Step 3: Publish Your App

After you create and preview your app, you're ready to publish your app on the Amazon Appstore. When you start the app publishing process, Amazon Creator attempts to auto-create some of the required image assets for Appstore submission, but not all image assets are available from your YouTube channel or MRSS feed. Consequently, you will need to manually create some image assets. The publication details will also require you to add descriptions and metadata about your app.

• Publish Your App to the Appstore
• Image Assets Required
• App Descriptions Required
• View Submission Status
• Can I manage my app through the Developer Portal?
• Increasing Visibility for Your App
• Next Steps

Publish Your App to the Appstore

1. Click Manage Apps in the upper-right corner.

2. If you're using YouTube as the video source, next to API Key, click Edit, and enter your YouTube API key.

   For details on how to get your YouTube API key, see Get the YouTube Developer API Key. (You can use the same API key for all YouTube channels in your account and for all apps you create for these apps. Note that the API key does not restrict others from creating apps using your YouTube channel — it just allows you to play videos outside of YouTube.)

3. Click Publish next to your app.

   If you don't already have an Amazon Developer Account, you're prompted to create one. If so, you'll be directed into the Developer Console to create the account. Complete the information on the 1. Profile tab. Accept the agreement on the 2. App Distribution Agreement tab. On the 3. Payments tab, select No for the monetization options, since Amazon Creator doesn't provide monetization options (if you already have payments configured, that's fine — you can leave it as is). After you finish signing up for your Developer Account, you'll be redirected back into the Amazon Creator app.

   Amazon Creator prepares for app submission by automatically creating some of the required image assets.

   Although Amazon Creator auto-generates some of the assets (using what's available in your YouTube channel or MRSS feed), you should upload a more suitable Fire TV App Icon and Fire TV Background Image.

   For example, the Fire TV App Icon dimensions are supposed to be 1280x720px, but because Amazon Creator has only a smaller square icon available from YouTube, it renders the required dimensions by applying a zoomed-in/blurry background with the square icon superimposed on top of it. This image is meant to be replaced.

   

4. Upload the required image assets and supply the descriptions required by the Appstore. To change the images shown in the Amazon Creator interface, click the image titles and upload new ones. See the following sections for image and description details.

   Note: Amazon Creator has a 2MB file-size limit on uploads. To upload 1920px x 1080px screenshots, you will likely need to use JPG images (instead of PNG) and maybe some compression.

5. After completing the required image and description sections, click Publish to Appstore to publish your app or Save (Publish Later) to save your existing work and publish at a later time.

   After confirming your actions, you see a "Submission Successful!" message.

   

   You also receive an email from the Appstore saying that your app is "being reviewed as a part of the Amazon app approval process." When the app is live, you will receive another email indicating that it has been published. (Note that the email won't actually contain a link to your app — you must search for your app in the Appstore.)

   Note: Your app's content will dynamically update based on updates to your YouTube channel, MRSS feed, or Brightcove application. The updates are applied at each app start. However, after you publish your app to the Appstore, to update your general app descriptions and metadata (used to promote your app in the Amazon Appstore), you will need to make edits in Amazon Creator and publish your app again. The new version will need to be approved.

   Your published app will be available on Fire TV in all regions where Fire TV is available (US, UK, Germany, Japan, India, and Austria).

Image Assets Required

You need to prepare image assets of various sizes to promote your app in the Fire TV Appstore and the Amazon Appstore website. If your image isn't the right size, the image will be scaled up or down by Amazon Creator to fit the right dimensions. However, note that scaling images up makes them fuzzy, and if the aspect ratio isn't correct, the image will be stretched or squished, so use the correct dimensions.

Details for each image asset are provided in the following tabs:

• App Icons
• Fire TV App Icon
• Fire TV Background Image
• Screenshots

Small Icon and Large Icon

Two icons are required – 114 x 114px (small icon) and 512 x 512px (large icon). Both are used to represent your app throughout the Amazon Appstore and on Amazon devices, so use high quality images. The small icon can be a simplified version of the large icon's design that looks better in thumbnail size, or both icons can simply be the same design. The icons will be scaled down to a smaller size.

