Demystify code signing and its importance in app development. Get help troubleshooting code signing issues and ensure your app is properly signed for distribution.

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Failed Registering Bundle Identifier of watch app
Hi, after 2 years of not updating my app on appstore i wanted to submit an update for my iOS app which also containts a watch app target. When i try to submit it to upload it i get the following errors: Failed registering bundle identifier The app identifier "(myappBundleID).watchkitapp" cannot be registered to your development team because it is nit available. Change your bundle identifier to a unique string to try again. No Profiles for "(myappBundleID).watchkitapp" were found. Xcode culdn't find any iOS App Store provisining profiles matching "(myappBundleID).watchkitapp" Since i have my app already in store with that bundle identifier i don't know why it can not be registered to my team. Also i don't want to change the bundle identifier because then i can not publish it as update to store.
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1.5k
Jan ’25
Not Allowed To Open Rust Binary In Terminal
Hi, I am a long time programmer in C#, and newer to Rust, and a rookie to MacOS 15.1. Over the past few days I have made numerous attempts to run a Rust GUI binary that I compiled on Mac. Here are some examples of things I have tried using. Executable compiled in M1 mac not running on Apple Silicon Mac - help - The Rust Programming Language Forum And here.... How to run unsigned apps in macOS 15.1 Also here... "sudo spctl --master-disable" There are many more that I have tried. I also tried moving the binary from my developer folder to the Application folder and running.... xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/csv Note that "csv" is the name of my binary. You have probably seen this 100 times, so can you point me to me to something that allows my Rust binaries to run under MacOS? PS The Rust program code works just fine under Linux. I can either type Cargo Run and run the binary from the Terminal or go directly to the executable and double click on it to open the GUI application. The only thing that MacOS lets me do it open the GUI from the Terminal. Commander One says that I do not have the proper credentials to open the file directly. Finder also does not allow me to open the binary directly. Thanks, Jim
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1k
Jan ’25
Notarization issue with keys
Keys can vary; an account is not necessary, as only Team Keys are suitable for notarization. It seems that Developer role is sufficient for notarization. We have tried both keys and roles of Developer and Account Manager - the behavior is the same. Multiline There are two types of API keys: Team Access to all apps, with varying levels of access based on selected roles. Individual Access and roles of the associated user. Individual kevs aren't able to use Provisioning endpoints, access Sales and Finance, or notaryTool. BlockQuote Here are the parameters used for notarization via API key: `-k, --key key-path    App Store Connect API key. File system path to the private key. -d, --key-id key-id    App Store Connect API Key ID. For most teams this will be a 10 character alphanumeric string. -i, --issuer issuer    App Store Connect API Issuer ID. The issuer ID is a UUID format string.` The notarization result shows as successful, and on the same machine, the package appears as notarized. However, when the package is transferred to another system, it is displayed as not notarized.
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683
Dec ’24
Issues while signing macOS app
Hi everyone! We use to have an intel Mac machine where we generate the Developer ID Installer & Application certs for signing and notarization process. This process works sweet. Now, we move from an intel to a m1 Mac machine, where we want to do the same process as before. I had try two different approaches, but ending up with the same result. I export the cert with the private key from my intel to the m1 machine, but when I try to sign, I get: Invalid signature. (Not sure what this error means in this case as everything works on the intel machine. I am guessing the cipher for creating either the private key or the signature differs between the architecture) I try to generate new certs for this m1 machine, but I get the following error: You already have a current Developer ID installer certificate or a pending certificate request. I try with the same account, but also with a different account. In both cases got the same error. I create a ticket for apple, where they said to expect a reply between one and two business days, but no luck yet.
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2.3k
Dec ’24
Support for Non-Team ID prefixes on the Mac App Store
My iOS version of the app is available on the App Store with a non-team ID prefix for its bundle ID. It has been available there for a long time and I am not sure why I chose a custom prefix for it. The Mac version of the same app is available on the Mac App Store with a different bundle ID and with a prefix that matches my team ID. I am currently looking to "merge" both apps into a single bundle ID. The plan is to stop using the current Mac app and release a new one as a universal app under the existing bundle ID for the iOS app. Unfortunately, it looks like that the Mac App Store does not actually allow any submissions that have a non-team ID for a prefix. I know that it is a very specific case but any suggestions would be welcomed.
