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

All subtopics
Posts under Code Signing topic

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

Apple TV as iPod in Apple Developer Center
I have a bizzare issue with my Apple TV that is shown as "iPod" in Apple developer portal. It's correctly visible in Xcode as Apple TV, but when I add it to developer portal it says "iPod". The problem is since it's there as an iPod I can't use it to my provisioning profile to build on the device Anyone has any idea how this can be solved? [Edited by Moderator]
4
1
875
Dec ’24
Trying to distribute app to Apple Store
I created an MadOS app with xcode 16.5 with a developer id certificate. I've been trying to install a distribution certificate for over a week with several co-workers. I can add a distribution certificate to my key chain, and created a provisioning profile. I've tried every combination but none work. I put xcode in automatic signing but can only see my developer id, if I put it in manual with and without a provisioning profile but if I give the app binary, other users can't run the app because the certificate isn't working. I need support to work with me to look the developer portal and my system to figure this out.
4
0
112
Jun ’25
Code signing for local, dev/staging, and production
We have a MacOS application that we plan on distributing standalone (it'll be installed through MDM or directly, not through the app store). We utilize endpoint security and full disk access for this (enterprise) app. I have a makefile that uses codesign to sign the app inside-out. All that appears to work (i.e., when I try to run the app directly it functions as I expect it to). What's the recommended way to allow the developers in my team to also sign the app for local development so it functions as close as possible to production? My first thought is to distribute the developer identity to their machines using MDM. However, ideally i'd like to rule out the ability for a developer who has the MDM profile assigned to export the keys. That really only leaves a centralized solution in place or disabling SIP on their system (which I don't want to do). Alternatively, would creating a separate identity for production make more sense, so that in the case the developer certificate is revoked, the production releases continue to function as normal (however, I assume this would also require creating two different profiles for the endpoint security entitlement--one for each certificate). Thanks! Derek
4
0
445
Feb ’25
Unable to validate with app sandbox issues
My app is a Safari extension. When trying to validate the app, I get the following error: App sandbox not enabled. The following executables must include the "com.apple.security.app-sandbox" entitlement with a Boolean value of true in the entitlements property list: [( "app.rango.Rango.pkg/Payload/Rango for Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Rango for Safari" )] Refer to App Sandbox page at https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/app_sandbox for more information on sandboxing your app. I don't know why this is happening. I have app sandbox enabled in both the app and the extension target. I have both entitlement files. When executing codesign -d --entitlements :- /path/to/binary I get the following: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "https://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.files.user-selected.read-only</key><true/><key>com.apple.security.get-task-allow</key><true/><key>com.apple.security.network.client</key><true/></dict></plist> If I check on Activity Monitor, on the sandbox column it shows true. I have no idea why I keep getting this error when all indicates that the app is actually sandboxed.
4
0
489
Feb ’25
How to distribute DEXT during development and to the public
To learn how to develop/distribute a DriverKit driver (DEXT) and a UserClient app correctly, I am trying to run the following sample dext and app. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/driverkit/communicating-between-a-driverkit-extension-and-a-client-app?language=objc I walked throught steps in README.md included in the project and faced issues. First, I referred the "Configure the Sample Code Project" section in the README.md and configured the sample code project to build with automatic signing. I could run the app and activate the dext successfully and made sure the app could communicate with the dext. Next, I tried the manual signing. I followed steps described in the "Configure the Sample Code Project" section carefully. The following entitlements has already been assigned to my team account. DriverKit Allow Any UserClient Access DriverKit USB Transport - VendorID DriverKit I could build both app and dext and could run the app. However, when I clicked the "Install Dext" button to activate the dext, I got the following error: sysex didFailWithError: extension category returned error Am I missing something? I would also like to know detailed steps to publicly distribute my dext and app using our Developer ID Application Certificate, as README.md only shows how to configure the project for development. Xcode version: 16.3 (16E140) Development OS: macOS 15.5 (24F74) Target OS: macOS 15.5 (24F74)
4
0
138
May ’25
unzip identifier is not unique?
In Swift I'm using unzip by launching a Process to unzip a file. I added a launchRequirement to the process in order to make sure the executable is code signed by Apple and the identifier is com.apple.unzip. After testing out my code on another machines (both physical and virtual), I found out that in some the identifier is actually com.apple.zipinfo, which broke the SigningIdentifier requirement. It's safe to assume that /usr/bin/unzip can be trusted since it's in a System Integrity Protection (SIP) location, but I'm wondering why this executable has different identifiers?
