I’m facing an issue with my macOS app after code signing and notarization. The app is signed with my Developer ID and notarized using xcrun notarytool. Everything works fine on the machine where the signing was done — Gatekeeper accepts it, no warning appears, and codesign/spctl checks pass. However, when running the same .app on other Macs, users receive a Gatekeeper warning saying the app is "malicious software and cannot be opened". The signature is valid and the notarization log shows status: Accepted. What I've tried: Verified signature with codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=2 Checked notarization status via xcrun notarytool log Assessed Gatekeeper trust with spctl --assess --type execute Everything passes successfully on the development machine. Why would the app be treated as malicious on other systems even after notarization? I'm happy to share logs and technical details if needed.

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.

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?

Hi, For the purposes of iteration speed in development builds, on an iPhone in development mode, I am attempting to use hot reloaded dylibs. The goal is that the app is rarely fully restarted and small code changes can be applied quickly, drastically reducing iteration speed. For this purpose I have a socket server on my Mac that sends changed dylibs to my app on my iPhone. This works great on Mac, however on iOS i am running into codesigning problems. I am using the following to codesign the dylib: codesign -f -s XXX --timestamp=none testlibrary-ios.dylib I am placing the downloaded dylib in this folder: const char* cachedirectoryPath = [NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSCachesDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES)[0] UTF8String]; dlopen gives me the following error: dlopen(/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/67A3D31B-6F72-4939-9E7F-665FC78CDC61/Library/Caches/testlibrary-ios.dylib, 0x000A): tried: '/usr/lib/system/introspection/testlibrary-ios.dylib' (no such file, not in dyld cache), '/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/67A3D31B-6F72-4939-9E7F-665FC78CDC61/Library/Caches/testlibrary-ios.dylib' (code signature invalid in <78A101AD-D756-3526-8754-8B7F4925DE90> '/private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/67A3D31B-6F72-4939-9E7F-665FC78CDC61/Library/Caches/testlibrary-ios.dylib' (errno=1) sliceOffset=0x00000000, codeBlobOffset=0x0000C2E0, codeBlobSize=0x00004990), .... Is loading a dylib like this on iPhones in development mode possible? Any idea what is going wrong with codesigning or installing the dylib? (Obviously this code is never deployed in an app that goes on the AppStore)

Short description of the issue/suggestion: After upgrading to MacOS Sequoia and being required to code sign and notarize my app, cannot launch app even though code sign and notarization pass Please tell us about your environment: MacBookPro Chip Apple M2 Max 32 GB JavaPackager version: 1.7.6 OS version: macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 JDK version: jdk-1.8 Build tool: Maven Steps to reproduce the issue: -DMG Maven Build of Spring Boot /Java (version 8) application with "fvarrui" JavaPackager plugin using default universalJavaApplicationStub. Code signing and Notarization / Stapling PASS and App installs in Application folder, however cannot launch App. Although code sign and notarization pass, it is interesting that in the build output, prior to it submitting to Apple, there is an error stating that the App code sign could not be replaced. What is the expected behavior? -App launches when double clicking the application icon What have you tried to resolve / workaround the issue? -Install via package rather than DMG - same result -Can launch App by opening up the app Content/MacOS folder and clicking directly on the universalJavaApplicationStub. Note requires that you allow it to run within the Security and Privacy settings. codesign --verify --deep --verbose force1.app force1.app: valid on disk force1.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement spctl -a -vvv force1.app Info.plist.txt pom.xml.txt f Build Output abridged.txt o SysConsoleOutput.txt r ce1.app: accepted source=Notarized Developer ID origin=Developer ID Application: Neal Hartmann (JPFYU53MK9)

We are using SHC to compile on macOS to convert the .sh script to a binary file. This binary file is then digitally signed by the Apple developer account and then notarised. After that, it will work on the same system where we follow this process. But if we share this file to another system, then it gets quarantined (com.apple.quarantine) while downloading. Is there any way to prevent it by getting quarantine on another system or something I'm missing, any clues?

