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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Need help with code signing.
My app designer cannot sign his code changes. He says the only way he can sign his code is for me to give him my Admin privileges. I have revoked and recreated my certificate, hoping to get a private passkey, but there was no private passkey issued with the certificate. Help, please?
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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Apr ’25
Family Controls (Distribution) entitlement missing for Device Activity Monitor extension - blocking TestFlight distribution
Hi Apple Developer Community, I'm experiencing an issue with Family Controls entitlements for my iOS app that I'd like to discuss and see if others have encountered similar problems. Background: My app (BrightStart) uses Family Controls to help users build healthy morning routines by temporarily blocking distracting apps until they complete a sunlight exposure session. The core functionality relies on automatic time-based blocking (e.g., block social media apps from 6-8am daily). The Problem: I have Family Controls working perfectly in development builds, but I'm blocked from distributing via TestFlight due to entitlement issues with my Device Activity Monitor extension. Technical Details: Main app bundle ID: app.brightstart.app ✅ Has both "Family Controls (Development)" and "Family Controls (Distribution)" options available Extension bundle ID: app.brightstart.app.BrightStartMonitorExtension ❌ Only shows "Family Controls (Development)" - no Distribution option Error when archiving for TestFlight: ❌ Provisioning profile failed qualification Profile doesn't support Family Controls (Development). Family Controls (Development) feature is for development only. Please use Family Controls (Distribution) for distribution. Impact: Cannot upload to TestFlight for beta testing Native FamilyActivityPicker falls back to mock UI in distributed builds Automatic scheduled app blocking (via DeviceActivityMonitor) doesn't function in production Questions for the community: Has anyone successfully gotten "Family Controls (Distribution)" enabled for a Device Activity Monitor extension? Is this a known limitation, or should I expect this option to be available? Are there alternative approaches for time-based automatic app blocking that work in distribution builds? Should I contact Apple Support directly about enabling this entitlement for the extension? Btw, Cursor wrote this summary above, so it could be just hallucinating the issue? Would really appreciate anyone's thoughts here.
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256
Aug ’25
Unable to Generate .ipa for .NET MAUI iOS App – Codesign Fails With “unable to build chain to self-signed root”
Hi everyone, I am trying to generate an .ipa file for my .NET MAUI (net9.0-ios) application, but every attempt fails with the same codesigning error. I have tried multiple approaches, including building from Windows paired to macOS, and directly building through the macOS terminal, but nothing is working. Below are the exact steps I followed: Steps I Performed 1.>Generated the Apple Development certificate using Keychain Access on macOS. 2.>Added that certificate into my developer account and created the corresponding provisioning profile. 3.>Created an App ID, attached the App ID to the provisioning profile, and downloaded it. 4.>Added the provisioning profile into Xcode. Verified that the certificate is correctly visible in Keychain Access (private key available). Attempted to build/publish the MAUI app to generate the .ipa file. Issue Whenever I run the publish command or build via Windows/macOS, codesigning fails with the following error: /usr/bin/codesign exited with code 1: Frameworks/libSkiaSharp.framework: replacing existing signature Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "Apple Development: Created via API (8388XAA3RT)" Frameworks/libSkiaSharp.framework: errSecInternalComponent Failed to codesign 'PCS_EmpApp.app/Frameworks/libSkiaSharp.framework': Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "Apple Development: Created via API (8388XAA3RT)" PCS_EmpApp.app: errSecInternalComponent Build failed with 4 error(s) and 509 warning(s) Environment .NET: 9.0 MAUI: latest tools Xcode: 26.0.1 macOS: 26.0.1 Building for ios-arm64 (device) What I suspect It looks like the signer certificate might not be trusted, or the certificate chain cannot connect to an Apple root CA. But the certificate was created using the Developer website and appears valid. Need Help With Why is codesign unable to build the certificate chain? Do I need a different type of certificate? (App Store / Distribution vs Development?) How can I successfully generate the .ipa file? Any guidance will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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219
Dec ’25
Process 'xcrun notarytool submit' exited with value '132'
