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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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Aug ’25
Codesign can't find keychain files (on M2 MacBook)
I've been distributing my Math Education app (Java-based) as a downloadable .dmg. My sw manufacturing process was working well on my Intel-iMac a year ago (signing, notarization, stapling). I need to support Apple Silicon, so I replicated the SW manuf. stack on my M2 MacBook, including putting my Developer and Installer Certificates in the Keychain Access. I get through building the M2,M2,M4 .dmg installer file just fine. But the Codesign is failing. It should be prompting me for my MacOS password (it does this in the Intel-Mac process), but fails this command: codesign --sign "Pierre Bierre (SL7L4YU8GT)" --force --options runtime --verbose --timestamp ~/DFG2D_MacOS_Manufacturing/MacOSInstallers/DFG2D_Mac_J17010_295 The response was: error: The specified item could not be found in the keychain. The signer reference is correct, and works fine on the Intel-Mac codesign process. What could explain why the same script fails in the M2 environment? Does codesign normally prompt for the MacOS user password ? Why would that fail?
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290
Aug ’25
Gatekepper acts against .app package developed by a freelancer for our company
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://aninterestingwebsite.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.
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Aug ’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://aninterestingwebsite.com/library/archive/qa/qa1879/_index.html https://aninterestingwebsite.com/library/archive/technotes/tn2318/_index.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/DTS40013777-CH1-OVERVIEW https://aninterestingwebsite.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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Aug ’25
com.apple.developer.family-controls Distribution Timeline?
Hi All, Like many others I'm a little confused with gaining access to the family controls capability. Our app is ready to push to testflight, and we sent the request to apple last week. However only learning today that we need to request for the shield extension as well. I wanted to ask what the expected timeline is for being approved? I've seen posts here saying less than a week, and some people having to wait longer than 6 weeks. Any advise or guidance on getting approved smoothly & swiftly would be highly appreciated
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Aug ’25
VoIP Entitlement
Good afternoon, Our team is currently developing a mobile application that includes video call functionality, and we are seeking the optimal approach to enable incoming calls on iOS devices. Ideally, we would like calls to be delivered even when the app is completely closed or after the device is restarted. As I understand it, this may require obtaining VoIP permissions; otherwise, calls may only work when the app is open or running in the background. I would appreciate it if you could confirm my understanding and advise me on the steps or requirements for obtaining the appropriate permissions. Currently, when I try to launch the app in XCode, I see an error (screenshot).
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Aug ’25
unzip identifier is not unique?
In Swift I'm using unzip by launching a Process to unzip a file. I added a launchRequirement to the process in order to make sure the executable is code signed by Apple and the identifier is com.apple.unzip. After testing out my code on another machines (both physical and virtual), I found out that in some the identifier is actually com.apple.zipinfo, which broke the SigningIdentifier requirement. It's safe to assume that /usr/bin/unzip can be trusted since it's in a System Integrity Protection (SIP) location, but I'm wondering why this executable has different identifiers?
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Aug ’25
Xcode Signing and Capabilities
I'm currently befuddled by the entire signing and certificate process. I don't understand what I need, what the team admin needs to do, or how to go about doing it so that I can build the project. We've managed to have this working in the past but I guess the system has changed somewhat. Here's what we have going: A Unity project which hasn't changed from a few years ago. I build the project in unity, open the Xcode project and this: There's an issue with the Signing and Capabilities. If I choose automatic setup it shows an error saying that it requires a development team. I had the account admin add my Apple ID to the team so I'm not sure why that's an issue still. Do I need to pay the 99$ to be able to building Xcode? If I try to do it manually I select the provisioning profile that the account admin sent me and it auto selects the team associated with the provisioning profile I guess but then there's no singing certificate. The error says: There is no signing certificate "iOS Development" found. No "iOS Development" signing certificate matching team ID "V7D5YBZRMV" with a private key was found. So, if someone could explain to me like I'm 5 the entire signing and certificate process is and let me know what we're doing wrong with the team/provisioning profile/certificate setup I would be very much appreciative.
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Aug ’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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Aug ’25
GateKeeper rejects application bundles with a file name with an NFC/NFD problem by copying with Finder
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.