Hi Developers, I'm encountering persistent validation errors in Xcode 16.3 (16E140) on macOS 15.4.1 (24E263) with M1 when archiving and distributing a macOS app (Developer ID signing + notarization). App Structure: A native Swift/Obj-C wrapper app that launches a nested .app inside its Resources. The nested app is built with PyInstaller and includes: A Python core Custom C++ binaries Many bundled .so libraries (e.g., from OpenCV, PyQt/PySide) Issues During Validation: App Sandbox Not Enabled Error: App Sandbox missing for NestedApp.app/Contents/MacOS/NestedExecutable. Question: For Developer ID (not App Store), is sandboxing strictly required for nested PyInstaller apps? If the wrapper is sandboxed, must the nested app be as well? Given the PyInstaller app's nature (requiring broad system access), how should entitlements be managed? Upload Symbols Failed Errors for missing .dSYM files for: The nested app’s executable Custom C++ binaries .so files (OpenCV, PyQt, etc.) These are either third-party or built without DWARF data, making .dSYM generation impractical post-build. Question: Are these symbol errors critical for Developer ID notarization (not App Store)? Can notarization succeed despite them? Is lack of symbol upload a known limitation with PyInstaller apps? Any best practices?

This is a Math+CS Educational app written in Java. I have been able to distribute the Intel-Mac version downloaded as a .dmg (code-signed, notarized and stapled). I also need to support Apple silicon hw. I re-created the entire sw manufacturing structure on my M2 Macbook. I'm using the exact same command scripts that work on the older hardware. I am expecting the jpackage script to run the same way on the M2....but no. The first sign of trouble is I'm not getting an authentication password dialog , which I believe is thrown up by the MacOS when codesign asks to access my Keychain certificates. My keychain is setup the default way. Here is the error msg: [07:38:08.719] Running /usr/bin/codesign [07:38:08.749] java.io.IOException: Command [/usr/bin/codesign, -s, Developer ID Application: Pierre Bierre (SL7L4YU8GT), -vvvv, --timestamp, --options, runtime, --prefix, ST_DFG2D_ARM, /var/folders/v7/06pp2_5d6gz9593k96n2z0v40000gn/T/jdk.jpackage11705714069544945060/images/image-2753484488940359178/DataflowGeom2D.app/Contents/runtime/Contents/Home/lib/libnet.dylib] exited with 1 code at jdk.jpackage/jdk.jpackage.internal.Executor.executeExpectSuccess(Executor.java:90) at jdk.jpackage/jdk.jpackage.internal.IOUtils.exec(IOUtils.java:215) If I build the .dmg installer WITHOUT code-signing it, it produces a good .dmg, but I can't distribute it to my students with M2-M3-M4 rigs. The error feedback from "codesign" is nonspecific and inactionable. As a developer, I need specific, actionable error messages. I expect that from the wealthiest computer company in the world. Need the info.

Hi guys, New to publishing apps on Apple Store. I encounter some notarization error before and resolved it in this post. By solving the previous issue, I updated the Trust setting from "Always Trust" to "Use System Defaults" for Apple certificates. The codesign and notarization no longer give me any problem. But now, I encountered another issue. When I ran the .app on my local Macbook, it now gives me "zsh: trace trap" error. Dive a little further and check the crash report, I found the some details as following. Process: my_app [30652] Path: /Users/USER/my_app_path Identifier: my_app Version: 0.0.0 (???) Code Type: ARM-64 (Native) Parent Process: launchd [1] User ID: 501 Date/Time: 2025-07-15 14:57:58.9874 -0400 OS Version: macOS 15.5 (24F74) Report Version: 12 Anonymous UUID: 2335F0B6-A26E-6446-6074-0FCE620C4B6A Time Awake Since Boot: 6000 seconds System Integrity Protection: enabled Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGKILL (Code Signature Invalid)) Exception Codes: UNKNOWN_0x32 at 0x00000001064b4000 Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000032, 0x00000001064b4000 Termination Reason: Namespace CODESIGNING, Code 2 Invalid Page VM Region Info: 0x1064b4000 is in 0x1064b4000-0x1064b8000; bytes after start: 0 bytes before end: 16383 REGION TYPE START - END [ VSIZE] PRT/MAX SHRMOD REGION DETAIL mapped file 1064ac000-1064b4000 [ 32K] r-x/rwx SM=COW Object_id=d2a02fbf ---> VM_ALLOCATE 1064b4000-1064b8000 [ 16K] r-x/rwx SM=PRV __TEXT 1064b8000-1068a4000 [ 4016K] r-x/rwx SM=COW my_app.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.12/Python I can tell it's about codesign and signature invalid. I have tried to rebuild, re-codesign and re-notarize. But the error still persists. Could someone help me? Thanks!

