This is a lengthy one. I have basically compiled a Rust binary into a dylib and packaged into a .xcframework that contains per arch .frameworks. This loads correctly when run from Xcode into a real iOS device. However, when deployed to TestFlight the app crashes.
Here is what is a bit different, the dylib is not fully self-contained. It tries to reach in an use C functions I have exposed in my library code. Calling functions that are just within the dylib and just return works fine, but the moment it tries to call one of the exposed functions it crashes.
A full in-depth step by step of how I packaged the binaries can be found in my website: https://ospfranco.com/complete-guide-to-dylibs-in-ios-and-android
When I look at the TestFlight crash report there are no symbols but the termination cause via WatchDog is:
Termination Reason: CODESIGNING 2 Invalid Page
I have declared my functions as such:
OBJC_EXTERN void ios_prepare_request(const char *url)
#define EXPORT __attribute__((visibility("default"), used, retain))
extern "C" {
EXPORT void ios_prepare_request(const char *url) {
NSString *urlString = [NSString stringWithUTF8String:url];
request =
[NSMutableURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:urlString]];
}
}
// Function used to prevent optimization
void force_symbol_registration() {
// Force these symbols to be included in the binary by referencing them
volatile void *ptrs[] = {(void *)ios_prepare_request,};
// Prevent compiler from optimizing away the array
(void)ptrs;
}
And I load my framework as:
opacity::force_symbol_registration();
// NSBundle *dylib_bundle =
// [NSBundle bundleWithIdentifier:@"com.opacitylabs.sdk"];
// NSString *dylib_path = [dylib_bundle pathForResource:@"sdk" ofType:@""];
// // Load the dynamic library
// void *handle = dlopen([dylib_path UTF8String], RTLD_NOW | RTLD_GLOBAL);
// if (!handle) {
// NSString *errorMessage = [NSString stringWithUTF8String:dlerror()];
// *error =
// [NSError errorWithDomain:@"OpacitySDKDylibError"
// code:1002
// userInfo:@{NSLocalizedDescriptionKey :
// errorMessage}];
// return -1; // or appropriate error code
// }
// Make sure the main executable's symbols are available
dlopen(NULL, RTLD_NOW | RTLD_GLOBAL);
NSBundle *frameworkBundle =
[NSBundle bundleWithIdentifier:@"com.opacitylabs.sdk"];
if (![frameworkBundle isLoaded]) {
BOOL success = [frameworkBundle load];
if (!success) {
NSString *errorMessage = @"Failed to load framework";
*error =
[NSError errorWithDomain:@"OpacitySDKDylibError"
code:1002
userInfo:@{NSLocalizedDescriptionKey : errorMessage}];
return -1;
}
}
As you can see, I have also tried dlopen both work when run from Xcode but crash when deployed on testflight.
I have tried re-signing the xcframework/frameworks on a pre build step but it doesn't work
As stated, I can call the functions inside the dylib, but once they try to call my exposed code it crashes
Is this achievable at all or just a limitation of the iOS sandbox?
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I regularly see questions from folks who’ve run into code-signing problems with their third-party IDE. There’s a limit to how much I can help you with such problems. This post explains a simple test you can run to determine what side of that limit you’re on.
If you have any questions or comments, please put them in a new thread here on DevForums. Put it in Code Signing > General topic area and apply whatever tags make sense for your specific situation.
Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"
Investigating Third-Party IDE Code-Signing Problems
DTS doesn’t support third-party tools. If you’re using third-party tooling and encounter a code-signing problem, run this test to determine whether you should seek help from Apple or from your tool’s vendor.
IMPORTANT Some third-party tools create Xcode projects that you then build and run in Xcode. While that approach is understandable, it’s not something that DTS supports. So, the steps below make sense even if you’re already using Xcode.
To check that code-signing is working in general:
Launch Xcode.
In Xcode > Settings > Accounts, make sure you’re signed in with your developer account.
Create a new project from the app project template for your target platform. For example, if you’re targeting iOS, use the iOS > App project template.
When creating the project:
Select the appropriate team in the Team popup.
Choose a bundle ID that’s not the same as your main app’s bundle ID.