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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Aug ’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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Aug ’25
Cannot launch an app sucessfully stapled and validated
Hey, when I try to launch my app it prompts me with a "Apple could not verify" popup. The thing is the app has been signed and stapled. xcrun stapler validate .app for my app returns "The validate action worked!" If I also run syspolicy_check distribution .app it returns: "App passed all pre-distribution checks and is ready for distribution" Any idea?
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Aug ’25
login item still displays my personal name after migrating to company account
I have a mac app which has a launch agent. I signed it with my account, but it always shows as my personal 'XX XXX" in the login items of mac settings. Actually this is the reason I switched my personal account to a company account. But now it is still shown as 'XX XXX' in the login items after I signed up again with this company account. Do you know how I can change this? The identity I also tried to create a new one with the team, but it does not allow me to create a new one. Chatgpt recommends revoking the current one, but this will affect our old release.
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Aug ’25
Unsigned macOS app installed in /Applications does not appear in Launchpad
Hello, I have a macOS app built with Flutter’s macOS target (native Xcode project). The app is unsigned (no Developer ID code signing / notarization). The .app bundle looks valid: CFBundlePackageType = APPL Unique CFBundleIdentifier No LSUIElement or LSBackgroundOnly Executable exists and is runnable Placed at /Applications/MyApp.app (top-level), runs fine from Finder However, it does not show up in Launchpad. What I tried: Remove quarantine: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/MyApp.app" Force Launch Services registration: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -f "/Applications/MyApp.app" Rebuild LS caches: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user Reset Launchpad DB and restart Dock: defaults write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool true && killall Dock Verified bundle structure/type: mdls -name kMDItemContentType -name kMDItemKind "/Applications/MyApp.app" → shows com.apple.application-bundle / Application Questions Is code signing/notarization required for an app to appear in Launchpad (even if it runs from Finder)? What additional conditions cause Launchpad to skip an otherwise valid, unsigned .app in /Applications? Are there deeper Launch Services or Dock database checks I can run to diagnose why this specific app is excluded?
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General Tags:
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Aug ’25
Invalid Code Signing Entitlements
Hi, I have a .NET MAUI app which I've added subscriptions to using the Plugin.InAppBilling nuget package. When I tested on TestFlight I got an almost immediate crash. After doing some research I followed advice to add an Entitlements.plist file to Platforms &gt; iOS with the following entry: com.apple.developer.in-app-purchase The distribution provisioning profile I'm using to sign my app has the App ID set to an Identifier which has "In-App Purchase" ticked, but greyed out in it's "Capabilities" section on https://aninterestingwebsite.com/. I'm not sure why it's ticked and greyed out, but I assume that means that "In-App Purchase" is enabled. The app runs file locally but when I create an IPA file and add it to Transporter for upload to App Store Connect I get the following error: "Validation failed (409) Invalid Code Signing Entitlements. Your application bundle's signature contains code signing entitlements that are not supported on iOS. Specifically, key 'com.apple.developer.in-app-purchase' in 'Payload/[Removed].app/[Removed]' is not supported. (ID: [Removed])". Here is the structure of my csproj code for creating a IPA file for iOS: The command I use: dotnet publish [Removed]/app.csproj -f:net9.0-ios -c:Release ^ /p:PlatformTarget=Arm64 ^ /p:RuntimeIdentifier=ios-arm64 ^ /p:ServerAddress=[Removed] ^ /p:ServerUser=[Removed] ^ /p:ServerPassword=[Removed] ^ /p:ArchiveOnBuild=true ^ /p:BuildIpa=true I'm stuck trying to figure this out. If you could please point out any issues with what I'm doing or if you have any suggestions to resolve the problem I would very much appreciate it. Thanks, Ben
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Aug ’25
Notarytool in progress for over 2 days
Whilst waiting for the company developer account I successfully notarised an app/pkg On switching to the company account the app/pkg has been stuck in progress for over 2 days (see below) The initial submission was via Xcode and later via command line. The last one was when I updated bundle ids etc and built with Github Actions. The initial submission did coincide with a service outage, however that is marked as resolved. I would like to cancel all of them now that I have switched the signing account and the bundle ID but there seems no way to do this? Thoughts and comments welcome. Thanks Paul -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-14T11:03:24.837Z id: edf215d0-4d15-4075-aa6f-4755a35b3d45 name: ZenityEndpointAgent.pkg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-12T21:36:36.345Z id: 9c98de09-d3aa-449b-ad47-7e721b0342c5 name: AIEdgeDeviceAgent.pkg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-12T16:58:50.891Z id: 9206f9be-0fc4-4c6c-aa66-8fcbe3332155 name: AIEdgeDeviceAgent.pkg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-12T10:37:35.624Z id: b20d1dd0-084e-441c-87a6-641fb088819e name: AIEdge Device Agent.zip status: In Progress
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Aug ’25
Provisioning Profile, Automatic Sign In Failures
Hello, I'm working in Xcode Version 16.4. I have not been able to sign in without errors. I've paid for the dev account. I've created certificates. Downloaded and uploaded CSRs. Use background mode, not used background mode. Nothing seems to work. Thank you for looking into this! Hopefully you can point me in the right direction or find a solution. Attached screenshots with errors.