Specifications:

Detail	Requirement
Small icon size	114 x 114px
Large icon size	512 x 512px
Format	PNG (transparent)

Here's a sample small icon (114px x 114px) in the context of the Appstore:

Here's a sample large icon (512px x 512px) in the context of the Appstore:

Do not just scale up the PNG image of your icon — doing so results in a blurry image.

Design Best Practices

DO:

• Use original assets. App icons should reflect original graphic assets related to your app.
• Use contrast. Contrast will make the app icon distinct even when it is scaled down.
• Use balance. Use imagery that has a sufficient amount of white space.
• Use fewer subjects. Fewer characters in app icons is preferred.

DO NOT:

• Use wrong assets. There should be no marketing slogs or studio badging. Only logos or key art.
• Make it illegible. Do not overlap logos on major characters or on a busy background.
• Apply wrong styling. Key art should go to the edge of the image. Do not include borders or rounded corners.

Note: Your General Icons and Fire TV App Icon should contain the same image and design, more or less. The only difference is that the Fire TV App Icon is rectangular whereas the other images (used on the Appstore website, tablets, and phones) are square.

Fire TV App Icon

The App Icon appears within a row of other app icons in the Fire TV user interface.

Specifications:

Detail	Requirement
Size	1280 x 720px
Format	PNG (no transparency)

Here's a sample App Icon:

Fire TV Context:

The App Icon appears on Fire TV in the following context:

Content Safe Area:

The following badges may appear superimposed on the App Icon:

To ensure your App Icon looks good even with badging (download icons, progress bars, etc.), place your main subject and title art within the content safe area. Artwork that falls outside of the safe area may be covered by badges.

Imagery may be obscured by opaque badging elements.
Imagery may be obscured by translucent or typographic UI elements.
Imagery is safe.
The 882 x 448px area represents where the main subject and title art are safe.

Design Best Practices:

Follow these guidelines when designing your App Icon:

DO:

• Use original assets. App icons should reflect the original developer-submitted assets.
• Use contrast. Contrast will make the app icon distinct even when it is scaled down.
• Use balance. Use imagery that has a sufficient amount of white space.
• Use fewer subjects. Fewer characters in app icons is preferred.

DO NOT:

• Use wrong assets. There should be no marketing slogs or studio badging. Only logos or key art.
• Make it illegible. Do not overlap logos on major characters or on a busy background.
• Apply wrong styling. Key art should go to the edge of the image. Do not include borders or rounded corners.

Note: Your Small Icon, Large Icon, and Fire TV App Icon should contain the same image and design, more or less. The only difference is that the Fire TV App Icon is rectangular whereas the other images (used on the Appstore website) are square.

If you don't provide the required Fire TV assets, Fire TV will apply a default creative treatment to the images to scale them to fit the required spaces. For example, if the required image size isn't proportional for the required space, your image will be placed on top of a background image that fills the space correctly.

Fire TV Background Image

When users scroll across your app from a browse page, the Background Image appears in the upper-right corner of a mini-detail page.

Specifications:

Detail	Requirement
Size	1920 x 1080px (landscape)
Format	JPG or 24-bit PNG (no transparency)

The following is an example of a Background Image:

Fire TV Context

The Background Image appears on Fire TV in the following context:

When users click your app icon, the Background Image can also fill the entire background.

Content safe area:

The main focus element of the image must be placed within the content safe area. Artwork that falls outside of the safe area might be covered by UI elements.

Imagery may be clipped here.
Imagery may be obscured by opaque elements.
Imagery may be obscured by translucent or typographic UI elements.
Imagery is safe.
The 1214 x 830px area represents where the main subject of the image should be placed.