Hi, I had an issue when I notarized myapplication.dmg with Process 'xcrun notarytool submit' exited with value '132'. Do you know how to solve it? Do you have any explanation about the response value when we execute 'xcrun notarytool submit'? Thank you very much! 2025-02-25 09:36:18,182 ERROR [org.ecl.cbi.ws.mac.not.xcr.not.NotarytoolNotarizer] (macos-notarization-service-pool-thread-14) Error while parsing the output after the upload of '/tmp/macos-notarization-service/pending-files/myapplication.dmg' to the Apple notarization service: org.xml.sax.SAXParseException; lineNumber: 1; columnNumber: 1; Premature end of file. at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.util.ErrorHandlerWrapper.createSAXParseException(ErrorHandlerWrapper.java:204) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.util.ErrorHandlerWrapper.fatalError(ErrorHandlerWrapper.java:178) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLErrorReporter.reportError(XMLErrorReporter.java:400) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLErrorReporter.reportError(XMLErrorReporter.java:327) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLScanner.reportFatalError(XMLScanner.java:1465) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentScannerImpl$PrologDriver.next(XMLDocumentScannerImpl.java:1013) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentScannerImpl.next(XMLDocumentScannerImpl.java:605) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl.scanDocument(XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl.java:542) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(XML11Configuration.java:889) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(XML11Configuration.java:825) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.XMLParser.parse(XMLParser.java:141) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.parse(AbstractSAXParser.java:1224) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.jaxp.SAXParserImpl$JAXPSAXParser.parse(SAXParserImpl.java:637) at java.xml/com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.jaxp.SAXParserImpl.parse(SAXParserImpl.java:326) at java.xml/javax.xml.parsers.SAXParser.parse(SAXParser.java:197) at org.eclipse.cbi.ws.macos.notarization.xcrun.common.PListDict.fromXML(PListDict.java:134) at org.eclipse.cbi.ws.macos.notarization.xcrun.notarytool.NotarytoolNotarizer.analyzeSubmissionResult(NotarytoolNotarizer.java:39) at org.eclipse.cbi.ws.macos.notarization.xcrun.common.NotarizationTool.upload(NotarizationTool.java:50) at org.eclipse.cbi.ws.macos.notarization.xcrun.common.Notarizer.lambda$uploadFailsafe$3(Notarizer.java:65) at net.jodah.failsafe.Functions.lambda$get$0(Functions.java:48) at net.jodah.failsafe.RetryPolicyExecutor.lambda$supply$0(RetryPolicyExecutor.java:66) at net.jodah.failsafe.Execution.executeSync(Execution.java:128) at net.jodah.failsafe.FailsafeExecutor.call(FailsafeExecutor.java:379) at net.jodah.failsafe.FailsafeExecutor.get(FailsafeExecutor.java:68) at org.eclipse.cbi.ws.macos.notarization.xcrun.common.Notarizer.uploadFailsafe(Notarizer.java:65) at org.eclipse.cbi.ws.macos.notarization.NotarizationService.lambda$notarize$0(NotarizationService.java:192) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture$AsyncSupply.run(CompletableFuture.java:1768) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:539) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:264) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor$ScheduledFutureTask.run(ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor.java:304) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1136) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:635) at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:840)
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424
Feb ’25
Code sign
Hi, I got the error: /usr/bin/codesign exited with code 1: Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "Apple Distribution: Q.A.C.F. - Quality Academy Consultoria E Formacao, Unipessoal, Lda (xxxxxx)" /Users/pedroramalho/Library/Caches/Xamarin/mtbs/builds/drBoxSaude.iOS/3bed3d51415af2e100a4d2bc57e1d36fb42d76ceb190de1db1c4d0dbccbff863/bin/iPhone/Release/drBoxSaude.iOS.app: errSecInternalComponent and /usr/bin/codesign exited with code 1: /Users/pedroramalho/Library/Caches/Xamarin/mtbs/builds/drBoxSaude.iOS/3bed3d51415af2e100a4d2bc57e1d36fb42d76ceb190de1db1c4d0dbccbff863/bin/iPhone/Release/drBoxSaude.iOS.app/Frameworks/libSkiaSharp.framework: replacing existing signature Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "Apple Distribution: Q.A.C.F. - Quality Academy Consultoria E Formacao, Unipessoal, Lda (xxxxx)" /Users/pedroramalho/Library/Caches/Xamarin/mtbs/builds/drBoxSaude.iOS/3bed3d51415af2e100a4d2bc57e1d36fb42d76ceb190de1db1c4d0dbccbff863/bin/iPhone/Release/drBoxSaude.iOS.app/Frameworks/libSkiaSharp.framework: errSecInternalComponent Some one can help please
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117
Apr ’25
App Rejected – Binary Invalid Despite Correct Code Signing Setup (Flutter + WebView App)
Hello everyone, I'm currently experiencing repeated "Invalid Binary" rejections when submitting my Flutter-based iOS app ("Master Tere") through App Store Connect. I've followed all the expected steps and guidelines, but the rejection contains no additional explanation beyond the "Invalid Binary" status. Here’s my current setup: Built using Flutter and Xcode 15.3 WebView-based app loading a professional portfolio site Runner target is signed automatically using Xcode Managed Profiles Certificates: Apple Development and Apple Distribution (auto-managed) Bundle ID: com.actuain.mastertere1 Version: 1.0.0, Build: 6 Deployment target: iOS 18.0 Device family: iPhone only All signing identities and provisioning profiles match for Debug and Release In my Info.plist, I’ve cleaned up legacy keys that might cause conflicts: ✅ Removed <key>UIMainStoryboardFile</key> (no storyboard is used) ✅ Removed <key>CFBundleSignature</key> as it was set to ???? ✅ Display name and Bundle ID align with Xcode project settings Despite all this, every time I upload through Xcode Organizer, I get an "Invalid Binary" error after processing. No issues are shown during archive validation. I suspect the issue may be related to: Flutter WebView integration with latest iOS SDKs Residual metadata in the archive from unused iOS storyboard references Possibly missing entitlements or capabilities not flagged by Xcode Questions: Are there any known issues affecting Flutter WebView apps recently (especially around Xcode 15.3 or iOS 18 SDK)? Is it mandatory to remove Main.storyboard from the project bundle even if it's not used? Could this issue be related to background modes, UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities, or entitlements even if not directly flagged? I’d appreciate any insights or experiences from others who’ve faced this issue recently. Thanks in advance! Luis Antonio Pinto Acosta