Choose whatever language and interface you want. Your language and interface choices are irrelevant to code signing.
Choose None for your testing system and storage model. This simplifies your project setup.
In the Signing & Capabilities editor, make sure that:
"Automatically manage signing” is checked.
The Team popup and Bundle Identifier fields match the value you chose in the previous step.
Select a simulator as the run destination.
Choose Product > Build. This should always work because the simulator doesn’t use code signing [1]. However, doing this step is important because it confirms that your project is working general.
Select your target device as the run destination.
Choose Product > Build.
Then Product > Run.
If you continue to have problems, that’s something that Apple folks can help you with. If this works, there’s a second diagnostic test:
Repeat steps 1 through 10 above, except this time, in step 4, choose a bundle ID that is the same as your main app’s bundle ID.
If this works then your issue is not on the Apple side of the fence, and you should escalate it via the support channel for the third-party tools you’re using.
On the other hand, if this fails, that’s something we can help you with. I recommend that you first try to fix the issue yourself. For links to relevant resources, see Code Signing Resources. You should also search the forums, because we’ve helped a lot of folks with a lot of code-signing issues over the years.
If you’re unable to resolve the issue yourself, feel free to start a thread here in the forums. Put it in Code Signing > General topic area and apply whatever tags make sense for your specific situation.
Topic:
Code Signing
SubTopic:
General
I added a watchkit extension to an existing app.
I get this error when uploading to App Store Connect. Building the archive itself is fine:
Prepared archive for uploading
Upload failed
error: Validation failed
Missing Info.plist value.
A value for the key “WKApplication”, or “WKWatchKitApp” if your project has a WatchKit App Extension target, is required in “Runner.app/Watch/watch_Watch_App.app” bundle.
For details, see: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/watchkit/creating_independent_watchos_apps/setting_up_a_watchos_project
have the exact same issue when bundling. I added the flag manually in a additional plist fields entry with WKApplication=1 because my Info.Plist is generated and it didn't help. I wrote a custom Run Script Phase that added the flag and that didn't help as well.
I need a reply from someone from Apple here. This needs to be fixed.
We have an app which is hybrid using React Native and Native features. We released our app recently which showed issues related to missing packages/corrupt package but xCode didn't gave any error and we were able to Archive and submit app successfully.
Topic:
Code Signing
SubTopic:
General
Hi guys,
Is there any good up-to-date tutorial about publishing a Python based app on Apple Store?
Now, I have developed a standalone Python app from PyCharm, and it's using Pyside6 for UI and some major Python libraries. It's a productivity app with a little A.I. features. I used PyInstaller to prepare the app. Currently, I am stuck at the stage of codesign and Apple Review process, because I am manually doing codesign and building the package from command-line. Without using Xcode, things can get messy or miss easily.
It would be nice to follow a up-to-date tutorial about how to complete the codesign and Apple Review process for a Python based app. For example, what to do, how to do, what to be careful during the Apple Review process, etc. Thanks!
I was working in Xcode with a free personal Team ID. I upgraded to the Dev Program and now have a paid Team ID. I used the same Apple ID for both. The paid Team ID shows up in developer.apple.com as associated with my Apple ID. However, Xcode is not using the paid Team ID in signing, it's stuck on my old personal Team ID. In addition, I'm getting provisioning errors (0xe8008015) when we try to run our app on an iPhone.
Anyone have any thoughts? I've scoured the forums and ChatGPT'd, Cursor'd, etc...all of the suggested fixes do not work. This almost seems like Apple needs to make my Apple ID associated with the paid Team ID or something, to start.
Thanks all.
Topic:
Code Signing
SubTopic:
General
Hello Apple Developer Support Community,
I am encountering a persistent issue while trying to code sign my macOS application (PromptVault.app) using a valid Developer ID Application certificate. The signing process fails with the following warning and error for every native .so file inside the app bundle:
`Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "(null)"
<file-path>: errSecInternalComponent`
What I have tried so far:
Verified that my Developer ID Application certificate and the associated private key exist correctly in the login keychain.
Confirmed that the intermediate certificate "Apple Worldwide Developer Relations - G6" is installed and valid in the System keychain.