I made a macOS application using Swift Package and distributed it in dmg format through Apple Notary service. However, we received a report from a user that it can be launched from a disk image mounted from dmg, but when copied to /Applications, the app is broken and does not start. I looked into why this happened, I noticed that the codesign command returned different results when copying the application bundle and /Applications on the volume mounted dmg with Finder. Mounted dmg: OK ❯ codesign --verify --deep --verbose /Volumes/azoo-key-skkserv/azoo-key-skkserv.app /Volumes/azoo-key-skkserv/azoo-key-skkserv.app: valid on disk /Volumes/azoo-key-skkserv/azoo-key-skkserv.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement Copied by Finder: Bad codesign reports that there are 148 added/missing files. ❯ codesign --verify --deep --verbose /Applications/azoo-key-skkserv.app /Applications/azoo-key-skkserv.app: a sealed resource is missing or invalid file added: /Applications/azoo-key-skkserv.app/Contents/Resources/AzooKeyKanakanjiConverter_KanaKanjiConverterModuleWithDefaultDictionary.bundle/Contents/Resources/Dictionary/louds/グ1.loudstxt3 (skip...) file missing: /Applications/azoo-key-skkserv.app/Contents/Resources/AzooKeyKanakanjiConverter_KanaKanjiConverterModuleWithDefaultDictionary.bundle/Contents/Resources/Dictionary/louds/グ1.loudstxt3 (skip...) Copied by ditto: OK ❯ ditto /Volumes/azoo-key-skkserv/azoo-key-skkserv.app /Applications/azoo-key-skkserv.app ❯ codesign --verify --deep --verbose /Applications/azoo-key-skkserv.app /Applications/azoo-key-skkserv.app: valid on disk /Applications/azoo-key-skkserv.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement I made a simple macOS application to explain this problem in an easy-to-understand way. You can download dmg in github releases, mount dmg, copy it in the Finder, and check if there is a problem by running the codesign command. https://github.com/mtgto/example-utf8-mac-notarization As a result, I learned the following two things. Occurs only with resources with file names whose values change due to NFC/NFD normalization No problems occur with the resources of the application itself. Generated by the Swift Package resources that the application depends on I think this is a problem with Finder or Gatekeeper.

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.

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

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

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.

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?

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.

We have an enterprise application which customers are using since long. Suddenly some customers have reported they are unable to open app in iOS 18 OS. On lower versions like 17 it is working fine. We have a deploy this enterprise application on our server from that link our customer can download and install the app in iPhone. Now they are blocked due to this error. After installing the app when they open app below error message is shown to them. "AppName" is no longer available.

