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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Xcode 16.2 cannot sign developer app (AppKit) after upgraded to macOS 15.3
After I upgraded to macOS 15.3, all of my current Xcode project have the signing issue, I spent half day and I didn't make any progress, I tried two projects, one is Swift AppKit App calling one C++ dylib, another one is a pure Swift AppKit app, when I build, there will be error: Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "Apple Development: Steven Tang (XXXXX)" /Volumes/TwoTSSD/steventang/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/ImageEnhancement-ddbilgyraofrdyfeljyuknusunza/Build/Products/Release/ImageEnhancement.app: errSecInternalComponent I tried remove account, add account back in Xcode, none of it worked, also tried ChatGPT's WWDR updating and it won't help.
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1.2k
Feb ’25
Notarize with Enterprise API Key
Hello! I've been facing an issue with notarizing a macOS app with an Enterprise API Key. Due to some misunderstanding setting up the project some years ago, the notarization step was using a developer's accounts API Key. I am looking to fix it to have everything centralized in the Enterprise account we work with, but I get "Debug [JWT] Generating new JWT for key ID" with the new key. This is using the xcrun notarytool directly to get more input. Using Fastlane it fails as: Error polling for notarization info: [11:29:25]: unexpected token at '' The project is deployed via MDM, so we need it to prevent the security warning. I used this documentation to create the key: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/enterpriseprogramapi/creating-api-keys-for-enterprise-program-api I have tried a Developer and an Admin access key, and the Account Holder has also created an Admin key but the errors keep the same. I just updated my Fastlane script to use the new key with the updated values. The old developer account key still works. I am not sure if I am missing any steps in the documentation or if this is not achievable. Important to add that all the profiles and certificates were already set up properly in the Enterprise account, the only error was using an App Store Connect Key instead of an Enterprise Key. Thanks in advance for the help.
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930
Feb ’25
Xcode Signing and Capabilities
I'm currently befuddled by the entire signing and certificate process. I don't understand what I need, what the team admin needs to do, or how to go about doing it so that I can build the project. We've managed to have this working in the past but I guess the system has changed somewhat. Here's what we have going: A Unity project which hasn't changed from a few years ago. I build the project in unity, open the Xcode project and this: There's an issue with the Signing and Capabilities. If I choose automatic setup it shows an error saying that it requires a development team. I had the account admin add my Apple ID to the team so I'm not sure why that's an issue still. Do I need to pay the 99$ to be able to building Xcode? If I try to do it manually I select the provisioning profile that the account admin sent me and it auto selects the team associated with the provisioning profile I guess but then there's no singing certificate. The error says: There is no signing certificate "iOS Development" found. No "iOS Development" signing certificate matching team ID "V7D5YBZRMV" with a private key was found. So, if someone could explain to me like I'm 5 the entire signing and certificate process is and let me know what we're doing wrong with the team/provisioning profile/certificate setup I would be very much appreciative.
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4.1k
Aug ’25
Team is not yet configured for notarization. Please contact Developer Programs Support at developer.apple.com under the topic Development and Technical / Other Development or Technical Questions
I had submitted my app for notarization and it shows the below error - "status": "Rejected", "statusSummary": "Team is not yet configured for notarization. Please contact Developer Programs Support at developer.apple.com under the topic Development and Technical / Other Development or Technical Questions.", "statusCode": 7000, I have raised a ticket in the support but no reply yet. Kindly help ASAP
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604
Apr ’25
A Couple of Questions Regarding Certificates and Siging
Hello All, I am trying to do my research, but wanted to ask for confirmation and clarification on a couple of points. We are currently developing and app for a client, we would like to distribute the ipa to them via our own site, rather than running through the app store upload. It's not going to be a public facing app. We used to have access to the Enterprise side of things, but this was removed when Apple added the minmum employees restriction. I'm assuming that we would need to use the Developer ID Application certificate? But I was also wondering if more than one person can have this certificate on their machines to create builds? I appreciate that these may be obvious to some, but I'm fairly new to signing apps etc. Thanks for your help.