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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171
Jul ’25
Team ID suddenly changed
I developed it as Unity. Originally, I updated Unity to the latest version to fix the problem of not being able to log in to Apple. That's when I found out my team ID had changed. The current Apple membership team ID is HBEMGSUAQ3, When I check "Automatically manage sing" in Xcode Selected with the team ID "ESB392LR64". Where did this team come from all of a sudden? I've only used "HVEMGSUAQ3" for a very long time. The change in ID was a test build while developing another project yesterday, but it changed then. If I manually select the provisioning profile of my project "Failed to install embedded profile for : 0xe800801f (Attempted to install a Beta profile without the proper entitlement.)" This error appears and the test installation is not possible.. So I created a new certificate, identifier, and profile. However, it continues to be created with the ID of "ESB392LR64". Keychain registration is also naturally registered with "ESB392LR64" status. Again, my team ID is "HVEMGSUAQ3" and there is no way to check "ESB392LR64" on my dev page... This situation suddenly appeared when my certificates were updated with the ID of "ESB392LR64" on June 12, and What I suspect is that I updated my MacBook to the latest version of OS on the day of the issue. Please let me know what's going on. I'm hoping it's not a big deal....
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1.7k
Nov ’24
"Application damaged and can't be opened' error prompt on 15.6.1 Sequoia
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?
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805
1w
Enterprise Vendor Id changing when it shouldn't
Hi All, Really weird one here... I have two bundle ids with the same reverse dns name... com.company.app1 com.company.app2 app1 was installed on the device a year ago. app2 was also installed on the device a year ago but I released a new updated version and pushed it to the device via Microsoft InTunes. A year ago the vendor Id's matched as the bundle id's were on the same domain of com.company. Now for some reason the new build of app2 or any new app I build isn't being recognised as on the same domain as app1 even though the bundle id should make it so and so the Vendor Id's do not match and it is causing me major problems as I rely on the Vendor Id to exchange data between the apps on a certain device. In an enterprise environment, does anyone know of any other reason or things that could affect the Vendor Id? According to Apple docs, it seems that only the bundle name affects the vendor id but it isn't following those rules in this instance.
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224
Jun ’25
macOS 26 Launch Constraints
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!
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4d
system extension failed to validate
I facing issue where the system extension i try to install have message: no related kext found for sysex 'com.apple.usbsoundriver' com.apple.usbsoundriver:extension failed to validate! uninstalling... uninstalling invalid extension com.apple.usbsoundriver Is internet access is required for system extension validation? I install the driver without internet access. This work in some others machine, only fresh reformated Mac machine without internet connection have this issue. Why is this so?
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1.2k
Oct ’24
Entitlement granted to Bundle does not appear in the Capabilities list
Hello Apple support, A few days ago, I received an e-mail granting the entitlement for Critical Alerts to my app VIAWEB Mobile, bundle ID br.com.viawebsystem.VIAWEBservice . This was my second attempt: in the first time I requested the entitlement for all our apps, but it was denied. This time I requested for just our main app, and now it was approved. I have just followed several tutorials and instructions available on the Internet, but I couldn't enable this capability in my app. What I tried and where I stopped: In my Xcode 16.4, target "VIAWEB Mobile", Signing & Capabilities, All: unchecked the Automatic manage signing and checked again, selected the correct Team. In the iOS section, Xcode Managed Profile, click in the little "i" and there is no Critical Alerts in the Capabilities list, nor com.apple.developer.usernotifications.critical-alerts in the Entitlements list. And so, there is no Critical Alerts in the "+ Capability" window. If I go to Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, Identifiers, and click to edit my App ID Configuration, there is no Critical Alerts to enable in the Capabilities list. In Capability Requests, I just see the plus sign next to Critical Alerts (to make an additional request), and the status Approved when I click on View Requests (2). Can you provide me with updated instructions on how I can enable this entitlement for my app? Thank you! Best regards, The VIAWEB Developer Team.