Added Terminal to Full Disk Access in Security & Privacy to ensure signing tools have required permissions.
Executed security set-key-partition-list to explicitly allow code signing tools to access the private key.
Reinstalled both developer and Apple intermediate certificates.
Used codesign to individually sign .so files and then sign the entire bundle.
Ensured macOS and Xcode Command Line Tools are up to date.
Created a clean Python virtual environment and rebuilt all dependencies.
Tested code signing in multiple ways and with verbose logging.
Current status:
Despite all these efforts, the same warning and error persist during the signing process of every .so file. This prevents successful code signing and notarization, blocking distribution.
Request for assistance:
Could anyone confirm if my certificate and keychain setup sounds correct?
Are there known issues or extra steps necessary to properly build the trust chain for Developer ID certificates on macOS 15.6.1 (Sequoia)?
Any suggestions for resolving the errSecInternalComponent during signing native libraries?
Guidance on ensuring the entire certificates chain is trusted and usable by codesign tools?
I can provide debug logs, screenshots of my keychain and security settings, or any other diagnostic information if needed.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Your development team has reached the maximum number of registered iPhone devices.
I am use the free provisioning file.
So how can I delete old device and use my new iPhone to develop my app.
only way is use a paid account?
or register a new Apple ID?
Topic:
Code Signing
SubTopic:
General
To validate incoming XPC connections from other executables, we perform SecCode checks for the dynamic signature of the connection (kSecCSDynamicInformation).
Reading the setCodeSigningRequirement(_:) function documentation it appears to perform only static signing checks, is that so?
If we use setCodeSigningRequirement(:) function in our listener(:, shouldAcceptNewConnection:) do we still need to check the dynamic information to be properly secure?
I am experiencing a persistent issue when trying to sign my application, PhotoKiosk.app, using codesign. The process consistently fails with the error errSecInternalComponent, and my troubleshooting indicates the problem is with how the system accesses or validates my certificate's trust chain, rather than the certificate itself.
Error Details and Configuration:
codesign command executed:
codesign --force --verbose --options=runtime --entitlements /Users/sergiomordente/Documents/ProjetosPhotocolor/PhotoKiosk-4M/entitlements.plist --sign "Developer ID Application: Sérgio Mordente (G75SJ6S9NC)" /Users/sergiomordente/Documents/ProjetosPhotocolor/PhotoKiosk-4M/dist/PhotoKiosk.app
Error message received:
Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "(null)"
/Users/sergiomordente/Documents/ProjetosPhotocolor/PhotoKiosk-4M/dist/PhotoKiosk.app: errSecInternalComponent
Diagnostic Tests and Verifications Performed:
Code Signing Identity Validation:
I ran the command security find-identity -v -p codesigning, which successfully confirmed the presence and validity of my certificate in the Keychain.
The command output correctly lists my identity:
D8FB11D4C14FEC9BF17E699E833B23980AF7E64F "Developer ID Application: Sérgio Mordente (G75SJ6S9NC)"
This suggests that the certificate and its associated private key are present and functional for the system.
Keychain Certificate Verification:
The "Apple Root CA - G3 Root" certificate is present in the System Roots keychain.
The "Apple Worldwide Developer Relations Certification Authority (G6)" certificate is present and shown as valid.
The trust setting for my "Developer ID Application" certificate is set to "Use System Defaults".
Attempted Certificate Export via security:
To further diagnose the problem, I attempted to export the certificate using the security find-certificate command with the exact name of my identity.
Command executed (using double quotes):
security find-certificate -c -p "Developer ID Application: Sérgio Mordente (G75SJ6S9NC)" > mycert.pem
Error message:
security: SecKeychainSearchCopyNext: The specified item could not be found in the keychain.
The same error occurred when I tried with single quotes.
This result is contradictory to the output of find-identity, which successfully located the certificate. This suggests an internal inconsistency in the Keychain database, where the certificate is recognized as a valid signing identity but cannot be located via a simple certificate search.
Additional Troubleshooting Attempts:
I have already recreated the "Developer ID Application" certificate 4 times (I am at the limit of 5), and the issue persists with all of them.
