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 Links Not Working on iOS 18 Due to App Re-signing
Hello, we are currently encountering a similar issue. We need to inject our capabilities into a third-party app by re-signing it (not a full re-signing process—just requiring the provisioning profile and certificate to match). However, this seems to affect the functionality of universal links. We've found that this issue only occurs on iOS 18. We noticed that when re-signing the app, the entitlements related to associated domains are changed to a wildcard: [Key] com.apple.developer.associated-domains [Value] [Array] [String] * However, this doesn’t cause any issues on iOS 17. Through further testing, we discovered that in order for universal links to work properly, we need to restore the original value of com.apple.developer.associated-domains and use a provisioning profile that matches the app's bundle ID. This means our previous re-signing approach using a certificate and provisioning profile from another bundle will no longer work. We’d like to ask: is this a new restriction introduced in iOS 18? If we manually restore the original com.apple.developer.associated-domains entitlement and use a provisioning profile that matches the app’s bundle ID, will universal links function correctly going forward?
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169
Apr ’25
Copy of notarized & exported app will not run
In XCode I create and export a notarized app for "direct distribution". I then create a tar file of the exported .app to distribute to my users. Until today this worked fine. Now when the users try to run the app it pops up a dialog saying "app is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Trash." It is possible to ctrl-click on the app and force it to run but, I think, whether this works or not will depend on system settings and not all users have root access to modify settings. Even simply copying the .app folder from the command line will cause this error.
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83
Jun ’25
Constructing a filesystem sandbox, how to disable file events
I'm working on a build system similar to Bazel where each build action runs in a sandbox. The sandbox contains only the files that the user defined as input to ensure that the build action doesn't have any implicit dependencies. Bazel achieves this by creating a "symlink forest" to the original source files. This works, but I have observed fseventsd using significant CPU during a Bazel build, presumably because of all the symlinks that get created. Is there a way to disable file events for a directory or a volume? The "File System Events Programming Guide" in the Documentation Archive mentions placing an empty file named no_log in the .fseventsd directory at the root of the volume, but when testing on macOS 15.5 with APFS that appears to no longer work. Related, is a "symlink forest" the best way to create a sandbox like this? Or is there a different method one can use to provide a view of a subset of the files in a directory tree? I read up on the App Sandbox but that seems too coarse grained. Something like Linux's overlayfs would work well, and maybe one can achieve a similar functionality with firmlinks? Curious about folks thoughts here. Thanks in advance!
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230
May ’25
Entitlement missing - Application is agent (UIElement)
I have an app that runs as a status bar app, mostly. I have set the following in the info.plist file for the app: <key>Application is agent (UIElement)</key> <true/> However, I get a compile error: Provisioning profile Mac Team Provisioning Profile: yout.Drive doesn't include the Application is agent (UIElement) entitlement. Checking the entitlements, I do not see this entitlement anywhere. Where and how do I set this?
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135
Aug ’25
Provisioning profile "..." doesn't include the com.apple.developer.deviceactivity entitlement
I'm working on an app that needs access to device activity. When I add device activity entitlement, I'm getting Provisioning profile "..." doesn't include the com.apple.developer.deviceactivity entitlement. This is failing for both, the main app and the extension, and both have entitlements added. It is not clear how to add it to the profile, the provisioning profile is created/managed by XCode. When I remove the entitlement, I can build my app but it won't be able to use device activity data I reached out to Developer Support, and they sent me here. What is the right way to add device activity entitlement? I'm also seeing another issue with XCode Cloud builds. When I remove device activity entitlement. I can build my app w/o any issue, and I can also install it directly on my iPhone. However, XCode Cloud builds fail wit Run command: 'xcodebuild -exportArchive -archivePath /Volumes/workspace/tmp/d41fc2f1-4f39-4906-8941-112488e75f6c.xcarchive -exportPath /Volumes/workspace/adhocexport -exportOptionsPlist /Volumes/workspace/ci/ad-hoc-exportoptions.plist '-DVTPortalRequest.Endpoint=http://172.16.68.193:8089' -DVTProvisioningIsManaged=YES -IDEDistributionLogDirectory=/Volumes/workspace/tmp/ad-hoc-export-archive-logs -DVTSkipCertificateValidityCheck=YES -DVTServicesLogLevel=3' I suspect that it could be related to my app having DeviceActivityExtension but no device activity entitlement is present. Thanks, Peter.