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609
Oct ’24
Gatekepper acts against .app package developed by a freelancer for our company
I am responsible for the mobile app and thus also of the apple developer and app store connect accounts of a company. An external freelancer developed a software package for us which we aim to offer for installation and use on macOS systems of our customers; distributed exclusively outside of the Apple App Store. The software package has nothing to do with the mobile app. MacOS' Gatekeeper currently warns or even prevents our customers regarding the installation of the package on their device; pretty much as described here: https://developer.apple.com/developer-id/. According to a previous talk with Apple's Support, the software package (.app) the Freelancer developed must be signed with one of our own certificates. As we cannot grant selective app store connect access to third persons (only for the concerned certificates), we prefer to not provide access to our entire apple developer account to the freelancer, for the sole reason of the certificate & signing process. According to previous attempts with Apples' support regarding the most feasible solution in this case, they recommended me to manage the signing of the package of the freelancer, and simply request the package from the freelancer. I've thus generated an according Developer ID Certificate, but regarding the signing process, I'm confused. I know how signing works with mobile apps in XCode, but regarding software that is not distributed throughout the App Store on macOS, I'm unsure about the process. Also, as far as I know, the entitlements of the application are involved in the signing process. So my concern is that simply having the software package (.app) from the freelancer is not really enough to complete the signing + notarization process? Won't I need further information about the app's entitlements etc.? I would like to have a clear solution about the procedure that is required in these cases, as online documentations and / or forums as well as previous talks with your non-technical support from Apple did not resolve the issue.
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91
Aug ’25
Can't Get Past Code Signing Error When Building Flutter App
Hi, I developed a Flutter app that works well in the iOS simulator, but that fails to deploy on my physical iPhone 13 Pro Max. Here is the error I get: Target debug_unpack_ios failed: Exception: Failed to codesign /Users//Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/Runner-/Build/Products/Debug-iphoneos/Flutter.framework/Flutter with identity I've followed all the instructions that I found online, like moving my project from cloud storage to my local hard drive, but nothing has worked. Thank you so much for your help!
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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101
Apr ’25
Looks like the signed app losing entitlements
We would like to codesign up for the app that uses LuaJIT to be downloadable as the app with the identified developer on Apple silicon macOS. It means no targeting to the App Store which can be problematic due to LuaJIT usage. Looks like there is no problem making the application run with the signature, but the performance is really bad. All times are for running on an M2 chip, MacOS Sonoma 14.6. Our x86_64 build works fine. Reference LuaJIT benchmark takes around 0.15 seconds (seed 2, 100 runs). Same build for arm64 with ad-hoc signature, no entitlements, and needs around 1.8 seconds (seed 2, 100 runs) to run the same benchmark code. I created luajit_app in Xcode to investigate. It simply opens a window, you select Lua script, and it runs it and prints output to the text area. Signed by my developer ID, run from Xcode immediately after build: I see the same behaviors for the x86_64 build. It needs around 0.43 seconds (seed 2, 1000 runs) to finish the benchmark code. The arm64 build without added entitlements needs around 16 seconds (seed 2, 1000 runs). Added entitlements com.apple.security.cs.disable-executable-page-protection: The arm64 build typically needs around 0.14 seconds (seed 2, 1000 runs). Added entitlements com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit which fixed LuaJIT to use MAP_JIT flag: The arm64 build typically needs around 0.14 seconds (seed 2, 1000 runs). 2nd and other app runs need around 19 seconds for benchmark. Ad-hoc signed without developer ID and team, com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit: Run from Xcode The first app runs after the build/rebuild The arm64 build typically needs around 0.14 seconds (seed 2, 1000 runs), but the first run sometimes takes around 5 seconds (seed 2, 1000 runs). 2nd and next runs of the app The arm64 build typically needs around 19 seconds (seed 2, 1000 runs). Bad signed, signature fix from the command line: Signed with codesign --force --deep --sign MYID -o runtime --entitlements entitlements.plist luajit_app_bad_sign.app or AD-HOC Behaviors are similar to Xcode runs. The first time the app runs usually takes around 5 seconds and 0.14 seconds later for benchmark script. Sometimes first benchmark runs takes 5 seconds, the second run 19 seconds and later runs take 0.14 seconds. Later app runs typically fall to 19 seconds needed to do benchmark script. End I have also tried ad-hoc and the developer signature with both entitlements for the origin app, but no difference in time needs for the benchmark was observed. Any ideas what is going on?
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679
Sep ’24
Notarization still in progress after almost 3 hours
My app has been attempting to notarize for almost 3 hours now. The status page shows everything is ok: https://developer.apple.com/system-status/ Anyone else experiencing this? Anything I can do to expedite the process? xcrun notarytool history Successfully received submission history. history -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2024-12-29T01:20:45.358Z id: 449ebcdd-60eb-41e3-87a7-8107fe6276c3 name: Scourhead.zip status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2024-12-29T00:51:10.641Z id: 0054eebd-ddcc-4eb3-928f-86ce2182dbfe name: Scourhead.zip status: In Progress
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671
Dec ’24
Is it Possible to Have Stray Content in a macOS Framework?