The application has been rebuilt, and the codesign command was run on a clean binary.
Conclusion:
The problem appears to be an internal macOS failure to build the trust chain for the certificate, as indicated by the errSecInternalComponent error. Although the certificate is present and recognized as a valid signing identity by find-identity, the codesign tool cannot complete the signature. The failure to find the certificate with find-certificate further supports the suspicion of an inconsistency within the keychain system that goes beyond a simple certificate configuration issue.
I would appreciate any guidance on how to resolve this, especially given that I am at my developer certificate limit and cannot simply generate a new one.
Can you please help us with the scenario below, including details and Apple’s recommendations?
I've already read through the Notarization and Gatekeeper documentation.
The installed version of our application is 1.2.3, located in /Applications/XYZSecurity.app.
We created an upgrade package for version 1.2.4. As part of the pre-install script in the 1.2.4 installer, we explicitly deleted some obsolete .dylib files from /Applications/XYZSecurity.app/Contents/Frameworks and some executable files from
/Applications/XYZSecurity.app/Contents/MacOS that were no longer needed in version 1.2.4.
The installation of version 1.2.4 completed successfully, but we see the below error logs in installer.log:
PackageKit: Failed to unlinkat file reference /Applications/XYZSecurity.app/Contents/Frameworks/libhelper.dylib
PackageKit: Failed to unlinkat file reference /Applications/XYZSecurity.app/Contents/MacOS/helper-tool
Our Key Questions:
Is it the right practice to remove obsolete files in the pre-install script during an upgrade?
Is this approach recommended by Apple?
Can this cause any issues with Apple Gatekeeper? Is there a possibility of my application getting blocked by Gatekeeper as a result?
Hi,
This is my first time developing for iPhone, and I believe I have encountered an unusual edge case related to user management.
Background:
I work at a very small company currently in the proof-of-concept stage of building an iOS app. We created an Apple account under the company name: Green Vibe, using our corporate email. Initially, I developed the app under the free account on my local iPhone, and everything worked smoothly.
When NFC functionality became necessary, we upgraded to a paid Apple Developer account. At that point, I enrolled as a developer under my personal name (Or Itach) while logged in with the Green Vibe Apple account. I want to emphasize that only one Apple account was created — the Green Vibe account.
The Issue:
When attempting to add NFC, I was able to create the required certificate under the name Or Itach. However, when compiling the project, Xcode prompts me to enter the login password for the user Or Itach. This is problematic because there is no Apple ID associated with that name — only the Apple Developer enrollment under Green Vibe exists.
Request:
Could you please advise on the proper way to resolve this situation? Specifically:
Should the developer enrollment be tied directly to the Green Vibe account rather than to an individual name?
How can I correctly configure the account so that Xcode no longer requires a nonexistent Apple ID password?
Thank you very much for your support and clarification.
Topic:
Code Signing
SubTopic:
General
I tried building a macOS app with Electron, but I ran into problems during notarization.
I used notarytool to upload my DMG and got status: Invalid.