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151
Aug ’25
Xcode Automatic Signing Fails with App Groups - Provisioning profile "Mac Team Provisioning Profile : com.example.testapp.mobile" doesn't support the App Groups capability.
Xcode automatic signing consistently fails for the macOS target when adding the App Groups capability, even though the Developer Portal is correctly configured. Error: Provisioning profile “Mac Team Provisioning Profile: com.example.testapp.mobile” doesn’t support the App Groups capability. Setup: • Bundle ID: com.example.testapp.mobile • App Group: $(TeamIdentifierPrefix)group.com.example.testapp.mobile Troubleshooting Steps Tried (None Helped): • Changed bundle identifiers and deleted/recreated them in the Developer Portal • Deleted and recreated App Groups • Removed and re-added the developer account in Xcode • Deleted all provisioning profiles from the system • Cleared Derived Data and Xcode caches • Even tried on a clean macOS system This setup used to work previously. The issue seems to have started after the Apple Developer account was renewed.
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164
Aug ’25
App approved on appStore fails for notarization
Hi, Out app is approved on app store, however we want to distribute outside apps tore as well. But notarization always fails with error: 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, Any help to address this issue is highly appreciated.
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114
May ’25
App Notarization stuck “In Progress” for 4+ days — possible due to Notarization service outage?
Hi everyone, My app notarization has been stuck in the “In Progress” state for the past 4 days. Here are the details: createdDate: 2025-10-12T07:56:46.228Z id: 8f8c9a33-1c72-489e-a189-74c797a12fbc name: DevScribe.zip status: In Progress I checked the Apple System Status page and noticed that the Developer Notarization service has been showing an outage since October 8th. Could this ongoing outage be the reason my notarization is stuck? Is anyone else experiencing the same issue? Any guidance or workaround would be greatly appreciated.
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134
Oct ’25
Invalid code signing entitlements
Hello, I'm currently trying to upload a new version of an existing application. But each time I try to validate the archive of the application, I got the following error in Xcode (v16.2) : Invalid code signing entitlements. Your application bundle’s signature contains code signing entitlements that aren’t supported on macOS. Specifically, the “37CG5MY799.com.example.app” value for the com.apple.application-identifier key in “com.example.app.pkg/Payload/app.app/Contents/MacOS/app” isn’t supported. This value should be a string that starts with your Team ID, followed by a dot (“.”), followed by the bundle ID. I suspect that there is a problem with the App ID Prefix (that is 37CG5MY799 for the app) when our team ID is E4R7RJ7LA3 but I cannot find a solution. I asked the Apple Developer Support for help and I have read the documentation they sent but it couldn't solve this problem so they redirected me to the forums. https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/qa/qa1879/_index.html https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/technotes/tn2318/_index.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/DTS40013777-CH1-OVERVIEW https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/technotes/tn2318/_index.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/DTS40013777-CH1-TNTAG33 There isn't any obvious App ID Prefix mismatch in the entitlement between the Application's signature entitlement and the Embedded provisioning profile entitlement . Application's signature entitlement : <dict> <key>com.apple.application-identifier</key> <string>37CG5MY799.com.example.app</string> <key>com.apple.developer.team-identifier</key> <string>E4R7RJ7LA3</string> <key>com.apple.security.app-sandbox</key> <true/> <key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key> <array> <string>group.com.example.app</string> </array> <key>com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-only</key> <true/> </dict> Embedded provisioning profile entitlement : <dict> <key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key> <array> <string>group.com.example.app</string> <string>E4R7RJ7LA3.*</string> </array> <key>com.apple.application-identifier</key> <string>37CG5MY799.com.example.app</string> <key>keychain-access-groups</key> <array> <string>37CG5MY799.*</string> </array> <key>com.apple.developer.team-identifier</key> <string>E4R7RJ7LA3</string> </dict> The app also have a browser extension that correctly use the Team ID. How to solve this problem ? Thanks for your time, Qeg