4
1
112
Aug ’25
compile code required signing from unexisting user
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
4
0
268
1d
Unable to install Audio App Extension on iOS Device
I keep getting this error when trying to install Audio app extension. Everything is reviewed from certificates to profiles, for some reason CreatingCustomAudioEffects sample is deployed correctly but when Creating new Project (Audio Extension App) from new project Option, it doesn't work at all. If I remove Extension from Frameworks and deploy app, then no problem but then App crashes as extension is missing. Something wrong with Xcode? I am pretty sure it used to build new projects but not anymore. Failed to verify code signature of /var/installd/Library/Caches/com.apple.mobile.installd.staging/temp.0k1RXy/extracted/AudioUnitsAppExtensionTest.app : 0xe8008015 (A valid provisioning profile for this executable was not found.) Please ensure sure that your app is signed by a valid provisioning profile. If this issue persists, please attach the following when sending a report to Apple: A sysdiagnose from this Mac A sysdiagnose from the device failing installation An IPA of the app failing installation
4
1
571
Feb ’25
App signing fails after account upgrade
New to working with xcode and building apps. I started last weekend, and deploying to my usb connected iPhone 16 was working great all week. Yesterday, I upgraded to a paid developer account to start using TestFlight, and I could no longer deploy to my phone. Failed to install embedded profile for com.spred.spred-alpha : 0xe800801a (This provisioning profile does not have a valid signature (or it has a valid, but untrusted signature).) i using automatic provisioning - not a custom provisioning profile. i have tried: deleting all the certificates in keychain for my developer account and recreating them, and also doing the same in the developer portal. logging out and logging back in with my developer id in xcode deleting the app bundle directory and all other associated files in the Xcode/DerivedData directory reinstalling Xcode cleaning my build directory and trying again. changing the bundle identifier to a new name. (It always matches the portal app name) Among other things. It just won’t work. I can run the app inn a simulator, but not get it deployed to my phone. what else can I do? The only things I can think of are that somehow Xcode is still stuck using the free account somehow, or that the free account cert originally used expired after 7 days, and now I’m in some stuck state.
4
0
198
4d
Xcode failed to provision target. File a bug report...
I do have background Modes added to Xcode. How can I fix this? Automatic signing failed Xcode failed to provision this target. Please file a bug report at https://feedbackassistant.apple.com and include the Update Signing report from the Report navigator. Provisioning profile "iOS Team Provisioning Profile: com.designoverhaul.bladerunner" doesn't include the com.apple.developer.background-modes entitlement. I emailed Dev Support but they said they cant help. Thank you.
4
0
198
May ’25
Urgent: xcrun notary submit Stuck - Notarization Process Halted
Hi everyone, Native Instruments is encountering a critical issue with the notarization process. The xcrun notary submit command appears to be stuck and is not completing, preventing us from notarizing our apps. Specifically, the command hangs indefinitely. This issue started today. We've already tried the following troubleshooting steps: Cancelling and re-running the command Checking my internet connection Checking the Apple System Status page Cleaning the build folder using a different machine This is a major blocker for our company, as it's preventing from from us from testing and releasing some of our products. It seems to be a similar issue as reported in https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/772542?page=2. Has anyone else experienced xcrun notary submit getting stuck like this? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm particularly interested in knowing if there are any known issues with the notarization service currently. Details about my setup: Xcode Version: 16.1 macOS Version: 14.7.1 App Type: macOS app Thanks in advance for your help!
4
1
485
Feb ’25
The staple and validate action failed! Error 65.
I've tried to sign/notarize/staple my Electron app via electron-builder, using electron-notarize. I tried it as well in cmd line - both times, same result. Code signing runs without a problem. Notarize (I did wait two days first time, now it's couple of minutes) Stapling - failure `Downloaded ticket has been stored at file:///var/folders/.... Could not validate ticket for.... The staple and validate action failed! Error 65. ` I've checked, and the tickets are downloaded to said folder. My process: `codesign --deep --force --options runtime \ --entitlements build/entitlements.mac.plist \ --sign "Developer ID Application: Pete..." \ dist/mac-arm64/Modelist.app` ditto -c -k --sequesterRsrc --keepParent dist/mac-arm64/Modelist.app dist/mac-arm64/Modelist.zip xcrun notarytool submit dist/mac-arm64/Modelist.zip \ --apple-id "email" \ --password "app_specific_pass" \ --team-id "team_id" \ --wait Conducting pre-submission checks for Modelist.zip and initiating connection to the Apple notary service... Submission ID received id: 8fa0b3d3-291... Upload progress: 100,00% (98,1 MB of 98,1 MB) Successfully uploaded file id: 8fa0b3d3-291... path: /Users/pete/projects/modelist2/dist/mac-arm64/Modelist.zip Waiting for processing to complete. Current status: Accepted............. Processing complete id: 8fa0b3d3-291... status: Accepted xcrun stapler staple dist/mac-arm64/Modelist.app Processing: /Users/pete/projects/modelist2/dist/mac-arm64/Modelist.app Could not validate ticket for /Users/pete/projects/modelist2/dist/mac-arm64/Modelist.app The staple and validate action failed! Error 65. The certs were installed via XCode. Variables are all exported in env. I followed the instructions for electron-builder from here: https://kilianvalkhof.com/2019/electron/notarizing-your-electron-application/ I'm sure I made a stupid little mistake, but after hours of arguing with ChatGPT we are going in circles and after clicking on almost every link in Google, I'm kindda lost.
