Best Practices

Optimize your app store presence and keep your credentials secure.

Security Best Practices

Agent Access

• Prefer OAuth or pairing — They avoid handling a long-lived key yourself
• Use scoped keys — Give each API key only the permissions it needs, and set an expiry
• Keep keys out of code and chat — Store them in your MCP client's secret store or an environment variable
• Revoke unused keys — Remove keys you no longer use from Settings → Agent & API Keys
• Start with the least authority — Begin with read-only or draft access and widen it only when needed

Store Credentials

• Enter them only in the browser — Use Settings → Store Credentials or the secure link your agent provides; never paste them into chat
• Dedicated service accounts — Create a separate Google Play service account for App Listing Agent
• Never commit credentials — Keep .p8 files and service-account JSON out of your repository

App Store Optimization (ASO)

Title & Subtitle

• Include primary keyword — Put your most important keyword in the title
• Keep it memorable — Balance SEO with brand recognition
• Use subtitle wisely — Include secondary keywords and value proposition

Keywords (App Store)

• Use all 100 characters — Don't waste valuable keyword space
• No spaces after commas — Maximize character usage
• Avoid duplicates — Don't repeat words from your title
• Research competitors — See what keywords successful apps target

# Good: Efficient keyword usage
fitness,workout,exercise,health,tracker,gym,training,weight,loss

# Bad: Wasted characters
fitness, workout, exercise, health, tracker

Description

• Front-load value — First 1-3 lines are visible before "Read More"
• Use formatting — Break up text with bullet points and headers
• Include social proof — Mention awards, press coverage, user numbers
• Call to action — End with a clear CTA to download

Screenshots

• First three matter most — Users often don't scroll past the first few
• Show real UI — Use actual app screenshots, not mockups
• Add context — Use captions to explain features
• Localize everything — Text in screenshots should match the locale

Localization Best Practices

Translation Quality

• Start from a finished source — Polish the source-language listing before translating it
• Review translations — Have native speakers review important markets
• Localize, don't just translate — Adapt messaging for cultural relevance
• Test character limits — Some languages expand 20-30% in length

Priority Markets

Focus your efforts on high-value markets first:

Publishing Safely

• Check configuration first — Ask your agent to run check_project_configuration before an upload
• Preview uploads — The metadata upload tools accept dryRun to preview a change without uploading it
• Review before approving — Approve only the exact change you have read in App Listing Agent
• Respect rate limits — On HTTP 429, wait for the Retry-After period before retrying