# Give RevenueCat your In-App Purchase key from App Store Connect

The step `revenuecat.app_store_key`, for [`revenuecat`](https://doc.saymyframe.com/modules/revenuecat.md).

RevenueCat checks each purchase on iOS with Apple, and for that it needs an In-App Purchase key from App Store Connect. Without the key, RevenueCat does not record the transactions of the App Store, and the user who paid gets no premium access.

You make the key once for your team, and it serves all of its apps. Add the App Store app to the RevenueCat project first; see [the step about the API keys](https://doc.saymyframe.com/setup/revenuecat-api-keys.md).

:::tip
RevenueCat no longer needs the App-Specific Shared Secret of App Store Connect for this: the In-App Purchase key replaces it. The screenshots use example values: the Key ID `SMFSUBSKEY` and an Issuer ID from the documentation of Apple. The orange frames mark what to click, in the order of their numbers.
:::

**1. Generate the key.** In [App Store Connect](https://appstoreconnect.apple.com/), open **Users and Access** and the tab **Integrations**. In the sidebar, under **Keys**, click **In-App Purchase** (1). Click **Generate In-App Purchase Key**, or **+** next to **Active** (2) when the team has a key already. The Account Holder or an Admin can do this. Copy the **Issuer ID** (3), which the same page shows above the keys.

![The In-App Purchase keys of App Store Connect, with In-App Purchase in the sidebar marked 1, the plus next to Active marked 2 and Copy next to the Issuer ID marked 3](https://doc.saymyframe.com/assets/images/iap-keys-26ac07567384b3ed5a4af839e170725e.png)

Enter a name (1), such as `RevenueCat`, and click **Generate** (2).

![The dialog Generate In-App Purchase Key, with the name RevenueCat marked 1 and Generate marked 2](https://doc.saymyframe.com/assets/images/iap-key-generate-813b288e828eb3aaaa6ed0d0e12752cf.png)

If App Store Connect shows no Issuer ID, create any key under **App Store Connect API** on the same tab **Integrations**, and the Issuer ID appears.

**2. Download it.** In the list **Active**, download the new key from its row. You get a `.p8` file whose name has the Key ID, such as `SubscriptionKey_SMFSUBSKEY.p8`.

:::warning
Apple lets you download the file **only once**. Keep it in a password manager. The private key in it is a secret: you upload it to RevenueCat yourself, and it never goes into `.env`, the app or its repository.
:::

**3. Upload it to RevenueCat.** In the [RevenueCat dashboard](https://app.revenuecat.com/), click **Apps** in the sidebar and open the App Store app. In the section **In-app purchase key configuration**, click **Add new key** if the section offers it. Drop the `.p8` file on **P8 key file from App Store Connect** (1) without renaming it, since RevenueCat reads the Key ID from its name and fills in **Key ID** itself. Paste the **Issuer ID** (2) and click **Save changes** (3).

![The section In-app purchase key configuration of an App Store app in RevenueCat, with the field of the p8 file marked 1, the Issuer ID marked 2 and Save changes marked 3](https://doc.saymyframe.com/assets/images/iap-key-upload-68a0ae07f23a85d3609885859fb7bc66.png)

**Check.** RevenueCat shows **Valid credentials** for the key.

To see a purchase go through, buy a plan with a sandbox account. Create one in App Store Connect under **Users and Access > Sandbox**, with an email address that is no Apple Account yet. Run a debug build on an iPhone with `REVENUECAT_TEST_KEY` empty, and buy a plan: iOS asks for the sandbox account at the first purchase, and keeps it under **Settings > Developer** afterwards. The purchase shows in RevenueCat under the customers of the project. The sandbox needs the Paid Apps Agreement to be active; see [the step about payments](https://doc.saymyframe.com/setup/purchases-store-agreements.md).