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Aug ’25
Dynamic Library cannot call exposed C function
This is a lengthy one. I have basically compiled a Rust binary into a dylib and packaged into a .xcframework that contains per arch .frameworks. This loads correctly when run from Xcode into a real iOS device. However, when deployed to TestFlight the app crashes. Here is what is a bit different, the dylib is not fully self-contained. It tries to reach in an use C functions I have exposed in my library code. Calling functions that are just within the dylib and just return works fine, but the moment it tries to call one of the exposed functions it crashes. A full in-depth step by step of how I packaged the binaries can be found in my website: https://ospfranco.com/complete-guide-to-dylibs-in-ios-and-android When I look at the TestFlight crash report there are no symbols but the termination cause via WatchDog is: Termination Reason: CODESIGNING 2 Invalid Page I have declared my functions as such: OBJC_EXTERN void ios_prepare_request(const char *url) #define EXPORT __attribute__((visibility("default"), used, retain)) extern "C" { EXPORT void ios_prepare_request(const char *url) { NSString *urlString = [NSString stringWithUTF8String:url]; request = [NSMutableURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:urlString]]; } } // Function used to prevent optimization void force_symbol_registration() { // Force these symbols to be included in the binary by referencing them volatile void *ptrs[] = {(void *)ios_prepare_request,}; // Prevent compiler from optimizing away the array (void)ptrs; } And I load my framework as: opacity::force_symbol_registration(); // NSBundle *dylib_bundle = // [NSBundle bundleWithIdentifier:@"com.opacitylabs.sdk"]; // NSString *dylib_path = [dylib_bundle pathForResource:@"sdk" ofType:@""]; // // Load the dynamic library // void *handle = dlopen([dylib_path UTF8String], RTLD_NOW | RTLD_GLOBAL); // if (!handle) { // NSString *errorMessage = [NSString stringWithUTF8String:dlerror()]; // *error = // [NSError errorWithDomain:@"OpacitySDKDylibError" // code:1002 // userInfo:@{NSLocalizedDescriptionKey : // errorMessage}]; // return -1; // or appropriate error code // } // Make sure the main executable's symbols are available dlopen(NULL, RTLD_NOW | RTLD_GLOBAL); NSBundle *frameworkBundle = [NSBundle bundleWithIdentifier:@"com.opacitylabs.sdk"]; if (![frameworkBundle isLoaded]) { BOOL success = [frameworkBundle load]; if (!success) { NSString *errorMessage = @"Failed to load framework"; *error = [NSError errorWithDomain:@"OpacitySDKDylibError" code:1002 userInfo:@{NSLocalizedDescriptionKey : errorMessage}]; return -1; } } As you can see, I have also tried dlopen both work when run from Xcode but crash when deployed on testflight. I have tried re-signing the xcframework/frameworks on a pre build step but it doesn't work As stated, I can call the functions inside the dylib, but once they try to call my exposed code it crashes Is this achievable at all or just a limitation of the iOS sandbox?
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General Tags:
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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.
