Shipaton 参赛提交全指南：五步走完 Devpost 表单

How to submit your app for Shipaton

A detailed walkthrough of the five Devpost steps, what to prepare, and how to make sure your app gets judged

Your app is built, RevenueCat is integrated, and the store review is behind you.

There’s one job left: submitting it to Shipaton. Or maybe you’re not yet there, since there are still days left to submit. No matter what the case, you should start looking at how to submit your app to Shipaton at this point.

Shipaton submissions are sent through Devpost. The submission form has five sections: Manage team, Project overview, Project details, Additional info, and Submit. Here’s how to get through each step without a headache.

The submission deadline is Sep 30, 2026 at 11:45 pm PDT. You can save a draft and edit a submitted project until the deadline, but don’t leave the final click until the final minute.

First, make sure your app is eligible

For the main Shipaton competition (all other categories than Next Gen), your app must:

• Be an iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or Android app; web apps are not eligible.
• Use the RevenueCat SDK to power at least one in-app or web purchase, or serve ads through RevenueCat Ads.
• Be a new app whose first public version was released during the Shipaton submission window.
• Be fully published on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Mac App Store, or Samsung Galaxy Store.
• Work as shown in your submission video and description.
• Be available to download in the United States.

Apps released before Shipaton don’t qualify, and moving an existing app to another store doesn’t make it new. An existing web app can qualify if your Shipaton submission is an iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or Android version of that app that users can download from the mentioned App Stores.

TestFlight or testing-track builds don’t count. Shipaton needs a live store listing, and app review can take days, so don’t leave it until deadline week.

Students entering the Next Gen Award get an exception: they can submit a demo video and public open-source repository instead of a store listing. You can enter both the Next Gen Award and any of the other categories by providing a public open-source repository, demo video, and an app store link.

Prepare these materials for your submission

Get these assets ready for your submission. All of them are required, and missing any of them will make your app not eligible for judging:

• Your project name and a short tagline.
• A description of the app and its main features.
• A public App Store, Google Play, Mac App Store, or Galaxy Store URL.
• A public YouTube or Vimeo demo video.
• A 1024 × 1024 app icon.
• RevenueCat project ID
• At least one 1179 × 2556 app screenshot without a device frame.
• A free trial or promo code that lets judges test all premium features.
• Any category-specific links, IDs, metrics, or explanations.

Some sponsor categories might have extra requirements; see official rules for requirements on those. Everything you submit needs to be in English.

Filling the Devpost submission

Register for Shipaton, start a project, and save it as a draft. Devpost splits the submission into five steps.

Step 1: Manage your team

Start by adding everyone who worked on the app.

Solo project? You’re done here. For a team project, invite people with the email tied to their Devpost account or send them Devpost’s private invitation link. Add everyone before the deadline.

Step 2: Complete the project overview

The project overview is the card people will see in the Devpost gallery. It asks for:

• Project name: Use the same recognizable name as your store listing.
• Tagline: Explain what the app does in one short sentence.
• Thumbnail: Upload a clean image that remains readable at a small size. Devpost recommends a 3:2 image in JPG, PNG, or GIF format.

Here's my tip on how to do this well: skip taglines like “An AI-powered productivity platform.” Say what the product actually does: “Practice difficult conversations before having them with your team.”

Step 3: Tell your project’s story

Project details are the core of the submission: what you built, why it matters, and a working demo. Devpost’s submission guide divides this into the project story, technology tags, links, images, and demo video. Let’s go through each part in detail:

Write a description judges can scan

Answer the basics first:

• What problem does it solve?
• Who is it for?
• What does it let them do?
• How does it make money?
• What makes it interesting or different?
• Which award categories are you targeting?

Add the build story: what was hard, what you learned, and what comes next. Break it up with headings and short paragraphs. You can use AI to correct spelling and formatting, but don’t let AI write your whole description. No one will like reading that.

Include the proof each category asks for. Make the job for judges easier by explaining why your app qualifies for selected categories, and what makes it stand out.

Add your technology tags

Tag RevenueCat and the main tools you used. Devpost allows up to 25 tags. If you’re entering a sponsor category, tag that product too: Kotlin Multiplatform, Replit, OneSignal, Layers, Stripe, or whichever one applies.

These are mainly used for explaining your project; they don’t affect judging.

Add the public app link

For a standard entry, link to the fully published app on:

• Apple’s App Store or Mac App Store.
• Google Play.
• Samsung Galaxy Store.

Test the store link in a private browser window. The app needs to be downloadable in the US.

The store-link exception applies only to Next Gen. In any other case, you need to have a store link in your submission to be considered eligible.

Upload your images

For Shipaton, that means:

• A 1024 × 1024 app icon.
• At least one screenshot at 1179 × 2556.
• Screenshots without device frames.

Pick screenshots that tell the story. Five near-identical screens won’t help; a good set should show the core experience, the monetization, and the product’s strongest visual details. If you end up winning we will use the app icon and one of the screenshots in the marketing materials.

Add your demo video

Upload the video to YouTube or Vimeo. Unlisted YouTube videos are fine; private ones won’t be viewable by the judges, so don’t do that.

Keep the essential demo under two minutes, as judges aren’t required to watch beyond the 2 minutes. Show the app running on the device it was built for, and highlight the most important features and aspects of your app.

In the first two minutes, cover:

• Your app’s elevator pitch.
• The app’s core experience in use.
• Its purchase, subscription, web-payment, or advertising experience.
• The prize categories you are targeting and why the app fits them.

Don’t spend the week making a trailer for your app or game. A clear screen recording with concise narration beats a long intro or elaborate title sequence.

As explained in How we judge Shipaton, judges make most of their decisions from the description, video, and screenshots. Lead with the stuff that makes your app stand out, and mention which categories you are targeting.

If you haven’t made one before, keep it simple: record the screen, add a clear voice-over, and tell one coherent story. Our guide to storytelling can help you structure the pitch. Avoid copyrighted music, third-party trademarks, and other protected material unless you have permission to use them. For the influencer categories, do not use the likeness or brand of the influencers.

Step 4: Choose your categories and complete the additional information

Additional info holds the Shipaton-specific fields: media, store links, your RevenueCat project ID, and any promo code judges need for premium features.

You can enter several compatible categories, but don’t tick boxes for the sake of it. Each one may need its own explanation, link, account ID, or proof.