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Gatekeeper rejects notarized app ("Unnotarized Developer ID") when using necessary entitlements
Hello everyone, I'm hoping to get some guidance on a frustrating codesigning issue. I have a macOS application that successfully completes the entire notarization and stapling process, but it is still rejected by Gatekeeper during the final verification step. The rejection only happens when I apply the entitlements that I believe are necessary for my app's functionality. The application is built with PyInstaller and has the following components: A main executable written in Python. A bundled Tcl/Tk instance for the GUI. Embedded Playwright components, which include the Node.js runtime and a full Chromium browser instance. These are located deep inside the .app bundle. The Problem The core of my application relies on Playwright to perform some automated tasks, and its bundled Chromium browser requires specific entitlements to function under the Hardened Runtime. Specifically, it needs com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit and com.apple.security.cs.allow-unsigned-executable-memory. My signing process is as follows: Prepare Entitlements: I use two separate .plist files: main_app_entitlements.plist: This is for the main Python executable and only contains com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit. jit_helper_entitlements.plist: This is for the node and Chromium Helper executables within the Playwright framework. It contains both com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit and com.apple.security.cs.allow-unsigned-executable-memory. Inside-Out Signing: I perform a deep signing process. I find all binaries, dylibs, and frameworks, sort them by path length (deepest first), and sign each one individually with the appropriate entitlements. The main .app bundle is signed last. Notarization: I zip the .app bundle and submit it using xcrun notarytool submit --wait. The tool reports a successful notarization every time. Stapling: I use xcrun stapler staple on the .app bundle, and it confirms that the ticket was successfully stapled. The point of failure The final step is to verify the result with spctl: spctl --assess --type execute --verbose --ignore-cache "MyApp.app" This is where it fails. The output is: MyApp.app: rejected source=Unnotarized Developer ID This "Unnotarized Developer ID" message is confusing because xcrun notarytool and stapler both report complete success. The crucial detail If I run the entire process without any entitlements—just signing with the Hardened Runtime enabled—the final spctl assessment passes. However, the application then crashes at runtime as soon as it tries to use Playwright, which is expected since the browser helpers are missing their required JIT entitlements. My question Is there a known issue where using com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit or com.apple.security.cs.allow-unsigned-executable-memory on nested helper executables can invalidate an otherwise successful notarization? Is my strategy of applying different, granular entitlements to different executables within the same app bundle correct? Could the issue be related to how or when these entitlements are applied during an "inside-out" signing process? Is there a better way to structure the signing of these complex components? I'm confident the notarization itself is working, but it seems Gatekeeper's local assessment is stricter and is being tripped up by my entitlement configuration. Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions you can provide
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467
Jul ’25
Why xcodebuild in Xcode 16 in our CI logs out the Apple ID and creates a new one
Hello, We use automatic signing and Fastlane on our CI. Fastlane uses xcodebuild to create an archive. xcodebuild -workspace ourApp.xcworkspace -scheme app-dev -destination generic/platform=iOS -archivePath app-dev.xcarchive -skipPackagePluginValidation -allowProvisioningUpdates -authenticationKeyID OurAppStoreConnectAuthKey -authenticationKeyIssuerID OurAppStoreConnectAuthKeyIssuerId -authenticationKeyPath /path/to/OurAppStoreConnectKey.p8 clean archive All works fine, but .... Why does Xcode 16 log out logged Apple ID and create a new every build? As a result, we have more and more Unknown Apple IDs in Xcode, and for each of them an error appears in log. Error: xcodebuild[3174:1804334] DVTDeveloperAccountManager: Failed to load credentials for 0A1DF15C-ETC-ETC: Error Domain=DVTDeveloperAccountCredentialsError Code=0 "Invalid credentials in keychain for 0A1DF15C-ETC-ETC, missing Xcode-Username" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Invalid credentials in keychain for 0A1DF15C-ETC-ETC, missing Xcode-Username} Of course, the originally logged-in Apple ID has an error corresponding to his non-logged-in state. xcodebuild[3174:1804334] DVTDeveloperAccountManager: Failed to load credentials for originally_logged-in_user: Error Domain=DVTDeveloperAccountCredentialsError Code=0 "Invalid credentials in keychain for originally_logged-in_user, missing Xcode-Token" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Invalid credentials in keychain for originally_logged-in_user, missing Xcode-Token} Why does this happen and how can it be fixed? Why does Xcode 16 log out its logged Apple ID?
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4.0k
Mar ’25
Keychain issues after installing backup on new Mac
After using backup to setup my new Mac Mini my xCode App projects run ok in the Simulator but fail to Archive or Analyze with the error: "The specified item could not be found in the keychain." The item is a provisioning profile. I was able to Run, Archive and Validate these projects on my old Mac Mini just before the final backup. Are there known problems in backup of provisioning profiles or keychains? I have tried creating new profiles etc without success for several days. I'm not an expert developer so I'm hoping there is a simple solution. Please suggest the best way to resolve and/or clarify this problem.
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1.1k
Dec ’24
Checking DMG notarization. Rejected, but works fine
I have a misterous problem with checking DMG notarization. It fails: bash-3.2$ spctl -a -t open --context context:primary-signature -v MyApp.dmg MyApp: rejected source=no usable signature However this DMG installs fine on Big Sur 11.2.2, macOS allows to run this app, and checking of notarization for installed app was passed: bash-3.2$ spctl -a -v '/Applications/MyApp.app' /Applications/MyApp.app: accepted source=Notarized Developer ID I checked other downloaded apps (Intel or Universal). Some DMG files pass DMG notarization (for example, Audacity), and some fails (PerfectTablePlan). Why? For my app (Universal) I use the following code to codesign and notarize: codesign --timestamp --options runtime --force --deep -s "Developer ID Application: MYCOMPANY" "My.app" // Creating DMG with EULA license xcrun altool --notarize-app --primary-bundle-id MyApp -u "my@email.com" -p "abc123" --file MyApp.dmg xcrun stapler staple MyApp.dmg
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6.7k
Mar ’25
unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer
Having reviewed every document, this has been going on for nearly two months. Originally, it was thought that the problem might be related to the fact I had created the developer ID signing certificate on an intel mac, and trying to import and use it on an M1 Mac-Mini. That turned out to not be the case. Completely started over with a new account (the company changed names), requested and was granted the entitlements we needed. Create a new CSR from this new m1 machine, created a Developer ID certificate, installed the certificate on this machine. But no matter what, the codesign fails. Troubleshooting Environment: Brand new Apple Developer account and Developer ID Application certificate (generated CSR on this Mac, installed cert and private key in login keychain) macOS build/signing machine, not running codesign as root Working from Terminal app in GUI session, not via SSH/cron Keychain & Certificate Chain: Verified Developer ID Application: Fidelis Security LLC (J4WGF5B6KZ) certificate and private key are present in login keychain Verified certificate is marked as trusted and has a private key attached Developer ID Certification Authority present and trusted in System keychain (removed any extra from login) Evaluate certificate assistant shows everything is good Apple Root CA present and trusted in System keychain Set all trust settings back to System Defaults after testing with “Always Trust” No expired or duplicate Developer ID intermediates present codesign Troubleshooting: Ran: codesign --force --timestamp --options runtime --sign "Developer ID Application: Fidelis Security LLC (J4WGF5B6KZ)" ./fidelisevents Consistently received: Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer ... errSecInternalComponent Confirmed correct identity using: security find-identity -v -p codesigning (Shows my Developer ID Application cert as valid) Keychain order confirmed with security list-keychains Tried explicit --keychain argument in codesign (no change) Additional Steps Attempted: Downloaded and re-installed all relevant Apple intermediates/root certificates from https://www.apple.com/certificateauthority/ Rebooted the Mac and killed/restarted the securityd daemon Confirmed no use of sudo or root for codesigning Verified keychain is unlocked Checked that partition list grants access to codesign (set with security set-key-partition-list -S "apple:codesign:" -s -k "" ~/Library/Keychains/login.keychain-db) Attempted to codesign a copy of /usr/bin/true (same error) Ran codesign both with and without --timestamp, both on app bundle and binary Keychain Access showing: Certificate and private key present and linked Correct trust chain System keychain containing all Apple intermediates/roots No trust warnings or red Xs Downloaded the latest Apple CA and Developer ID Root certificates and installed those. None of the forum searches have helped. AI is likewise confused.