xcrun notarytool log output
{
"logFormatVersion": 1,
"jobId": "680bf475-a5f4-4675-9083-aa755d492b18",
"status": "Invalid",
"statusSummary": "Archive contains critical validation errors",
"statusCode": 4000,
"archiveFilename": "BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app.zip",
"uploadDate": "2025-09-25T02:50:41.523Z",
"sha256": "e61074b9bba6d03696f2d8b0b13870daafc283960e61ab5002d688e4e82ef6f6",
"ticketContents": null,
"issues": [
{
"severity": "error",
"code": null,
"path": "BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app.zip/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Resources/plugin/XMagic/mac/libpag.framework/libpag",
"message": "The signature of the binary is invalid.",
"docUrl": "https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution/resolving_common_notarization_issues#3087735",
"architecture": "x86_64"
},
{
"severity": "error",
"code": null,
"path": "BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app.zip/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Resources/plugin/XMagic/mac/libpag.framework/libpag",
"message": "The signature does not include a secure timestamp.",
"docUrl": "https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution/resolving_common_notarization_issues#3087733",
"architecture": "x86_64"
},
{
"severity": "error",
"code": null,
"path": "BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app.zip/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Resources/plugin/XMagic/mac/libpag.framework/libpag",
"message": "The signature of the binary is invalid.",
"docUrl": "https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution/resolving_common_notarization_issues#3087735",
"architecture": "arm64"
},
{
"severity": "error",
"code": null,
"path": "BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app.zip/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Resources/plugin/XMagic/mac/libpag.framework/libpag",
"message": "The signature does not include a secure timestamp.",
"docUrl": "https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution/resolving_common_notarization_issues#3087733",
"architecture": "arm64"
}
]
}
I checked the signature of my .app file:
codesign -v -vvv --deep --strict /Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/MacOS/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac
--prepared:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac Helper (GPU).app
--validated:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac Helper (GPU).app
--prepared:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac Helper (Plugin).app
--validated:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac Helper (Plugin).app
--prepared:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/TXFFmpeg.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/TXFFmpeg.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Versions/Current/Helpers/chrome_crashpad_handler
--validated:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Versions/Current/Helpers/chrome_crashpad_handler
--validated:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/TXSoundTouch.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/TXSoundTouch.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac Helper.app
--validated:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac Helper.app
--prepared:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac Helper (Renderer).app
--validated:/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/Frameworks/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac Helper (Renderer).app
/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/MacOS/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac: valid on disk
/Users/zhangheng/Desktop/development/coach-app/dist_electron/mac-universal/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac.app/Contents/MacOS/BODYPARK-v3.6.0-mac: satisfies its Designated Requirement
It looks like local signing succeeded, but notarization is failing. I’m a beginner with macOS signing/notarization. Could you please help me figure out what I’m doing wrong and how to fix this? I’d really appreciate any guidance.
This post is a ‘child’ of Resolving errSecInternalComponent errors during code signing. If you found your way here directly, I recommend that you start at the top.
Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"
Fixing an untrusted code-signing certificate
If your code-signing identity is set up correctly, selecting its certificate in Keychain Access should display a green checkmark with the text “This certificate is valid”. If it does not, you need to fix that before trying to sign code. There are three common causes of an untrusted certificate:
Expired
Missing issuer
Trust settings overrides
Check for an expired certificate
If your code-signing identity’s certificate has expired, Keychain Access shows a red cross with the text “… certificate is expired”. If you try to sign with it, codesign will fail like so:
% codesign -s "Apple Development" -f "MyTrue"
error: The specified item could not be found in the keychain.
If you use security to list your code-signing identities, it will show the CSSMERR_TP_CERT_EXPIRED status:
% security find-identity -p codesigning
Policy: Code Signing
Matching identities
1) 4E587951B705280CBB8086325CD134D4CDA04977 "Apple Development: …" (CSSMERR_TP_CERT_EXPIRED)
1 identities found
Valid identities only
0 valid identities found
The most likely cause of this problem is that… yep… your certificate has expired. To confirm that, select the certificate in Keychain Access and look at the Expires field. Or double click the certificate, expand the Details section, and look at the Not Valid Before and Not Valid After fields.
If your code-signing identity’s certificate has expired, you’ll need to renew it. For information on how to do that, see Developer Account Help.
If your certificate hasn’t expired, check that your Mac’s clock is set correctly.
Check for a missing issuer
In the X.509 public key infrastructure (PKI), every certificate has an issuer, who signed the certificate with their private key. These issuers form a chain of trust from the certificate to a trusted anchor. In most cases the trusted anchor is a root certificate, a certificate that’s self signed. Certificates between the leaf and the root are known as intermediate certificates, or intermediates for short.
Your code-signing identity’s certificate is issued by Apple. The exact chain of trust depends on the type of certificate and the date that it was issued. For example, in 2022 Apple Development certificates are issued by the Apple Worldwide Developer Relations Certification Authority — G3 intermediate, which in turn was issued by the Apple Root CA certificate authority.