Replies
1
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0
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158
Activity
Aug ’25
Codesign can't find keychain files (on M2 MacBook)
I've been distributing my Math Education app (Java-based) as a downloadable .dmg. My sw manufacturing process was working well on my Intel-iMac a year ago (signing, notarization, stapling). I need to support Apple Silicon, so I replicated the SW manuf. stack on my M2 MacBook, including putting my Developer and Installer Certificates in the Keychain Access. I get through building the M2,M2,M4 .dmg installer file just fine. But the Codesign is failing. It should be prompting me for my MacOS password (it does this in the Intel-Mac process), but fails this command: codesign --sign "Pierre Bierre (SL7L4YU8GT)" --force --options runtime --verbose --timestamp ~/DFG2D_MacOS_Manufacturing/MacOSInstallers/DFG2D_Mac_J17010_295 The response was: error: The specified item could not be found in the keychain. The signer reference is correct, and works fine on the Intel-Mac codesign process. What could explain why the same script fails in the M2 environment? Does codesign normally prompt for the MacOS user password ? Why would that fail?
Replies
4
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0
Views
290
Activity
Aug ’25
Gatekepper acts against .app package developed by a freelancer for our company
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://aninterestingwebsite.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.
Replies
6
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0
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209
Activity
Aug ’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://aninterestingwebsite.com/library/archive/qa/qa1879/_index.html https://aninterestingwebsite.com/library/archive/technotes/tn2318/_index.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/DTS40013777-CH1-OVERVIEW https://aninterestingwebsite.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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1
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221
Activity
Aug ’25
app is already signed / code object is not signed at all
Our app .dmg file was successfully code signed. We then revised the app and created a new .dmg. Running codesign gave an "app is already signed" message. Then running codesign -dv said "code object is not signed at all" Older solutions said to use -f to force signing, but that is no longer an option.
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1
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144
Activity
Aug ’25
com.apple.developer.family-controls Distribution Timeline?
Hi All, Like many others I'm a little confused with gaining access to the family controls capability. Our app is ready to push to testflight, and we sent the request to apple last week. However only learning today that we need to request for the shield extension as well. I wanted to ask what the expected timeline is for being approved? I've seen posts here saying less than a week, and some people having to wait longer than 6 weeks. Any advise or guidance on getting approved smoothly & swiftly would be highly appreciated
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0
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161
Activity
Aug ’25
VoIP Entitlement
Good afternoon, Our team is currently developing a mobile application that includes video call functionality, and we are seeking the optimal approach to enable incoming calls on iOS devices. Ideally, we would like calls to be delivered even when the app is completely closed or after the device is restarted. As I understand it, this may require obtaining VoIP permissions; otherwise, calls may only work when the app is open or running in the background. I would appreciate it if you could confirm my understanding and advise me on the steps or requirements for obtaining the appropriate permissions. Currently, when I try to launch the app in XCode, I see an error (screenshot).
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1
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326
Activity
Aug ’25
Notarizing taking 6+ hours?
I am building an electron app bundled with python. My code signing was fast, but when it came to notarization, it has already taken over 6+ hours. How can I speed things up?
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2
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185
Activity
Aug ’25
unzip identifier is not unique?
In Swift I'm using unzip by launching a Process to unzip a file. I added a launchRequirement to the process in order to make sure the executable is code signed by Apple and the identifier is com.apple.unzip. After testing out my code on another machines (both physical and virtual), I found out that in some the identifier is actually com.apple.zipinfo, which broke the SigningIdentifier requirement. It's safe to assume that /usr/bin/unzip can be trusted since it's in a System Integrity Protection (SIP) location, but I'm wondering why this executable has different identifiers?
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4
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1
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177
Activity
Aug ’25
Xcode Signing and Capabilities
I'm currently befuddled by the entire signing and certificate process. I don't understand what I need, what the team admin needs to do, or how to go about doing it so that I can build the project. We've managed to have this working in the past but I guess the system has changed somewhat. Here's what we have going: A Unity project which hasn't changed from a few years ago. I build the project in unity, open the Xcode project and this: There's an issue with the Signing and Capabilities. If I choose automatic setup it shows an error saying that it requires a development team. I had the account admin add my Apple ID to the team so I'm not sure why that's an issue still. Do I need to pay the 99$ to be able to building Xcode? If I try to do it manually I select the provisioning profile that the account admin sent me and it auto selects the team associated with the provisioning profile I guess but then there's no singing certificate. The error says: There is no signing certificate "iOS Development" found. No "iOS Development" signing certificate matching team ID "V7D5YBZRMV" with a private key was found. So, if someone could explain to me like I'm 5 the entire signing and certificate process is and let me know what we're doing wrong with the team/provisioning profile/certificate setup I would be very much appreciative.