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199
Aug ’25
Unable to find my team account in Xcode
we have organization account I'm the admin of team. and i have additional resources: Additional Resources Access to Reports Access to Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles. Access to Cloud Managed Distribution Certificate Create Apps Generate Individual API Keys Issues: i can't find my team certificate in Xcode I don't have access to https://developer.apple.com/account/resources/
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115
May ’25
MacOS crash, UnityPlayer.dylib
I’ve been having problems with MacOS builds. I’m making a release Appstore build and uploading it to Testflight. However when running it instantly crashes, and report screen shows the following: Current flow: I sign all files in PlugIns/ (we have a number of .bundle), and I’ve tried combinations of signing with/without --entitlements, as well as with/without --deep. After this I sign Frameworks/GameAssembly.dylib and Frameworks/UnityPlayer.dylib. Again, I’ve tried combinations of with/without --entitlements and --deep, also not signing them at all. After signing PlugIns and frameworks, I sign the .app, also tried this with/without --deep (always with --entitlements). Finally I make a .pkg and upload to Testflight. It’s not the game, as I can make an enterprise version that runs fine. We have some restricted entitlements, such as Apple Arcade. Building from an M1 mac, and architecture is Universal (Intel + ARM). Unity documentation says to use --deep, but Apple documentation highly recommend against it. So basically, my question is, how and in what order should I sign the files? Much obliged!
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224
Mar ’25
Family Control Entitlements not recognized when distributing
I have been approved for family controls entitlements and see them in my apple certificates for my bundle identifier. I see them listed for Distribution in my Runner, however, when I try to distribute I get the error that I do not have the right permissions. Do I need to get the entitlements for each extension I have as well? I have three extensions that use the family controls.
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134
May ’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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254
Aug ’25
Notarization stuck on “In Progress” for hours
Hi everyone, I’m trying to notarize a macOS app for direct distribution in Xcode. The upload finished, but the notarization has been stuck on “In Progress” for hours. I’m not getting any emails or errors, and the status log in Organizer only shows the same “In Progress” message without any extra details. I tried reopening Organizer and creating a new archive, but it always ends up in the same state. Is this normal, or is there something I should check on my side? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
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122
Nov ’25
Unable to provision target
I have added an in-app purchase function into my app, and have enabled in-app purchase profile in developer portal(it's on by default and is marked gray in developer portal, I don't know if that's how it supposed to look like). I have issued the agreements and tried signing the app both manually and automatically, but neither of that worked. App can be built successfully in simulator but does not show the simulation window, but cannot build on real device or archive. Errors: Missing com.apple.developer.in-app-purchase, com.apple.developer.in-app-purchase.non-consumable, and com.apple.developer.in-app-purchase.subscription entitlements. Automatic signing failed Xcode failed to provision this target.
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168
Oct ’25
Code signing error.
