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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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&userID=... https://www.strike-force.app/invite?type=invite&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 & 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: <(null)> 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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669
Sep ’25
codesign Failure with errSecInternalComponent Error
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.
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817
Sep ’25
Embedding a command-line tool to Application
Hi, I need to bundle an additional binary along my yet published application. It is a Audio Unit test application. My yet published application implemented Audio Unit plugin support. But upload is always rejected: Validation failed (409) Invalid Provisioning Profile. The provisioning profile included in the bundle com.gsequencer.GSequencer [com.gsequencer.GSequencer.pkg/Payload/com.gsequencer.GSequencer.app] is invalid. [Missing code-signing certificate.] For more information, visit the macOS Developer Portal. (ID: ****) I have followed the instructions here: Embedding a helper tool in a sandboxed app but no luck. Does anyone know whats going on? I use Transporter to upload the application, the embedded.provisioningprofile is copied from Xcode build and code signing is done manually.
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283
Sep ’25
Cannot request SensorKit capability – “Request” form does not appear
Hi! We are trying to request the SensorKit entitlement (com.apple.developer.sensorkit.reader.allow) for a research app we’re working on. When we go to Apple Developer → Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles → Identifiers, we see the SensorKit capability listed under "Capability Requests", but: There’s no form or button to submit the request, unlike with other capabilities. We tested this using an Account Holder role, and also tried requesting other capabilities — which do show the form correctly, so this seems to be an issue specific to SensorKit. We’d appreciate any guidance on: Whether this is a known issue with the SensorKit request flow. If there’s an alternative way to request this capability while the form is unavailable. Thanks in advance!
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411
Sep ’25
XCode Refuses to Load Team
I have a team I was added to for development XCode refuses to do it's job. It literally only displays 3 teams, and it refuses to acknowledge the fact that it's missing one of the development teams I am on. All I want to do is test this damn app. I have tried the following: Signing out and back in Clearing the cache at ~/Library/Caches/com.dt.XCode or whatever Clearing the cache at ~/Library/Support/XCode or whatever I really can't be bothered to remember, seeing as how they didn't matter I have tried searching high and low, manually installing certificates, I nuked my keychain after logging out and then restarted, logged back in, STILL NOTHING. I genuinely don't know what to do, and it's so frustrating because this is like, an issue I should have in 2005, not in 2025. Syncing a team from an account should not be something I have to search high and low for, find no answers, and then end up here, posting, when it's literally a GET/POST request. If I am doing something wrong, lord knows what it is. I can sign my other apps no problem.
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358
Sep ’25
Provisioning profile missing com.apple.developer.background-modes entitlement, even with Background Modes enabled in Xcode
Hello, I’m having trouble enabling Background Location updates on my iOS app. Xcode: 26.0 beta Team: Individual Developer Program (paid, activated recently) Device: iPhone (physical device, registered and provisioned) Problem When building to device, I get the error: Provisioning profile "iOS Team Provisioning Profile: com.mybundle.id" doesn't include the com.apple.developer.background-modes entitlement. Automatic signing failed. On the simulator the build succeeds, but on device the signing fails unless I remove the background-modes entitlement from .entitlements. What I tried Enabled Background Modes → Location updates in Signing & Capabilities (UI only). Info.plist contains UIBackgroundModes = location and the required NSLocation…UsageDescription keys. Cleaned Derived Data, removed cached provisioning profiles (~/Library/Developer/Xcode/UserData/Provisioning Profiles). Changed Bundle Identifier to force regeneration of provisioning profiles. Deleted and recreated provisioning profiles from Xcode. Tried both with and without manual .entitlements edits. Current status Provisioning profile shows only App Groups, In-App Purchase, Push Notifications. Entitlements section in the downloaded profile is missing com.apple.developer.background-modes. As a result, background location cannot be enabled on device. Question Is this a known issue with Xcode 16/26 beta or with Individual Developer accounts? How can I get com.apple.developer.background-modes included in my provisioning profile so that location tracking continues while the screen is locked? Thank you.
