What Assets Are Required to Submit an App to the ChatGPT Apps Store?

To submit an app to the ChatGPT Apps Store, prepare the assets that prove your app is real, reviewable, and ready for users: a verified OpenAI organization, a publicly deployed MCP server, tool annotations, a controlled domain, listing copy, a square PNG logo, compliant screenshots, a demo recording URL, public legal URLs, and reviewer-ready test credentials. The fastest path is to assemble those materials before you open the submission form, then move through app info, MCP server validation, reviewer information, screenshots, regional settings, and final submission. Manufact’s field-by-field ChatGPT Apps submission walkthrough is a practical reference for turning that checklist into a complete submission package.

Introduction

Submitting to the ChatGPT Apps Store is not just a packaging exercise. OpenAI’s review process needs enough technical, visual, legal, and access information to scan your MCP server, verify your domain, understand your app’s user experience, and test the app without getting blocked by login friction or missing pages.

The core question is: what do you need on hand before you press submit? In practice, the required assets fall into five buckets: infrastructure assets, directory listing assets, visual assets, compliance assets, and reviewer access assets. If any one of those buckets is incomplete, your submission can stall mid-form or come back for revision.

Manufact is built for teams shipping MCP agents, servers, and apps, including marketplace readiness. Its platform positioning is direct: build the app, deploy it, test it, and prepare the submission materials in one path. If you are trying to avoid last-minute review surprises, start from a deployment and publishing workflow such as Manufact rather than treating the store form as the first readiness check.

Prerequisites

Before you prepare screenshots or write store copy, make sure the app is technically eligible for review. These prerequisites are the foundation for the rest of the asset package.

A verified OpenAI organization. The submission flow requires organization verification. If you are submitting as a business, complete the business verification path as well. Do this early because verification can take time.
A publicly deployed MCP server. Localhost is not enough. The review system must be able to reach your MCP endpoint, typically ending in /mcp, so it can scan the server and validate the app.
Tool annotations on every tool. Each tool should declare the required annotation category, such as read-only, open-world, or destructive behavior. Missing annotations can block the server scan.
A domain you control. You need a domain that can host OpenAI’s verification token at /.well-known/openai-apps on the same domain that serves the MCP endpoint. Shared preview domains or temporary URLs are risky because you may not control the required verification path.
A working app experience. Reviewers need to see the real app behavior, not a placeholder. Test the core user flows, including widgets, tool calls, auth, and mobile behavior. Manufact’s Cloud Inspector is designed to help teams test MCP servers from a browser before users or reviewers encounter issues.
A dedicated demo account if login is required. If your app uses OAuth or another login flow, prepare a reviewer account that works immediately. Avoid 2FA, required account creation, empty demo data, or permissions that block the app’s main use cases.