Is it possible to have some additional content at Versions/A/ in a macOS Framework bundle that is not in any of the standard folders? Will there be any side-effects during signing and notarization? The reason is it'd be a lot easier in my use case to be able to put content here instead of the Resources folder.
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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May ’25
Keychain Access won't let me Export to a .p12 file
I've successfully distributed a Java-based app .dmg from my intel iMac, but am trying to port over the signing authority ( Certificate and Identity) to an M2. I'm following the "backup your Identities" recipe to make a .p12 file, but I can't complete the Export. The .p12 file format option is greyed out (while .pem and .cer are offered). What could be causing this? I can sign my .dmg installers from this computer, so codesign is happy with what it is seeing in the Keychain.
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482
Aug ’25
Code Signing or Xcode adding mysterious entitlements that not exist in project
Hello Engineers My app was rejected with the message below, BUT I don't have this entitlements in my project! I already removed all Xcode files under ${HOME}/Developer/Xcode, but the problem still alive! Guideline 2.4.5(i) - Performance In order to continue reviewing your app, we require additional information. Your app uses one or more entitlements which do not appear to have matching functionality within the app. Please reply to this message in App Store Connect and describe how and where the app uses the following entitlements. You will not need to upload a new binary to provide this information. Apps should have only the minimum set of entitlements necessary for the app to function properly. If there are entitlements that are not needed, please remove them and submit an updated binary. You will need to Developer Reject the app to upload an updated version. "com.apple.security.assets.pictures.read-write" "com.apple.security.assets.movies.read-write" "com.apple.security.assets.music.read-write" "com.apple.security.files.downloads.read-write" Here my entitlements: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>com.apple.security.app-sandbox</key> <true/> <key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key> <array> <string>group.org.eof.apps</string> </array> <key>com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-write</key> <true/> </dict> </plist> code-block Who or where are these entitlements inserted? Which button should be clicked to deactivate them? Link to my project: DRFXBuilder Regards
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170
Jul ’25
login item still displays my personal name after migrating to company account
I have a mac app which has a launch agent. I signed it with my account, but it always shows as my personal 'XX ***" in the login items of mac settings. Actually this is the reason I switched my personal account to a company account. But now it is still shown as 'XX ***' in the login items after I signed up again with this company account. Do you know how I can change this? The identity I also tried to create a new one with the team, but it does not allow me to create a new one. Chatgpt recommends revoking the current one, but this will affect our old release.
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131
Aug ’25
Universal Link
Hello, I'm developing a feature for my app, that allows users to challenge their friends. The friend request functionality is built using Universal Links, but I've run into a significant issue. The Universal Links are correctly deep-linking into the app. However, once the app opens, nothing happens—the friend request acceptance or rejection flow does not occur. This prevents users from completing friend requests and building their friend list. Here are examples of the Universal Links I'm generating: https://www.strike-force.app/invite?type=invite&amp;amp;userID=... https://www.strike-force.app/invite?type=invite&amp;amp;friendRequestID=... https://www.strike-force.app/profile?userID=... I've recently updated my cloudflare-worker.js to serve a paths array of ["*"] in the AASA file, so I believe the links themselves should be valid. Technical Details &amp;amp; Error Logs In the console, I am consistently seeing the following error message: Cannot issue sandbox extension for URL:https://www.strike-force.app/invite?token=7EF1E439-090B-4DF2-BE64-9904F50A3F8B Received port for identifier response: &amp;lt;(null)&amp;gt; with error:Error Domain=RBSServiceErrorDomain Code=1 "Client not entitled" UserInfo={RBSEntitlement=com.apple.runningboard.process-state, NSLocalizedFailureReason=Client not entitled, RBSPermanent=false} elapsedCPUTimeForFrontBoard couldn't generate a task port This error appears to be related to entitlements and process state, but I am not sure if it's the root cause of the Universal Link issue or a separate problem. The 'Client not entitled' error on line 3 has had me chasing down entitlements issues. But, I've added the Associated Domains entitlement with the proper applink URLs and verified this in my Developer Portal. I've regenerated my provisioning profile, manually installed it, and selected/de-selected Automatically Manage Signing. As well I've verified my AASA file and it's correctly being served via HTTPS and returning a 200. curl -i https://strike-force.app/.well-known/apple-app-site-association curl -i https://www.strike-force.app/.well-known/apple-app-site-association I am looking for guidance on why the friend request flow is not being triggered after a successful deep-link and how I can fix the related error. Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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2w
Certificate Revocation Impact
Background We are using a Developer ID application certificate to sign our application. We lost the private key and we need to revoke it before we can receive a new one. Per documentation (https://developer.apple.com/support/certificates/), I know that previously installed applications will still be able to run, but new installations will not be able to work. I want to confirm what will happen when we revoke the certificate so we know how to prepare customers for this upcoming change. Questions Will existing installations of the application receive a notice that the certificate has been revoked? Will previously installed applications be able to launch again after they are closed? What will the user see when they try to install the application with the revoked certificate?