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7
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4.7k
Activity
Aug ’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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297
Activity
Aug ’25
GateKeeper rejects application bundles with a file name with an NFC/NFD problem by copying with Finder
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.
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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5
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332
Activity
Aug ’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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319
Activity
Aug ’25
Cannot launch an app sucessfully stapled and validated
Hey, when I try to launch my app it prompts me with a "Apple could not verify" popup. The thing is the app has been signed and stapled. xcrun stapler validate .app for my app returns "The validate action worked!" If I also run syspolicy_check distribution .app it returns: "App passed all pre-distribution checks and is ready for distribution" Any idea?
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240
Activity
Aug ’25
login item still displays my personal name after migrating to company account
I have a mac app which has a launch agent. I signed it with my account, but it always shows as my personal 'XX XXX" in the login items of mac settings. Actually this is the reason I switched my personal account to a company account. But now it is still shown as 'XX XXX' in the login items after I signed up again with this company account. Do you know how I can change this? The identity I also tried to create a new one with the team, but it does not allow me to create a new one. Chatgpt recommends revoking the current one, but this will affect our old release.
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6
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234
Activity
Aug ’25
Unsigned macOS app installed in /Applications does not appear in Launchpad
Hello, I have a macOS app built with Flutter’s macOS target (native Xcode project). The app is unsigned (no Developer ID code signing / notarization). The .app bundle looks valid: CFBundlePackageType = APPL Unique CFBundleIdentifier No LSUIElement or LSBackgroundOnly Executable exists and is runnable Placed at /Applications/MyApp.app (top-level), runs fine from Finder However, it does not show up in Launchpad. What I tried: Remove quarantine: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/MyApp.app" Force Launch Services registration: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -f "/Applications/MyApp.app" Rebuild LS caches: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user Reset Launchpad DB and restart Dock: defaults write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool true && killall Dock Verified bundle structure/type: mdls -name kMDItemContentType -name kMDItemKind "/Applications/MyApp.app" → shows com.apple.application-bundle / Application Questions Is code signing/notarization required for an app to appear in Launchpad (even if it runs from Finder)? What additional conditions cause Launchpad to skip an otherwise valid, unsigned .app in /Applications? Are there deeper Launch Services or Dock database checks I can run to diagnose why this specific app is excluded?
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General Tags:
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2
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176
Activity
Aug ’25
Invalid Code Signing Entitlements
Hi, I have a .NET MAUI app which I've added subscriptions to using the Plugin.InAppBilling nuget package. When I tested on TestFlight I got an almost immediate crash. After doing some research I followed advice to add an Entitlements.plist file to Platforms &gt; iOS with the following entry: com.apple.developer.in-app-purchase The distribution provisioning profile I'm using to sign my app has the App ID set to an Identifier which has "In-App Purchase" ticked, but greyed out in it's "Capabilities" section on https://aninterestingwebsite.com/. I'm not sure why it's ticked and greyed out, but I assume that means that "In-App Purchase" is enabled. The app runs file locally but when I create an IPA file and add it to Transporter for upload to App Store Connect I get the following error: "Validation failed (409) Invalid Code Signing Entitlements. Your application bundle's signature contains code signing entitlements that are not supported on iOS. Specifically, key 'com.apple.developer.in-app-purchase' in 'Payload/[Removed].app/[Removed]' is not supported. (ID: [Removed])". Here is the structure of my csproj code for creating a IPA file for iOS: The command I use: dotnet publish [Removed]/app.csproj -f:net9.0-ios -c:Release ^ /p:PlatformTarget=Arm64 ^ /p:RuntimeIdentifier=ios-arm64 ^ /p:ServerAddress=[Removed] ^ /p:ServerUser=[Removed] ^ /p:ServerPassword=[Removed] ^ /p:ArchiveOnBuild=true ^ /p:BuildIpa=true I'm stuck trying to figure this out. If you could please point out any issues with what I'm doing or if you have any suggestions to resolve the problem I would very much appreciate it. Thanks, Ben