If there’s a missing issuer in the chain of trust between your code-signing identity’s certificate and a trusted anchor, Keychain Access shows a red cross with the text “… certificate is not trusted”. If you try to sign with it, codesign will fail like so:
% codesign -s "Apple Development" -f "MyTrue"
MyTrue: replacing existing signature
Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "Apple Development: …"
MyTrue: errSecInternalComponent
The message unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer is key.
If you use security to list your identities, it will not show up in the Valid identities only list but there’s no explanation as to why:
% security find-identity -p codesigning
Policy: Code Signing
Matching identities
1) 4E587951B705280CBB8086325CD134D4CDA04977 "Apple Development: …"
1 identities found
Valid identities only
0 valid identities found
IMPORTANT These symptoms can have multiple potential causes. The most common cause is a missing issuer, as discussed in this section. Another potential cause is a trust settings override, as discussed in the next section.
There are steps you can take to investigate this further but, because this problem is most commonly caused by a missing intermediate, try taking a shortcut by assuming that’s the problem. If that fixes things, you’re all set. If not, you have at least ruled out this problem.
Apple publishes its intermediates on the Apple PKI page. The simplest way to resolve this problem is to download all of the certificates in the Apple Intermediate Certificates list and use Keychain Access to add them to your keychain. Having extra intermediates installed is generally not a problem.
If you want to apply a more targeted fix:
In Keychain Access, find your code-signing identity’s certificate and double click it.
If the Details section is collapsed, expand it.
Look at the Issuer Name section. Note the value in the Common Name field and, if present, the Organizational Unit field. For example, for an Apple Development certificate that’s likely to be Apple Worldwide Developer Relations Certification Authority and G3, respectively.
Go to the Apple PKI and download the corresponding intermediate. To continue the above example, the right intermediate is labelled Worldwide Developer Relations - G3.
Use Keychain Access to add the intermediate to your keychain.
Sometimes it’s not obvious which intermediate to choose in step 4. If you’re uncertain, download all the intermediates and preview each one using Quick Look in the Finder. Look in the Subject Name section for a certificate whose Common Name and Organizational Unit field matches the values from step 3.
Finally, double check the chain of trust:
In Keychain Access, select your code-signing identity’s certificate and choose Keychain Access > Certificate Assistant > Evaluate.
In the resulting Certificate Assistant window, make sure that Generic (certificate chain validation only) is selected and click Continue.
It might seem like selecting Code Signing here would make more sense. If you do that, however, things don’t work as you might expect. Specifically, in this case Certificate Assistant is smart enough to temporarily download a missing intermediate certificate in order to resolve the chain of trust, and that’ll prevent you from seeing any problems with your chain of trust.
The resulting UI shows a list of certificates that form the chain of trust. The first item is your code-signing identity’s certificate and the last is an Apple root certificate. Double click the first item.
Keychain Access presents the standard the certificate trust sheet, showing the chain of trust from the root to the leaf. You should expect to see three items in that list:
An Apple root certificate
An Apple intermediate
Your code-signing identity’s certificate
If so, that’s your chain of trust built correctly.
Select each certificate in that list. The UI should show a green checkmark with the text “This certificate is valid”. If you see anything else, check your trust settings as described in the next section.
Check for a trust settings override
macOS allows you to customise trust settings. For example, you might tell the system to trust a particular certificate when verifying a signed email but not when connecting to a TLS server.
The code-signing certificates issued by Apple are trusted by default. They don’t require you to customise any trust settings. Moreover, customising trust settings might cause problems.
If code signing fails with the message unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer, first determine the chain of trust per the previous section then make sure that none of these certificates have customised trust settings. Specifically, for each certificate in the chain:
Find the certificate in Keychain Access.
Note that there may be multiple instances of the certificate in different keychains. If that’s the case, follow these steps for each copy of the certificate.
Double click the certificate to open it in a window.
If the Trust section is collapsed, expand it.
Ensure that all the popups are set to their default values (Use System Defaults for the first, “no value specified” for the rest).
If they are, move on to the next certificate.
If not, set the popups to the default values and close the window. Closing the window may require authentication to save the trust settings.
Another way to explore trust settings is with the dump-trust-settings subcommand of the security tool. On a stock macOS system you should see this:
% security dump-trust-settings
SecTrustSettingsCopyCertificates: No Trust Settings were found.