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3.1k
Aug ’25
Notarised and Stapled App is not running Embedded Python Interpreter
Hi Apple community, many thanks in advance for your help. My macOS app embeds a Python interpreter, compiled from source, including the Python executable and its associated libraries. We have tried compiling the project with Xcode 16.0 and 16.1 beta 2 over MacOS Sequoia 15.0 and 15.1 This is how the project looks like: SampleApp.app SampleApp.app/Contents SampleApp.app/Contents/MacOS SampleApp.app/Contents/MacOS/SampleApp SampleApp.app/Contents/MacOS/bin SampleApp.app/Contents/MacOS/bin/python3.11 SampleApp.app/Contents/Resources SampleApp.app/Contents/Resources/lib SampleApp.app/Contents/Resources/lib/python3.11 SampleApp.app/Contents/Resources/Info.plist Since we want to 'initially' distribute the app directly, Python binary is signed as follows: codesign --deep --force --options runtime --timestamp --sign "$DEVELOPER_ID_APPLICATION" "$BINARY_PATH" App entitlements contain the next entries: &amp;lt;key&amp;gt;com.apple.security.app-sandbox&amp;lt;/key&amp;gt; &amp;lt;true/&amp;gt; &amp;lt;key&amp;gt;com.apple.security.files.downloads.read-write&amp;lt;/key&amp;gt; &amp;lt;true/&amp;gt; &amp;lt;key&amp;gt;com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-only&amp;lt;/key&amp;gt; &amp;lt;true/&amp;gt; &amp;lt;key&amp;gt;com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-write&amp;lt;/key&amp;gt; &amp;lt;true/&amp;gt; &amp;lt;key&amp;gt;com.apple.security.network.client&amp;lt;/key&amp;gt; &amp;lt;true/&amp;gt; &amp;lt;key&amp;gt;com.apple.security.network.server&amp;lt;/key&amp;gt; &amp;lt;true/&amp;gt; The resulting app is signed with entitlements, notarised and stapled. Once the app is running, we can see the next error on Console: Prompting policy for hardened runtime; service: kTCCServiceAppleEvents requires entitlement com.apple.security.automation.apple-events but it is missing for accessing={TCCDProcess: identifier=[IDENTIFIER]], pid=58826, auid=502, euid=502, binary_path=[PATH]}, requesting={TCCDProcess: identifier=com.apple.appleeventsd, pid=824, auid=55, euid=55, binary_path=/System/Library/CoreServices/appleeventsd}, Python process is not running, we can't see any AMFI message. Next we added to Signing and Capabilities 'Apple Events' from Hardened Runtime section. The resulting app gets signed, notarised and stapled, but when running we get only the next errors: error 09:42:32.787744+0200 SampleApp Can't find or decode reasons error 09:42:32.787832+0200 SampleApp Failed to get or decode unavailable reasons Just in case it is relevant, this is how the app interacts with Python: process.executableURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: [PATH_TO_PYTHON_BIN]) process.environment = environment process.arguments = arguments process.standardOutput = pipe try process.run() process.waitUntilExit() We truly appreciate any guidance, help or advice. Thanks!!
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767
Oct ’24
security policy does not allow @ path expansion
I’ve been working on a Catalyst version of my iOS apps. Finally everything is working apart from the custom intents the user user to configure the widgets. The config UI loads: And changing settings at this level works. But it can’t load the options for the other settings: “No options were provided for this parameter” I see this crash in the intent: Termination Reason: Namespace DYLD, Code 1 Library missing Library not loaded: @rpath/CocoaLumberjack.framework/Versions/A/CocoaLumberjack Referenced from: <E1BF4CC5-4181-3272-828C-86B1CD1A66BF> /Applications/my.app/Contents/PlugIns/Intents.appex/Contents/MacOS/Intents Reason: , (security policy does not allow @ path expansion) (terminated at launch; ignore backtrace) I have added the Hardened Runtime Capability to the Main App Target, the Widget Target and the Intents Target. I also allowed “Disable Library Validation” just in case. What am I missing?
5
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187
Mar ’25