app-store-screenshots

Imported from halt-catch-fire/mutiny (guides/design/app-store-screenshots/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add halt-catch-fire/mutiny --skill app-store-screenshots. Copyright stays with the author.

Install the belt CLI skill: npx skills add belt-sh/cli

App Store Screenshots

Create app store screenshots and preview videos via inference.sh CLI.

Quick Start

Requires inference.sh CLI (belt). Install instructions

belt login

# Generate a device mockup scene
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "iPhone 15 Pro showing a clean modern app interface with analytics dashboard, floating at slight angle, soft gradient background, professional product photography, subtle shadow, marketing mockup style",
  "width": 1024,
  "height": 1536
}'

Platform Specifications

Apple App Store (iOS)

• Up to 10 screenshots per localization
• First 3 screenshots are visible without scrolling (critical)
• Formats: PNG or JPEG (no alpha/transparency for JPEG)

Google Play Store (Android)

• Feature graphic: 1024 x 500 px (required for featuring)
• Promo video: YouTube URL (optional but recommended)

The First 3 Rule

80% of App Store impressions show only the first 3 screenshots (before the user scrolls). These three must:

1. Communicate the core value proposition
2. Show the best feature/outcome
3. Differentiate from competitors

Screenshot Gallery Order

Screenshot Styles

1. Device Frame with Caption

The standard: device mockup showing the app, caption text above/below.

┌──────────────────────────┐
│   "Track Your Habits     │  ← Caption (benefit-focused)
│    Effortlessly"         │
│                          │
│   ┌──────────────────┐   │
│   │                  │   │
│   │   App Screen     │   │  ← Actual app UI in device frame
│   │   Content        │   │
│   │                  │   │
│   │                  │   │
│   └──────────────────┘   │
│                          │
└──────────────────────────┘

2. Full-Bleed UI (No Device Frame)

The app UI fills the entire screenshot. Works for immersive apps.

3. Lifestyle Context

The device shown in a real-world context (person holding phone, on desk, etc.).

4. Feature Highlight with Callouts

UI screenshot with arrows/circles pointing to specific features.

Caption Writing

Rules

• Max 2 lines of text
• Benefit-focused, not feature-focused
• 30pt+ equivalent font size (must be readable in store)

Examples

❌ Feature-focused:
"Push Notification System"
"Calendar View with Filters"
"Data Export Functionality"

✅ Benefit-focused:
"Never Miss a Deadline Again"
"See Your Week at a Glance"
"Share Reports in One Tap"

Generating Screenshots

Hero Screenshot (Position 1)

# Clean device mockup with hero feature
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "modern iPhone showing a beautiful fitness tracking app with activity rings and workout summary, device floating at slight angle against soft purple gradient background, professional product shot, clean minimal composition, subtle reflection",
  "width": 1024,
  "height": 1536
}'

Feature Highlight

# Feature callout style
belt app run bytedance/seedream-4-5 --input '{
  "prompt": "app store screenshot style, iPhone showing a messaging app with AI writing suggestions highlighted, clean white background, subtle UI callout arrows, professional marketing asset, modern design",
  "size": "2K"
}'

Lifestyle Context

# Device in real-world setting
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "person holding iPhone showing a cooking recipe app, kitchen background with ingredients, warm natural lighting, over-the-shoulder perspective, lifestyle photography, authentic feeling",
  "width": 1024,
  "height": 1536
}'

Before/After

# Split comparison
belt app run infsh/stitch-images --input '{
  "images": ["before-screenshot.png", "after-screenshot.png"],
  "direction": "horizontal"
}'

Preview Videos

Apple App Store

Google Play

Preview Video Structure

# Generate preview video scenes
belt app run google/veo-3-1-fast --input '{
  "prompt": "smooth screen recording style, finger tapping on a modern mobile app interface, swiping between screens showing charts and data visualizations, clean UI transitions, professional app demo"
}'

Localization

Each language gets its own set of screenshots. Priorities:

Key localization markets: English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), German, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazilian)

A/B Testing (Google Play)

Google Play Console supports store listing experiments:

• Test different screenshot orders
• Test with/without device frames
• Test different captions
• Test different color schemes
• Run for 7+ days with 50%+ traffic for significant results

Common Mistakes

Checklist

• Correct dimensions for target platform
• First 3 screenshots communicate core value
• Captions are benefit-focused, max 2 lines
• No onboarding or settings screens
• Preview video is 15-30s with hook in first 3s
• Localized for top markets
• Feature graphic (1024x500) for Google Play
• Screenshots updated for current app version
• A/B test variant prepared

Related Skills

npx skills add inference-sh/skills@ai-image-generation
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@ai-video-generation
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@image-upscaling
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@prompt-engineering

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