The rake archive command generates a .ipa archive. This package is used for submitting our application to the App Store. The archive package can also be used for ad-hoc distribution to test the application on distributed devices.
Once we run the rake archive command, we will get the binary along with their appropriate distribution certificates. This is then uploaded on iTunes Connect with a special Apple utility named
Application Loader.
With the Xcode installation, we automatically get the Application Loaded utility that we can access from our application's folder or access by simply making a spotlight search:
Choose the
Deliver Your App option; this will indicate the name of the application iTunes Connect is waiting to upload. Choose your .ipa package from ./build/iPhoneOs_sdk_verson/Release/your_application.ipa. Once this is done, you will see that the status of iTunes Connect has changed to Received Binary.