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Sep ’25
Code Signing Resources
General: Forums topic: Code Signing Forums subtopics: Code Signing > General, Code Signing > Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, Code Signing > Notarization, Code Signing > Entitlements Forums tags: Code Signing, Signing Certificates, Provisioning Profiles, Entitlements Developer Account Help — This document is good in general but, in particular, the Reference section is chock-full of useful information, including the names and purposes of all certificate types issued by Apple Developer web site, tables of which capabilities are supported by which distribution models on iOS and macOS, and information on how to use managed capabilities. Developer > Support > Certificates covers some important policy issues Bundle Resources > Entitlements documentation TN3125 Inside Code Signing: Provisioning Profiles — This includes links to the other technotes in the Inside Code Signing series. WWDC 2021 Session 10204 Distribute apps in Xcode with cloud signing Certificate Signing Requests Explained forums post --deep Considered Harmful forums post Don’t Run App Store Distribution-Signed Code forums post Resolving errSecInternalComponent errors during code signing forums post Finding a Capability’s Distribution Restrictions forums post Signing code with a hardware-based code-signing identity forums post New Capabilities Request Tab in Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles forums post Isolating Code Signing Problems from Build Problems forums post Investigating Third-Party IDE Code-Signing Problems forums post Determining if an entitlement is real forums post Mac code signing: Forums tag: Developer ID Creating distribution-signed code for macOS documentation Packaging Mac software for distribution documentation Placing Content in a Bundle documentation Embedding nonstandard code structures in a bundle documentation Embedding a command-line tool in a sandboxed app documentation Signing a daemon with a restricted entitlement documentation Defining launch environment and library constraints documentation WWDC 2023 Session 10266 Protect your Mac app with environment constraints TN2206 macOS Code Signing In Depth archived technote — This doc has mostly been replaced by the other resources linked to here but it still contains a few unique tidbits and it’s a great historical reference. Manual Code Signing Example forums post The Care and Feeding of Developer ID forums post TestFlight, Provisioning Profiles, and the Mac App Store forums post For problems with notarisation, see Notarisation Resources. For problems with the trusted execution system, including Gatekeeper, see Trusted Execution Resources. Share and Enjoy — Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"
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31k
Sep ’25
App signing
trying to deploy the LotBot app to my physical device, rtd2, which is listed as a device in the App Developer Portal. when I create a provision file it is always for W246SX52AS, as seen in the developer portal, but from Xcode I am showing a app id of "Apple Development: Richard Dukes (86537MF8N2)". Message: I am unable to create a "Apple Development: Richard Dukes (W246SX52AS)" so I may deploy to the device and the App Store. I have signed out and back in to Xcode with my account but when creating the profile it is always the 86537MF8N2. 95E07D345D31D45E4589FA7EA6FDF161E079C100 "Apple Distribution: Richard Dukes (W246SX52AS)" 5AC76CE9331F80AE953C4C76FC21DE5C2416293E "Apple Development: Richard Dukes (86537MF8N2)" How can I get Xcode to use W246SX52AS? I have these help tickets open as well. case ID is 102678952862 case ID is 102678950460 I have been fighting this for a while. Please help me figure out to get this resolved.
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723
Aug ’25
Does NSXPCConnection.setCodeSigningRequirement perform dynamic code signature checks?
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?
2
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286
Aug ’25
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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Aug ’25
After submitting the DMG signature, a prompt indicating that it comes from an unidentified developer still appears when downloading and installing.
我是一名开发人员。除了App Store,我们公司的官方网站也是软件下载的一种方式。DMG签名提交后,通过网站下载安装软件时,仍然有提示说来自身份不明的开发者。您能告诉我如何解决这个问题吗?如果你能用中文回复就最好了。
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1k
Aug ’25
Cant add family controls
The capability associated with "FAMILY_CONTROLS" could not be determined. Please file a bug report at https://feedbackassistant.apple.com and include the Update Signing report from the Report navigator.
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185
Aug ’25
Code signing fails with “unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "(null)"” and errSecInternalComponent for Developer ID Application on macOS
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!
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347
Aug ’25
Developer Forums Post: PKG Signing Failure
productsign Command Appears to Succeed but Package has No Valid Signature Category: Security, macOS, Code Signing Question: productsign command, when signing a PKG created with productbuild, appears to succeed with a success message (Wrote signed product archive to ...) but spctl verification results in rejected, source=no usable signature, indicating that the signature was not actually applied. Details: Goal: To sign a distribution package created with productbuild using a Developer ID Installer certificate. Certificate Used: Developer ID Installer: [Company Name] ([Team ID]) This certificate was issued by Previous Sub-CA and is not the latest G2 Sub-CA recommended by Apple. We cannot create a new G2 Sub-CA certificate as we have reached the limit of 5. productsign Command: productsign --sign "Developer ID Installer: [Company Name] ([Team ID])" [input.pkg] [output.pkg] productsign Output: Wrote signed product archive to [output.pkg] (Appears as a success message). spctl Signature Verification: spctl -a -vv [output.pkg] Result: rejected, source=no usable signature Notarization Service Results (Behavioral difference between Macs): On Mac A, the submission status was Accepted. On Mac B, the status was Invalid, with the notarization log message being The binary is not signed.. Troubleshooting Steps Taken: We attempted to sign both component and distribution packages with productsign, and in both cases, the signature was not recognized by the system. We skipped productsign and relied on the notarization service's auto-signing, but the notarization log still reported The binary is not signed., and the notarization failed. We have confirmed that the certificate and private key are properly associated in Keychain Access. My Questions: Given that we are using an older Previous Sub-CA certificate and cannot create a new one, why does productsign appear to succeed when the signature is not being applied? What could cause the behavioral difference where notarization is Accepted on Mac A but Invalid on Mac B? Is this a known issue with Apple's tools, or is it possibly caused by the specific structure of our PKG? What is the recommended workflow or debugging method to successfully sign and notarize a PKG under these circumstances? Thank you for your assistance
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230
Aug ’25
Apple ID, Dev Prog Team ID, and provisioning profiles
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
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1k
Aug ’25
Is there a tutorial or good resource about publishing a Python based app on Apple Store?
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!
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143
Aug ’25
App Bundle issue
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
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162
Aug ’25
Upload failed Validation Issue WKApplication or WKWatchKitApp is required
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.
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313
Aug ’25
The specified iOS provisioning profile '' could not be found.
I have developed multiple applications in the past using windows Visual studio 2022 and have never had any issues during development. However this time I am receiving the same error The specified iOS provisioning profile '{profile}' could not be found. Please enable Automatic Provisioning from the iOS Bundle Signing page. Everytime I try to deploy even though I can see that all the appropriate entries are in my apple developer portal, and I can see the profiles have been automatically downloaded to my computer. (The App identifier also matches the one establisehd in the apple developer portal and is linked to the profile). The only thing I can think of, is that my renewal of my developer account got rejected by my bank at first, but on another attempt (about 2 weeks ago) it all went through fine.
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244
Aug ’25