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215
Jun ’25
Codesign -- force not signing 3rd Pty binaries
This math-educational 3D-graphics courseware utilizes Java3D, which sits on top of hardware-dependent JOGAMP binaries (which instruct at the GPU-level). This code signing command applied to the installer .dmg: codesign -s "myName" --force --options runtime ~/DFG2D_MacOS_Manufacturing/MacOSInstallers/DFG2D_Mac_J1602_x86/DataflowGeometry2D-1.0.300.dmg is supposed to force signing of all the embedded binaries, BUT the notary tool finds about 25 jogamp-fat dynamic libraries (/ *.dylib) UNSIGNED. Processing complete id: 23d81a99-4087-48d2-a567-8072dd2820fe status: Invalid pierrebierre@Pierres-iMac ~ % xcrun notarytool log 17d2fe94-f38a-47d4-9568-cf4dc65f24c9 --apple-id "xxxxxxxxxxx" --team-id "XXXXXXXXX" --password pwpwpwpwpw { "logFormatVersion": 1, "jobId": "17d2fe94-f38a-47d4-9568-cf4dc65f24c9", "status": "Invalid", "statusSummary": "Archive contains critical validation errors", "statusCode": 4000, "archiveFilename": "DataflowGeometry2D-1.0.300.dmg", "uploadDate": "2025-07-13T21:28:21.147Z", "sha256": "57320c4ad4a07f144336084152bf7e3328f8c5694dd568d2cfd23a596b5b3b13", "ticketContents": null, "issues": [ { "severity": "error", "code": null, "path": "DataflowGeometry2D-1.0.300.dmg/DataflowGeometry2D.app/Contents/app/DFG2D_Mac_x86_300.jar/lib/jogamp-fat/jogamp-fat.jar/natives/macosx-universal/libnativewindow_awt.dylib", "message": "The binary is not signed.", "docUrl": "https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution/resolving_common_notarization_issues#3087721", "architecture": "x86_64" }, { "severity": "error", "code": null, "path": "DataflowGeometry2D-1.0.300.dmg/DataflowGeometry2D.app/Contents/app/DFG2D_Mac_x86_300.jar/lib/jogamp-fat/jogamp-fat.jar/natives/macosx-universal/libnativewindow_awt.dylib", "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" }, What is your advice on how to get these binaries signed?
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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386
Aug ’25
Launch Constraint Violation
When I try to launch my own Java app, I get the following error message. xpcproxy exited due to OS_REASON_CODESIGNING | Launch Constraint Violation, error info: c[5]p[1]m[1]e[0], (Constraint not matched) launch type 3, failure proc [vc: 1]: /bin/bash As far as I know, the failing process path is /bin/bash. This issue is only happening on macOS Sequoia. The Java app works without any issue on MacOS Sonoma or any previous macOS versions. I did not make any changes, including launch constraints or any other settings. After updating to macOS Sequoia, I started getting this error and can no longer launch my app. Thank you so much.
9
1
1.2k
Oct ’24
Notarization stuck on "In Progress"
Hi there, this is the first time I submitted a Mac app for notarization but looks like all my submissions are stuck in in progress for like one day at the moment. Can anyone help take a look? This is my submission history: Successfully received submission history. history -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-01-16T00:23:18.445Z id: 0581680c-9cfe-4e5b-9cc9-3ba101c9fd52 name: MiniCalendar.zip status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-01-15T05:12:13.480Z id: 55a03297-491b-4d30-8126-45d488a6beb9 name: MiniCalendar.zip status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-01-15T04:27:40.510Z id: 092f558f-01d0-48e5-9761-58dda54de23c name: MiniCalendar.zip status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-01-15T01:12:55.923Z id: 3aa74a6f-bcb8-4911-9d18-fcbb3e9a6c11 name: MiniCalendar.zip status: In Progress
9
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667
Jan ’25