There is something wrong with my keychain. Can someone point me in the right direction? codesign --force --sign "Developer ID Application: Denis Putnam (2368694WQF)" --options runtime "/Users/denisputnam/git/expense_tracker/dist/ExpenseTracker.app" /Users/denisputnam/git/expense_tracker/dist/ExpenseTracker.app: replacing existing signature Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "Developer ID Application: Denis Putnam (2368694WQF)" /Users/denisputnam/git/expense_tracker/dist/ExpenseTracker.app: errSecInternalComponent Deniss-MacBook-Pro:expense_tracker denisputnam$ security find-certificate -c "Developer ID Certification Authority" -p /Library/Keychains/System.keychain | openssl x509 -noout -dates notBefore=Sep 22 18:55:10 2021 GMT notAfter=Sep 17 00:00:00 2031 GMT Deniss-MacBook-Pro:expense_tracker denisputnam$
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98
Mar ’25
notary tool consistently delay for 1 of my app even it already accepted multiple times
Hi, I recently got a consistent delay from notary tool. I have viewed all your suggestions and understand that it "occasionally" will have further review and take longer time, but then it will be faster. However, in my case, my app although is accepted many times. It is still significantly delay. It is a native macOS app called ConniePad. Whenever I submit, it took me 2 days or more to finish notarise, which significantly affect my business. Could you please have a look on it. For log detail about the time, and the ids: -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-05T22:54:45.815Z id: 998b5aa8-fc9c-4469-98fe-950d815e734e name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-05T21:32:22.679Z id: c7b1ab49-6f46-4998-8d06-2ffe8a180c8f name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-03T08:39:52.594Z id: aa33d9d0-9d2f-4296-8fc3-d7e0b404596b name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-03T01:23:31.077Z id: b0333d78-497d-491c-b36c-bdfb64520296 name: ConniePad.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-03T01:17:20.925Z id: 83aa12f2-f1bb-457f-940a-4c2281cf8a5f name: ConniePad.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-03T01:12:52.932Z id: 0a921069-fb37-469a-bfb0-6be82e9320ba name: ConniePad.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-03T01:03:30.584Z id: a607fe3c-d10f-43d6-a184-e97df7b632fd name: ConniePad.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-03T00:52:47.322Z id: c42d0ca0-db8a-4431-b5b4-646ccfcad003 name: ConniePad.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-03T00:28:18.626Z id: 7ef8777f-7add-4440-abb5-3c0b19cf92d4 name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Invalid -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-03T00:24:37.320Z id: 36bb1285-0aeb-4c48-b23c-fac737a3d93f name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Invalid -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-02T23:59:27.940Z id: bb4578a5-a67b-49e8-afd0-a9d707c10091 name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-02T08:51:38.295Z id: 93ff89f4-98d3-45ac-9ee8-9483726a9666 name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-02T08:19:13.762Z id: 9e4a62df-3d8a-4cfa-ae9e-56ff35ffe137 name: ConniePad-ConverterTool.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-02T04:15:34.508Z id: 7ee43b74-f73f-462a-bb3d-f6bc53b1cb80 name: ConniePad-ConverterTool.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-02T02:11:53.312Z id: d675e8f6-dc30-48e9-9269-9bc376f1b29e name: ConniePad-ConverterTool.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-02T01:30:32.768Z id: 9901f125-4355-4812-936b-97578ac2de2f name: ConniePad-ConverterTool.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-04-01T20:47:26.035Z id: a79265bc-8ad3-4a4b-ae39-150801aa9da9 name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-18T22:39:54.189Z id: b808b676-a41c-4536-b4fd-4b567701adcb name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-18T05:21:23.607Z id: 797f5d4f-cd94-4511-9217-11e57c2c7ac3 name: ConniePad.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-18T05:18:30.707Z id: c5b5c260-fb7f-4bda-9548-f5b7e57cb2f3 name: ConniePad.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-17T06:45:37.831Z id: f24c1017-9171-4796-bf97-ea47ef83f7ce name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-17T06:38:17.981Z id: 8dd0ea7e-e810-48f9-a48f-62dcc1406284 name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-17T06:33:27.649Z id: 704e339a-4d99-4e5e-8414-deb8b26c57ac name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-17T06:32:06.925Z id: 8e9b09b6-e061-4361-abc1-0bbd8f33b599 name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-17T06:26:52.444Z id: 2b564641-eb87-4de9-a59c-ff5362b8bf4a name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-17T06:22:04.790Z id: 1aa158bd-0afd-4c60-8e2f-3029388710ab name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-17T06:17:17.141Z id: 3bffcf1d-2fd7-41ba-b70c-f85837499736 name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-17T02:38:47.102Z id: 2dd2fb47-7dff-4f30-b2e0-d8c2bfcf10f5 name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-03-14T03:23:54.671Z id: 5cafb2a9-03e3-468e-b918-ff24b17fceee name: ConniePad.app.zip status: Accepted
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Apr ’25