4
0
981
Jan ’25
Invalid Code Signing Entitlements
Hi, I have a .NET MAUI app which I've added subscriptions to using the Plugin.InAppBilling nuget package. When I tested on TestFlight I got an almost immediate crash. After doing some research I followed advice to add an Entitlements.plist file to Platforms &gt; iOS with the following entry: com.apple.developer.in-app-purchase The distribution provisioning profile I'm using to sign my app has the App ID set to an Identifier which has "In-App Purchase" ticked, but greyed out in it's "Capabilities" section on https://developer.apple.com/. I'm not sure why it's ticked and greyed out, but I assume that means that "In-App Purchase" is enabled. The app runs file locally but when I create an IPA file and add it to Transporter for upload to App Store Connect I get the following error: "Validation failed (409) Invalid Code Signing Entitlements. Your application bundle's signature contains code signing entitlements that are not supported on iOS. Specifically, key 'com.apple.developer.in-app-purchase' in 'Payload/[Removed].app/[Removed]' is not supported. (ID: [Removed])". Here is the structure of my csproj code for creating a IPA file for iOS: The command I use: dotnet publish [Removed]/app.csproj -f:net9.0-ios -c:Release ^ /p:PlatformTarget=Arm64 ^ /p:RuntimeIdentifier=ios-arm64 ^ /p:ServerAddress=[Removed] ^ /p:ServerUser=[Removed] ^ /p:ServerPassword=[Removed] ^ /p:ArchiveOnBuild=true ^ /p:BuildIpa=true I'm stuck trying to figure this out. If you could please point out any issues with what I'm doing or if you have any suggestions to resolve the problem I would very much appreciate it. Thanks, Ben
4
0
377
Aug ’25
After years, notarytool now cannot find Keychain item
For years, I've been shipping my apps with a Perl script that now invokes notarytool to get the notarization, using this command /usr/bin/xcrun notarytool submit --apple-id jerry@sheepsystems.com --keychain-profile SSYShipProduct --team-id 4MAMECY9VS --output-format json /Users/jk/blah/blah/MyApp.zip --wait I used this script with this command several times during September 2024 to ship my apps, and it worked. But now, the above command fails with: Error: No Keychain password item found for profile: SSYShipProduct Run 'notarytool store-credentials' to create another credential profile. Of course, I am now running later versions of macOS beta and Xcode than I was in September. Does anyone know the problem? Screenshots from Terminal and Keychain Access are attached. Thank you.
4
0
88
Apr ’25
codesign error - No such file or directory
I'm having a problem with codesign for output from Pyinstaller The files are in ~/PycharmProjects/ALP_Document_Factory_II That folder contains the icon file, the entitlement file, and also contains a "dist" folder where Pyinstaller places the app file (ALP_Document_Factory_II.app) The generated app works and runs when I double click it. When I run codesign: codesign -s xxxxxxxx -f --entitlements entitlements.plist -o runtime dist/ALP_Document_Factory_II.app ("xxxxxxx" is where I place the hash of my credential) I get the following error message: No such file or directory Here is the Terminal copy... minus my Hash dickl45@Dicks-iMac3 ALP_Document_Factory_II % codesign -s xxxxxxxxxx -f --entitlements entitlements.plist -o runtime dist/ALP_Document_Factory_II.app dist/ALP_Document_Factory_II.app: No such file or directory Earlier I was able to use codesign and notarytool, but I must be doing something wrong that I can't see. Yours baffled MacOs 15.2
4
0
528
Jan ’25
dumb move - I deleted my developer id private keys
Can you please revoke my developer id application and installer certs? So i may recreate. I deleted the private key by mistake before realizing i cannot recreate everything using the developer website portal. I dont have macos backup or did i backup my certs with attached pkey. I just did not realize this was important until now. Please help as Im now blocked. I opened a case too but i have not yet got a response. its been 3 days now. case id: 20000093632858
4
0
446
Feb ’25
notarytool takes a long time (2h+) breaking our CI/CD pipeline
Hi, Since about 2 weeks notarytool is not very reliable on our CI/CD server. The tool either exists without printing any reason (killed by a signal; not caused by timeout - we have 6h timeouts and the tool gets killed after about 30 mins) or the process takes a very long time e.g. 2h to complete. We use the same pipeline since at least 2 years and we did not have this problem before. Some problematic calls: createdDate: 2025-01-15T14:50:22.545Z id: ca0faad3-789a-4842-a8c9-14aa7c2297a9 name: xxxxxx status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-01-15T14:33:06.813Z id: 22df0da8-70de-4dd9-935d-a26055242014 name: xxxxxx status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-01-15T14:18:36.436Z id: 5729b836-69f0-4526-b1d2-7743bd4d57a6 name: xxxxxx status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-01-15T14:18:31.716Z id: 58f3c7a1-96bd-4f5d-8a3c-6860f925659e name: xxxxxx status: In Progress Can anyone check why the tool is taking now way more time than before to process a submission? The app that we are notarizing did not change that much.
