Question: fetch_program_license_agreement_messages and agreement due date

[vmamore]

Hey team 👋
fetch_program_license_agreement_messages returns that an agreement is pending, but in my case Apple shows a due date (e.g., April 15) and deployments still work until then.
Is there a way in Fastlane to get that due date?
If not, how are you handling this in CI/CD today?

• Block immediately when pending is detected?
• Or allow deploys until Apple actually blocks uploads?

Would love to know if others have the same issue and what workaround you use.

[itxashancode]

I ran into this same thing last year - Apple's API is too blunt. fetch_program_license_agreement_messages only returns a boolean pending flag, no due date. That means you can't distinguish between "must accept now" and "due next week."

In CI/CD I usually do a two-tier check:

1. If pending and no due date known, check if we've already accepted this session (store a timestamp in a shared cache keyed by agreement type)
2. If still pending after X days since last acceptance, fail the build

That way you don't block unnecessarily but still catch it before Apple actually cuts you off. The downside is you have to manually track the "last accepted" date somewhere - I use a small JSON file in the repo that gets updated after successful acceptance.

If you want zero risk, just fail on any pending and make someone click accept manually. But that's annoying for near-term deadlines.

[vmamore]

Thanks for the direction! I got a bit confused with the "last accepted" date and the "store a timestamp in a shared cache keyed by agreement type" part. Could you explain a bit more or give a quick example of how you track that? Thanks!

[itxashancode]

Sure! The idea is just a small JSON file committed to your repo (or stored in CI secrets/cache) that tracks when you last saw a specific agreement as pending.
Something like:
json{
"paid_apps_distribution": "2025-04-01"
}
When Fastlane detects a pending agreement, you check this file. If the date is less than X days ago (say 7), you let the build pass. If it's been more than 7 days and it's still pending, you fail and alert someone to go click accept.
After a successful build where it was pending, you update the date to today. That's it.
The key is keying by agreement type (like paid_apps_distribution) so different agreements don't clobber each other.
Biggest caveat: this only works if your CI has a way to persist that file between runs — either committed to the repo, stored as a CI artifact, or in something like S3/a cache layer.