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170
Apr ’25
Notarization time
Hi Team, i'm running into same issue with notarization time. I create new, small app for a customer but however the notarization is running since this morning, so almost a few hours. This isn't normal or ? Is there anything what i can do ? Best regard, Lars
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422
Nov ’25
Notarization Taking Days
Hello all, I am attempting to notarize my newly made Mac OS application using the notarization command in VS Code. "/Users/teejgotit/Desktop/Cursor Workspace/Rust CutContour v2/cutcontour-app/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/dmg/CC Studio_0.1.0_aarch64.dmg" \ --key "/Users/teejgotit/AppleCerts/AuthKey_MATVLX3.p8" \ --key-id "MATVLX9" \ --issuer "887ba428-aa39-4fb3-a3dc-f83b9145cab0" \ --wait Only to be met with a continual "Current State: In Progress.." for what has been about 1 day and 16 hours now. Current status: In Progress........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ My app and project are rather small and was curious if this is a normal thing for this to day takes for a first time notarization? Would love any help or feedback.
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87
Apr ’25
Notarization the simple Xamarin.mac project throws the error
We are developing an application using .NET Xamarin.mac. While notarization after signing the package the error was thrown which was attached in a file Then created an simple Xamarin.mac app , in notarization process the same error was thrown. Provide an solution to resolve the issue while notarization. We have tried to codesignin the .app file but below error was thrown unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer "Developer ID Application: SFSecure.app: errSecInternalComponent Notarization error
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339
Mar ’25
Screen Time API, DeviceActivity, Family Controls, Entitlements, Provisioning Profile
Hello everyone, I'm hoping to find a solution for a critical issue that is blocking my app's submission to the App Store. My app uses the Screen Time API and therefore has a main app and a DeviceActivityMonitor extension. The main app has been successfully granted the Family Controls (Distribution) entitlement. However, the DeviceActivityMonitor extension is stuck with only the Family Controls (Development) entitlement. This mismatch causes my build to fail during the archive/distribution process with the error: "Provisioning profile failed qualification. Profile doesn't support Family Controls (Development)." This is a hard blocker, as the extension is a mandatory part of the API. I have already filled out the entitlement request form and also contacted Developer Support (Case #102666581576), who confirmed they could not assist and directed me here. My question is: What is the correct procedure to escalate or resolve the issue of a required extension not receiving the distribution-level Family Controls entitlement after the main app has already been approved? Has anyone else encountered this specific "Development" vs. "Distribution" mismatch and found a definitive way to resolve it? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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280
Aug ’25
Side Button Access entitlement not appearing in Xcode capabilities list
Hi everyone, I'm trying to add the Side Button Access entitlement to my voice-based conversational app following the documentation, but I'm unable to find it in Xcode. Steps I followed: Selected my app target in Xcode project navigator Went to the Signing & Capabilities tab Clicked the + Capability button Searched for "Side Button Access" Problem: The "Side Button Access" option does not appear in the capabilities list at all. Environment: I'm developing and testing in Japan (where this feature should be available) Xcode version: Xcode 26.2 beta 3 iOS deployment target: iOS 26.2 Questions: Is there any pre-registration or special approval process required from Apple before this entitlement becomes available? Are there any additional requirements or prerequisites I need to meet? Is this feature already available, or is it still in a limited beta phase? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Dec ’25
macOS 11.x system reported an error when using endpoint security