4
0
577
Jan ’25
a required plist file or resource is malformed
I am facing this error on every flutter project build. Although it runs ok. The error happens on the codesign command What do I need to fix ? I have validated that every *.plist file is ok using plutil -lint ERROR MESSAGE /usr/bin/codesign --force --sign MY_SHA_CODE --verbose /Users/macbookair/workspace/flutter_application_1/build/ios/Release-iphoneos/Runner.app/Frameworks/libswiftCore.dylib)` exited with status 0. The command's output was: /Users/macbookair/workspace/flutter_application_1/build/ios/Release-iphoneos/Runner.app/Frameworks/libswiftCore.dylib: a required plist file or resource is malformed Info.plist <?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>CFBundleDevelopmentRegion</key> <string>$(DEVELOPMENT_LANGUAGE)</string> <key>CFBundleDisplayName</key> <string>Flutter Application 1</string> <key>CFBundleExecutable</key> <string>$(EXECUTABLE_NAME)</string> <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key> <string>$(PRODUCT_BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER)</string> <key>CFBundleInfoDictionaryVersion</key> <string>6.0</string> <key>CFBundleName</key> <string>flutter_application_1</string> <key>CFBundlePackageType</key> <string>APPL</string> <key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key> <string>$(FLUTTER_BUILD_NAME)</string> <key>CFBundleSignature</key> <string>????</string> <key>CFBundleVersion</key> <string>$(FLUTTER_BUILD_NUMBER)</string> <key>LSRequiresIPhoneOS</key> <true/> <key>UILaunchStoryboardName</key> <string>LaunchScreen</string> <key>UIMainStoryboardFile</key> <string>Main</string> <key>UISupportedInterfaceOrientations</key> <array> <string>UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait</string> <string>UIInterfaceOrientationLandscapeLeft</string> <string>UIInterfaceOrientationLandscapeRight</string> </array> <key>UISupportedInterfaceOrientations~ipad</key> <array> <string>UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait</string> <string>UIInterfaceOrientationPortraitUpsideDown</string> <string>UIInterfaceOrientationLandscapeLeft</string> <string>UIInterfaceOrientationLandscapeRight</string> </array> <key>CADisableMinimumFrameDurationOnPhone</key> <true/> <key>UIApplicationSupportsIndirectInputEvents</key> <true/></dict> </plist> Please help.
4
0
172
May ’25
Notarization stuck on "In Progress"
Hi there, I've developed a macOS app in Swift and SwiftUI. I'm planning to distribute the app outside of the App Store, so I'm currently getting it notarized. This is my first time notarizing an application. My application is signed correctly during the build / archive process, but whether I try to notarize the .app via Xcode's organizer or a .dmg via notarytool, it seems to get stuck. The status of Notarization attempts have been been stuck "In Progress", with the earliest attempt approaching 4 days. Below is the output of xcrun notary tool history Successfully received submission history. history -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-01-01T08:25:21.033Z id: be860d89-9edd-4330-9358-aa3766772041 name: Sidekick.zip status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2024-12-31T17:08:37.493Z id: 9cbd609e-d287-4217-afe3-362386159805 name: Sidekick-beta.dmg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2024-12-31T15:35:11.609Z id: 3e22c207-e156-410d-a0d1-24a587bfdca6 name: Sidekick.zip status: In Progress I've been searching for similar issues on the developer forums, and while others have warned about long wait times for first-time notarization requests, I've never come across anyone else who had to wait 4 days.
4
2
683
Jan ’25