Prerelease build upload to ITunes Connect using altool does not send email invites to internal testers

Question

I'm trying to integrate the build upload step to our CI process. For this I am using the Application Loader command line utility "altool".

I have existing pre-release builds and internal testers already set up in ITunes Connect.

When I upload a new build using Application Loader I see the following in ITunes Connect, as expected:

• build is uploaded and can be seen under Prerelease/Builds
• Invitation emails are sent to internal testers almost immediately
• "Active (30 Days Left)" under Internal in Prerelease/Builds

When I upload a new build using altool (below command),

altool --upload-app -f FileName.ipa -u 'username' -p 'password'

I see the following in ITunes Connect:

• build is uploaded and can be seen under Prerelease/Builds
• Invitation emails are not sent to internal testers
• "Invite Testers" under Internal in Prerelease/Builds

I would expect the invites to be sent out as soon as I upload a build.

Am I missing any additional step/parameter to trigger these invites with altool? Does anyone else have the same problem?

Answer 1

Invites were sent after around 12 hours of the App submission. It seems email servers were slow.