This is .entitlements file: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>com.apple.developer.endpoint-security.client</key> <true/> </dict> </plist> Code signing: codesign --sign -vvv --timestamp --options=runtime --force --entitlements ./UES.entitlements -s "Developer ID Application: XXXX Ltd. (XXXXXX)" ./UES.app When I run it on macOS 13.x, it works fine. If I run the system on macOS 11.x, it reports a "killed" error (if codesign remove --entitlements ./UES.entitlements, Then the startup will not report an error, but the endpoint security rights cannot be used) System log: 2025-04-21 13:58:27.039638+0800 0xd5941 Default 0x0 149 0 amfid: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES signature not valid: -67050 2025-04-21 13:58:27.039762+0800 0xd5bbf Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: mac_vnode_check_signature: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: code signature validation failed fatally: When validating /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: 2025-04-21 13:58:27.039815+0800 0xd5bbf Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: proc 29354: load code signature error 4 for file "UES" 2025-04-21 13:58:27.040720+0800 0xd5bc0 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSystemPolicy) ASP: Security policy would not allow process: 29354, /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES 2025-04-21 13:58:27.045974+0800 0xd58be Error 0x0 66405 0 CoreServicesUIAgent: [com.apple.launchservices:uiagent] handle LS launch error: {\n Action = oapp;\n AppMimimumSystemVersion = "10.13";\n AppPath = "/Applications/UES.app";\n ErrorCode = "-10826";\n} 2025-04-21 13:58:39.121619+0800 0xd5941 Default 0x0 149 0 amfid: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES signature not valid: -67050 2025-04-21 13:58:39.121832+0800 0xd5e0f Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: mac_vnode_check_signature: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: code signature validation failed fatally: When validating /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: 2025-04-21 13:58:39.121861+0800 0xd5e0f Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: proc 29415: load code signature error 4 for file "UES" 2025-04-21 13:58:39.122571+0800 0xd5e10 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSystemPolicy) ASP: Security policy would not allow process: 29415, /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES 2025-04-21 13:58:46.297915+0800 0xd5941 Default 0x0 149 0 amfid: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES signature not valid: -67050 2025-04-21 13:58:46.298031+0800 0xd5f85 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: mac_vnode_check_signature: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: code signature validation failed fatally: When validating /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: 2025-04-21 13:58:46.298072+0800 0xd5f85 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: proc 29485: load code signature error 4 for file "UES" 2025-04-21 13:58:46.300248+0800 0xd5f86 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSystemPolicy) ASP: Security policy would not allow process: 29485, /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES May I ask what the reason is?
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73
Apr ’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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278
Sep ’25
Account Shows to "Enroll" again after I submitted Mac app for Notarization
I submitted a mac app for Notarization. For the first few tries the Notarization failed with an error "Team is not yet configured for Notarization" but few days after my account started to show "ENROLL" option again even though my membership was set to expire on 2026. I am doubting my account has been suspended. I have not received any emails from apple regarding the suspension. I have contacted support but no help yet ! This was the second year, i was paying for the membership. Could you please help me to - Help me get the account unsuspended (if it is, as there is no notification or information regarding this) If the account is suspended due to my app being submitted for Notarization then help me identify the reason so that i can fix them. Mac App is Time Tracking application that runs in background and capture periodic screenshot backlsh.com (NOTE - I am doing this after taking user consent)
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133
Jul ’25
Code Signing, Certificates and Profiles for Notarisation
I keep having issues with my account. I have certificates that will not revoke. I create new certificates, then I create new profiles for development, distribution and for developer ID application distribution outside of the app store as well. With my app in Xcode, I can only get the Developer profile to work to allow builds. My distribution profile builds and then fails, with an error 5. The Developer ID Application profile will not even accept the profile in XCode, sighting that there is no code signing, yet I have checked things over and over again. Ontop of this, I had developers in the past in my team and they added a whole lot of certificates for Developer ID that I just cannot use now. I also cannot revoke them. I have no active apps on the app store now, so I was wondering if Apple or someone can assist me in removing ALL the certificates, all the profiles and get a clean slate, so that I can setup everything from scratch again, because I have lost countless of hours getting nowhere and I cannot get Apple support to assist? Anyone been through this before?
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501
Jan ’25
Notarization Stuck "In Progress"
Hello Colleagues, We have been seeing a delay in our Apple notarization submission that hangs for hours "in progress" without completing: This issue has been occurring since Friday, October 17th. We have also checked the Apple System Status page and there is no indication of any outage for Apple notarization.
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182
Oct ’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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194
Aug ’25