Keyword research
Popularity- and difficulty-driven, intent-matched, per market. It decides what your app name, subtitle and 100-character keyword field say.
Free OpenAI Codex skill for iOS
Ergo ASO: App Store Optimization plugin for OpenAI Codex
Ergo ASO is a free skill for OpenAI Codex that takes an iOS app from ready-to-submit to a fully localized App Store listing: keyword research, metadata in up to 50 locales, localized screenshots, pricing for every territory, in-app string localization and a verified submission checklist.
git clone https://github.com/tudor-22/ergo-aso && cd ergo-aso && ./install.shYou bring your own App Store Connect API key. It stays on your Mac.
Built by Tudor IustiniOS engineer behind Ollie, Fractal, Gamma and Horang.
Install
From clone to first ASO run in three steps.
Install the skill
Clone the repo and run the installer. It copies the skill to ~/.agents/skills/ergo-aso, where Codex looks for skills.
Ask Codex
Restart Codex, open your app's repo and say "do the ASO for my app", or call the skill directly with $ergo-aso. You can also ask for one slice, such as keyword research or localized screenshots.
Answer the setup wizard
The first run asks for an App Store Connect API key, a translation engine (Codex itself by default) and a keyword data source. It checks each prerequisite and prints the fix for anything missing.
What it does
The whole App Store funnel, in six phases.
Run them in order for a new app, or jump to the one you need. Each phase has its own written rules that Codex reads before it starts.
Metadata in up to 50 locales
A keyword-led name and subtitle, adapted keyword fields and descriptions that translate by meaning, checked per locale against Apple's limits: 30 characters for name and subtitle, 100 for keywords, 170 for promotional text and 4,000 for the description.
Localized screenshots
Your background mockups with translated headings burned in by a bundled renderer: per-script Noto fonts, right-to-left languages handled, text auto-fitted to the frame.
Pricing for every territory
Choose a model (one price everywhere, GNI bands, Big Mac index or Netflix index). It is applied per territory through the App Store Connect API and read back to confirm.
In-app localization
Your real UI strings, translated and then checked by detectors for format-specifier drift, wrong-sense domain words, script contamination and register drift.
Submission checklist
Every field the App Store Connect API can set is set and verified. Everything it cannot do becomes an explicit manual-steps list instead of a silent gap.
Your keys
Your App Store Connect key stays on your Mac.
The skill stores the key in ~/.ergo-aso/ with permissions set to 600. It is never placed inside a project folder, a repository or a commit, and it is never printed to the terminal.
Create the key with the App Manager role in App Store Connect under Users and Access. Every write to App Store Connect is read back with a GET before the skill reports it as done, so you see what Apple actually holds.
Compare
How Ergo ASO compares with the usual options.
Ergo ASO has no proprietary search-volume or rank-tracking data. If you need those, pair it with an ASO data tool.
| Feature | Ergo ASO | Paid ASO platforms | By hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, plus your Codex plan | Monthly subscription | Your time |
| Keyword popularity data | Optional, from a tool you connect (for example the Astro MCP) | Built in, proprietary | None |
| Rank tracking | No | Yes | No |
| Metadata in up to 50 locales | Yes, with automated per-locale checks | Varies by tool | Translate and paste each locale |
| Localized screenshots | Bundled renderer burns translated headings onto your mockups | Varies by tool | Redo every frame per language |
| Pricing per territory | Applied via the App Store Connect API and read back | Rarely | Set in App Store Connect |
- Runs in
- OpenAI Codex on macOS
- Price
- Free. Uses your existing Codex plan
- Needs per phase
- node, ruby, fastlane, Xcode command-line tools
- Credentials
- Your own App Store Connect API key
FAQ
Questions before you install.
Ergo ASO is a free skill for OpenAI Codex that handles App Store Optimization for an iOS app: keyword research, App Store metadata in up to 50 locales, localized screenshots, worldwide pricing, in-app string localization and a verified submission checklist.
No. Keyword research still works without one: Apple's search suggestions and competitor listings give the candidates, and the skill says plainly that popularity and difficulty calls are guesses in that mode. A data tool with popularity and difficulty numbers, such as the Astro MCP, makes the research much stronger.
Up to 50. In the metadata phase you choose the set once, and the same set is reused for screenshots and in-app strings. The default is every supported locale.
The key is kept in ~/.ergo-aso/ on your Mac with 600 permissions, never inside a project or repository, and never printed. Use a key with the App Manager role. If you pick an external translation engine, its API key is stored the same way.
Nothing up front. Each phase checks its own prerequisites: node for screenshot rendering, ruby for pricing and the submission checklist, fastlane for metadata and screenshot upload, and the Xcode command-line tools for in-app localization. A setup check prints exactly what is missing and the command to fix it.
Ergo ASO is free. Translations run on Codex by default, so the cost is your existing Codex usage. If you choose the optional DeepSeek engine instead, a full in-app cascade of roughly 400 strings across 40 locales costs about $0.50. The App Store Connect API is free.
It writes the fields the App Store Connect API allows, then reads each one back to confirm. Anything Apple's API cannot do is listed as a manual step for you.
Ship a localized App Store listing from one prompt.
Install the skill, open your app in Codex and say “do the ASO for my app”.
git clone https://github.com/tudor-22/ergo-aso && cd ergo-aso && ./install.sh