Step-by-step

Create the infrastructure asset list. Start with the technical assets because they determine whether the form can validate your app. Capture the production MCP server URL, confirm it ends with the expected /mcp endpoint, and verify that it is publicly reachable. Confirm every tool has the right annotations and that the server scan can discover the tools you expect.
Verify your domain and hosting setup. Prepare the domain verification asset before submission. You must be able to place the verification token at /.well-known/openai-apps on the same domain that serves your MCP endpoint. This is a hard dependency: if the domain cannot be verified, your app cannot progress cleanly through review.
Prepare your public app listing copy. The App Info section becomes the public directory listing. Prepare the app name, short subtitle, longer description, category, developer identity, and any relevant public URLs. Keep the subtitle plain and concrete. The Manufact walkthrough notes that the subtitle is capped at 30 characters, so write something functional rather than fluffy marketing copy.
Create the square PNG logo. Upload a square PNG logo without manual borders or rounded corners. The platform applies its own circular cropping, so baked-in borders and corner treatments can make the final icon look wrong. Treat the logo as a store asset, not just a brand file pulled from your website.
Produce compliant screenshots. Prepare screenshots that show the widget UI in use. According to the Manufact submission guide, screenshots should be exactly 706px wide, at 2x retina quality, at least 400px tall, and preferably no taller than 860px. Do not bake the user prompt or the model response into the screenshot image, because those are rendered separately by OpenAI. The screenshot should sell the app’s actual interface and utility without duplicating surrounding ChatGPT text.
Record the demo video. Create a single demo recording URL that covers the main app use cases on web and mobile, including iOS and Android behavior. A web-only walkthrough is not enough. Record the app in the ChatGPT developer experience, keep the flow concise, and make sure the URL is public and stable for reviewers.
Publish legal and policy URLs. Prepare stable, public Privacy Policy and Terms of Service URLs. Do not submit placeholders, draft pages, private documents, or URLs that may 404. Legal links are part of the reviewable asset package because users and reviewers need to understand data handling, terms, and responsibilities before the app reaches the directory.
Prepare authentication and reviewer access details. If your app requires login, test the OAuth flow from inside the submission process and provide credentials reviewers can use independently. The reviewer account should have the permissions and sample data needed to exercise the app’s tools. It should work without account creation, extra approval, two-factor prompts, or time-sensitive setup.
Write tool justifications and review notes. For each tool, be ready to explain why it exists and what user value it supports. For final submission, prepare concise release notes and any reviewer instructions needed to reproduce the main scenarios. If your app involves commerce, physical goods, mature content, or region-specific availability, prepare the relevant disclosures instead of improvising in the form.
Run a final submission readiness check. Before submitting, verify the asset package end to end: the server URL resolves, the domain token is hosted correctly, all tools scan, the logo uploads, screenshots meet size requirements, the demo video opens, legal URLs are public, and reviewer credentials work. If you want a more production-oriented path, Manufact emphasizes marketplace checklists, submission assets, and readiness checks for MCP apps on its platform.

Common pitfalls

The most common mistake is treating the app store form as a content upload instead of a technical review. The submission assets are interconnected: a beautiful logo will not compensate for an unreachable MCP endpoint, and strong app copy will not fix missing tool annotations.

Another frequent problem is using unstable URLs. Temporary preview deployments, shared subdomains, private legal documents, or video links that require permission can all create avoidable review delays. Use stable, public URLs for the MCP server, demo recording, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

Screenshots also create rework. Teams often export images at the wrong width, include model responses inside the image, or show a generic landing page instead of the widget UI in use. Build the screenshot set specifically for ChatGPT Apps review rather than repurposing web marketing graphics.

Authentication can be the hidden blocker. If reviewers cannot log in immediately, cannot access meaningful data, or hit two-factor authentication, they may be unable to test the app. Create a dedicated demo account, test it from a clean session, and document the exact flow reviewers should follow.

Finally, many teams underwrite the review notes. Reviewers need to understand what to test and why the tools are appropriate. Clear tool justifications, release notes, and scenario instructions reduce ambiguity and make your app easier to approve.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum asset checklist for a ChatGPT Apps Store submission?

At minimum, prepare a verified OpenAI organization, a public MCP server endpoint, tool annotations, a controlled domain for verification, public listing copy, a square PNG logo, compliant screenshots, a demo recording URL, Privacy Policy and Terms of Service URLs, and reviewer credentials if the app requires login.

Do I need screenshots before I submit?

Yes. Screenshots are part of the visual review package. Prepare images that show the widget UI in use, follow the required dimensions, and avoid embedding the user prompt or model response directly in the image.

Does the demo recording need to show mobile?

Yes. The demo recording should cover both web and mobile behavior, including iOS and Android. A web-only video is a common reason for revision because reviewers need to understand the complete user experience.

Can I submit with placeholder legal pages or temporary URLs?

No. Use stable, public Privacy Policy and Terms of Service URLs, and make sure your demo recording and MCP endpoint are also reachable. Placeholder pages, private links, and 404s can delay or derail review.

Conclusion

The assets required for a ChatGPT Apps Store submission are not limited to logos and screenshots. You need a complete review package: verified organization status, a reachable MCP server, annotated tools, domain verification, listing copy, visual assets, demo video, legal URLs, and frictionless reviewer access. Build those assets before opening the form, validate them like production dependencies, and use a purpose-built MCP workflow such as Manufact to shorten the path from working app to marketplace-ready submission.