"this identity cannot be used for signing code"

Question

Created Apr ’25

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When building to macOS on GameMaker, I get the error "this identity cannot be used for signing code" when using the Developer ID Installer certificate. The certificate was neither expired nor revoked, but nonetheless I created new certificates to start fresh but am still getting that error. I don't get issues building to iOS via GameMaker, just to macOS.

If it makes any difference, I only noticed this issue started happening after I converted my Apple Developer Program account from an individual account to an organizational account, although it was weeks to months before I built to macOS via GameMaker before then, so I don't know if it correlates with that.

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Answer 1

connorhawke OP

Apr ’25

Accepted Answer

Solved (or more like worked around whatever weird issue this was). I realized on this occasion I'd only tried building to VM, not YYC, although I usually tested both in the past if there were any issues. On YYC I was able to build without the codesigning error, after which I needed to open the xcodeproj manually which was located at (macuser)/gamemakerstudio2/GM_MAC/(gamename)/(gamename).

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Answer 2

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

Apr ’25

I get the error "this identity cannot be used for signing code" when using the Developer ID Installer certificate.

Regarding that specific message, that makes sense. Developer ID supports two different types of signing identity:

Developer ID Application: <TTT>
Developer ID Installer: <TTT>

The latter is only used for signing installer packages. The former is for signing code and disk images.

Also, when working with Developer ID signing identities some care is warranted. See The Care and Feeding of Developer ID for my advice on that topic.

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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
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Answer 3

connorhawke OP

Apr ’25

@DTS Engineer

Thanks for the link. Developer ID Application, Apple Distribution, and Apple Development yielded a different error: "An installer signing identity (not an application signing identity) is required for signing flat-style products". 3rd Party Mac Developer Installer yielded the same error ("this identity cannot be used for signing code"). But the workaround I used works for now. Thanks again.

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