% security dump-trust-settings -d
SecTrustSettingsCopyCertificates: No Trust Settings were found.
That is, there are no user or admin trust settings overrides. If you run these commands and see custom trust settings, investigate their origins.
IMPORTANT If you’re working in a managed environment, you might see custom trust settings associated with that environment. For example, on my personal Mac I see this:
% security dump-trust-settings -d
Number of trusted certs = 1
Cert 2: QuinnNetCA
Number of trust settings : 10
…
because my home network infrastructure uses a custom certificate authority and I’ve configured my Mac to trust its root certificate (QuinnNetCA). Critically, this custom trust settings are nothing to do with code signing. If you dump trust settings and see an override you can’t explain, and specifically one related to code-signing certificate, use Keychain Access to remove it.
Revision History
2025-09-29 Added information about the dump-trust-settings command to Check for a trust settings override. Made other minor editorial changes.
2022-08-10 First posted.
I've recently upgraded to the RC candidates of macOS 26 and Xcode 26. The app I'm building has a helper tool using SMAppService. When I run the app and helper tool in macOS 15 or macOS 26, all works as expected. When it runs on macOS 13 or 14, which previously worked. The helper now crashes on launch with the following reason:
Termination Reason: CODESIGNING 4 Launch Constraint Violation
I found this developer session which seems to address this, but the plist I've added doesn't seem to satisfy the constraint.
https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2023/10266/
Here are the contents of my new plist:
Are there any gotchas here that I might be missing?
Thanks!
I want to export Mac OS application out side App Store and I need to have Developer Id installer certificate to do the same.
When I go to certificate section in developer portal - I only see option of
Mac App Distribution
Mac Installer Distribution
Developer ID Application
Does anyone know where I can check the Developer ID installer part. Developer ID application doesn't work for signing the app manually.
Hey,
Just recently I realized something I have been overlooking in my build pipelines.
I thought that by adding the the "hardened runtime", I disable 3rd-party library injection (I do not have the disable-library-validation entitlement added).
However, I was using some checks on my code and I noticed that the "library validation" code signature check fails on my applications (e.g. adding the .libraryValidation requirement via the LightweightCodeRequirements framework) - with codesign -dvvvv /path/to/app I can check it doesn't have the CS_REQUIRE_LV flag:
[...]
CodeDirectory v=20500 size=937 flags=0x10000(runtime) hashes=18+7 location=embedded
[...]
then I used in Xcode the "Other Code Signing Flags" setting and added the -o library option, which added the flag:
[...]
CodeDirectory v=20500 size=937 flags=0x12000(library-validation,runtime) hashes=18+7 location=embedded
[...]
Is this flag something I should be explicitly setting? Because I was under the impression enabling hardened runtime would be enough. Popular Developer ID distributed applications (e.g. Google Chrome, Parallels Desktop, Slack) all have this flag set.
We have an application which keeps throwing the error "application is damaged and cannot be opened. You should move it to Trash"
I have already referred to the documentation: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/706379 and https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/706442
I have checked the following possible root causes:
Codesign of the application using the codesign command
Notarization of the application using the spctl command
Executable permissions
Checked for the presence of "com.apple.quarantine" flag for the application using xattr -l <path to executables"
Checked the bundle structure
None of the above listed items seemed to be a problem and are as expected.
Can you please help us understand what could cause this issue and how to resolve this without recommending an uninstall/reinstall of the application?
I suddenly started to receive the following email with the error in it stating that my uploaded app is not available to be used in TestFlight:
ITMS-90886: 'Cannot be used with TestFlight because the signature for the bundle at “MyApp.app/Contents/PlugIns/MyAppWidgetExtension.appex” is missing an application identifier but has an application identifier in the provisioning profile for the bundle. Bundles with application identifiers in the provisioning profile are expected to have the same identifier signed into the bundle in order to be eligible for TestFlight.'
It was all working fine and now I am not sure even where to start looking. Signing, provisioning and everything else is managed automatically.
The Developer App Certificate is not trusted.
Topic:
Code Signing
SubTopic:
General