Hi at all, is there a way to count how many files have been marked with the codesign? Thanks in advance

Hello! I've just recently discovered LaunchCodeRequirement API and I'm exploring how it works compared to existing alternatives available for macOS versions below 14.4. Some questions I have with regards to safety of older and newer APIs examining the given example: func runProcess(executableURL: URL) throws { let process = Process() process.executableURL = executableURL if #available(macOS 14.4, *) { process.launchRequirement = try LaunchCodeRequirement.allOf { ValidationCategory(.developerID) SigningIdentifier("some-signing-identifier") TeamIdentifier("some-team-identifier") } } else { try secStaticCodeCheckValidity(executableURL) // Point #1 } do { try process.run() // Point #2 if #available(macOS 14.4, *) { // process.launchRequirement should take care of the process // and kill it if launchRequirement constraint is not satisfied } else { try secCodeCheckValidity(process.processIdentifier) // Point #3 } process.waitUntilExit() } catch { process.terminate() throw error } // Point #4 guard process.terminationReason == .exit else { throw SomeError() } } let requirement = """ anchor apple generic and identifier = "some-signing-identifier" and certificate 1[field.1.2.840.113635.100.6.2.6] and certificate leaf[field.1.2.840.113635.100.6.1.13] and certificate leaf [subject.OU] = "some-team-identifier" """ func secStaticCodeCheckValidity(_ executableURL: URL) throws { // Init SecStaticCode from `executableURL` // Init SecRequirement from `requirement` let flags = SecCSFlags(rawValue: kSecCSBasicValidateOnly) guard SecStaticCodeCheckValidityWithErrors(code, flags, secRequirement, nil) == errSecSuccess else { throw CodeSignError() } } func secCodeCheckValidity(_ processIdentifier: Int32) { // Init SecCode from `processIdentifier` // Init SecRequirement from `requirement` guard SecCodeCheckValidityWithErrors(code, [], secRequirement, nil) == errSecSuccess else { throw CodeSignError() } } Before macOS 14.4+ flow There's still a small chance that between checking executable binary codesign requirement (Point #1) and launched process' one (Point #3) the binary could be replaced with something malicious and even get some CPU between Points #2 and #3 so technically it can't be 100% safe. Is that a correct statement? Any advices on making it safer? macOS 14.4+ flow Now let's see how launchRequirement is better. I guess initialized launchRequirement gets evaluated on running the process (Point #2). What does it exactly check? Executable at URL before launching the process (as OnDiskConstraint) or launched process (as ProcessConstraint)? Is there any chance the process gets some CPU before it's killed in case of failed codesign check? Any way to distinguish between codesign requirement termination and other reasons at point #4? It returns SIGKILL (9) as terminationStatus but it's not precise enough to be sure it was killed due to failed requirement check. I guess newer SecStaticCodeCheckValidityWithOnDiskRequirement & SecCodeCheckValidityWithProcessRequirement are the same as SecStaticCodeCheckValidityWithErrors & SecCodeCheckValidityWithErrors but a little simpler and can't be used as a 'more secure' way of validating codesign requirement. Thanks, Pavel

Hello, I have this simulator made in Unity that I want to distribute as Standalone. It consists of launcher which, when users download it, downloads the game. I've built the launcher, got Developer ID Application certificate, added entitlements from: https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/macoscodesigning.html#signing-identity I've signed the .app of the launcher and 2 dlls chatgpt recommended to sign, zipped it, notarized .zip successfully, stapled to .app and put it on Google Drive to test. I got my other MacBook Pro, downloaded the zip, tried to open it. It did open, but there is a black loading screen saying "0% progress, 0B/0B" indicating that it isn't downloading anything - no network calling. When checked using command xattr -l path/to/file.app I get the following output: com.apple.macl: @?????I???|???? com.apple.quarantine: 0083;67bf1a22;Safari;69764595-CA94-44D2-B679-A69DC4669382 There are some specifics I think are also important to mention. I tried to code-sign it, notarize it and staple it using only Terminal and I'd like to keep it that way because I am very unfamiliar with Mac so I've avoided using Xcode as much as possible I really want to avoid putting the simulator up on the App Store, so I must have Standalone solution and Standalone solution only I believe that there might be problem with needing right entitlements, but I don't know how to check which one's are needed for users to avoid using "xattr" command in terminal to allow the launcher to run because of GateKeeper I've been banging my head against the wall with this problem for over a month and I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel.