster over the information without starting a review. Instead, you can begin the review process when everything is provided, and no issues are detected.
Make sure to install the VS Code Expo Tools extension to get auto-complete, suggestions, and warnings for store.config.json files.
EAS Metadata also supports a more dynamic store config, instead of only using JSON files. This dynamic store config allows you to gather information from other places like external services. With asynchronous functions, there are no limits to adapting EAS Metadata to suit your preferred workflow.
Here are some reasons EAS Metadata might not be the right fit for a project.
We are committed to EAS Metadata and will expand functionality over time. This also means that not all functionality is implemented in EAS Metadata. The Google Play Store is one of those features currently not implemented. See the store config schema for all existing functionality.
EAS Metadata only sends the data from your store config to the app stores. It does not block you from using the app store dashboards if you need a feature that EAS Metadata does not cover yet.
When using EAS Metadata and editing something in the app store dashboards, make sure to run eas metadata:pull after these changes. Without updating your local store config, EAS Metadata might overwrite your changes when pushing to the app stores.
You'll need to authenticate with the app store before EAS Metadata can access the information. If you are working with a large corporate account, you might not have permission to use all functionality of EAS Metadata. While you can use EAS Metadata in these cases, it's often more challenging due to the security restrictions.