Design Best Practices:

DO:

• Use cinematic imagery. Use imagery that is engaging and has a pleasing composition.
• Use relevant imagery. Use imagery that is relevant to the app experience. Don't show a person using the app, the controller, the TV, or the surrounding room. Just show the app itself.
• Use different imagery. When possible, use different imagery than the app icon.
• Use character-centric imagery. Use imagery that includes major characters or notable content.
• Place subject right. The main subject should be to the right side of the image when possible.

DO NOT:

• Place subject left. The main subject should not be on the left side because the UI may obscure it.
• Crop heads and faces. Use the safe zones to verify placement of heads and faces.
• Embed logos or titles. Logos and titles should not be in the background.
• Use busy imagery. Do not use imagery that has too many subjects or fine detail.
• Show other platforms. Amazon Appstore offers many apps that also exist on other platforms (smartphones, tablets, competitor devices). Assets should reflect the experience of the app on Fire TV.

Screenshots

Screenshots show images from your app to give users a better sense of what your app offers. Include a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 10 screenshots. For details on taking screenshots, see Taking screenshots on Fire devices.

Specifications:

Detail	Requirement
Size	1920 x 1080px (landscape)
Format	JPG or 24-bit PNG (no transparency)

Here's an example screenshot from the Amazon Music app:

Fire TV Context:

The following image shows screenshots in the context of the Fire TV UI:

Content Safe Area

Screenshots aren't covered by badging, so you don't have to worry about placing content inside a safe area.

Design Best Practices:

DO:

• Use cinematic imagery. Use imagery that is engaging and has a pleasing composition.
• Use different scenes. Use screen stills that display different scenes of the app.
• Use character-centric imagery. Use imagery that includes major characters or notable content.
• Show logical progression. Highlight the app’s most interesting features in a logical progression that mimics a typical user’s experience. Begin at the broadest area of user interaction (for example, the main menu), comprehensively document the app’s main feature(s), and explore the app’s peripheral features, menus, and settings.
• Focus on core functionality. Focus on the app’s core functionality, while touching on one or two of its less prominent features.

DO NOT:

• Use contextual imagery. Do not use photographs of someone using the app. Only show the app itself.
• Display wrong platform. Screenshots should reflect the app experience on the TV and not additional devices.
• Show personal information. If your screenshots will display personal information (such as account names, login information, or social networks), populate the fields with dummy information.

App Descriptions Required

Various descriptions are required for your app in the Appstore. See the following details about each description requirement.

• Short Desc.
• Long Desc.
• Product Bullets
• Keywords
• Subject Matter

View Submission Status

To view the status of your published app:

1. Click Manage Apps.
2. In your app's details, next to "Submission Status," click the status message (such as "In Progress"). The details indicate where your app is in the submission process.

The following are the possible submission states and details for your app:

• In Progress – Your app is being reviewed.
• Rejected – A possible reason could be Content Policy. Check the email from the Appstore.
• Pending – Check your email for next steps.
• Complete – Your app is live. You can also publish a new version to the Appstore if desired.

Can I manage my app through the Developer Portal?

Although it's technically possible, don't try to update your app's metadata (images, description, and so on) from the Amazon Developer Portal at https://developer.amazon.com. Any updates you make in the Developer Portal DO NOT flow back into Amazon Creator. If you modify your app details (for example, updating descriptions, images, or other metadata) from within the Developer Portal, your app in Amazon Creator will not reflect those changes.

Amazon Creator was designed for you to publish your app to the Appstore entirely from the Amazon Creator site, without ever logging in to the Developer Portal. Although you have an Amazon developer account (which you're prompted to create when you publish your app), the account's purpose is to allow Amazon Creator to interact with the Developer Portal site.

Increasing Visibility for Your App

Getting your app into the Appstore is just the first step to developing a successful app. For your app to be widely downloaded and viewed, you'll need to promote your app as much as possible.

Next Steps

Go to Step 4: Share Your App.