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4
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615
Activity
Aug ’25
Notarytool in progress for over 2 days
Whilst waiting for the company developer account I successfully notarised an app/pkg On switching to the company account the app/pkg has been stuck in progress for over 2 days (see below) The initial submission was via Xcode and later via command line. The last one was when I updated bundle ids etc and built with Github Actions. The initial submission did coincide with a service outage, however that is marked as resolved. I would like to cancel all of them now that I have switched the signing account and the bundle ID but there seems no way to do this? Thoughts and comments welcome. Thanks Paul -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-14T11:03:24.837Z id: edf215d0-4d15-4075-aa6f-4755a35b3d45 name: ZenityEndpointAgent.pkg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-12T21:36:36.345Z id: 9c98de09-d3aa-449b-ad47-7e721b0342c5 name: AIEdgeDeviceAgent.pkg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-12T16:58:50.891Z id: 9206f9be-0fc4-4c6c-aa66-8fcbe3332155 name: AIEdgeDeviceAgent.pkg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-12T10:37:35.624Z id: b20d1dd0-084e-441c-87a6-641fb088819e name: AIEdge Device Agent.zip status: In Progress
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3
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2
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328
Activity
Aug ’25
Provisioning Profile, Automatic Sign In Failures
Hello, I'm working in Xcode Version 16.4. I have not been able to sign in without errors. I've paid for the dev account. I've created certificates. Downloaded and uploaded CSRs. Use background mode, not used background mode. Nothing seems to work. Thank you for looking into this! Hopefully you can point me in the right direction or find a solution. Attached screenshots with errors.
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2
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450
Activity
Aug ’25
Dynamic Library cannot call exposed C function
This is a lengthy one. I have basically compiled a Rust binary into a dylib and packaged into a .xcframework that contains per arch .frameworks. This loads correctly when run from Xcode into a real iOS device. However, when deployed to TestFlight the app crashes. Here is what is a bit different, the dylib is not fully self-contained. It tries to reach in an use C functions I have exposed in my library code. Calling functions that are just within the dylib and just return works fine, but the moment it tries to call one of the exposed functions it crashes. A full in-depth step by step of how I packaged the binaries can be found in my website: https://ospfranco.com/complete-guide-to-dylibs-in-ios-and-android When I look at the TestFlight crash report there are no symbols but the termination cause via WatchDog is: Termination Reason: CODESIGNING 2 Invalid Page I have declared my functions as such: OBJC_EXTERN void ios_prepare_request(const char *url) #define EXPORT __attribute__((visibility("default"), used, retain)) extern "C" { EXPORT void ios_prepare_request(const char *url) { NSString *urlString = [NSString stringWithUTF8String:url]; request = [NSMutableURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:urlString]]; } } // Function used to prevent optimization void force_symbol_registration() { // Force these symbols to be included in the binary by referencing them volatile void *ptrs[] = {(void *)ios_prepare_request,}; // Prevent compiler from optimizing away the array (void)ptrs; } And I load my framework as: opacity::force_symbol_registration(); // NSBundle *dylib_bundle = // [NSBundle bundleWithIdentifier:@"com.opacitylabs.sdk"]; // NSString *dylib_path = [dylib_bundle pathForResource:@"sdk" ofType:@""]; // // Load the dynamic library // void *handle = dlopen([dylib_path UTF8String], RTLD_NOW | RTLD_GLOBAL); // if (!handle) { // NSString *errorMessage = [NSString stringWithUTF8String:dlerror()]; // *error = // [NSError errorWithDomain:@"OpacitySDKDylibError" // code:1002 // userInfo:@{NSLocalizedDescriptionKey : // errorMessage}]; // return -1; // or appropriate error code // } // Make sure the main executable's symbols are available dlopen(NULL, RTLD_NOW | RTLD_GLOBAL); NSBundle *frameworkBundle = [NSBundle bundleWithIdentifier:@"com.opacitylabs.sdk"]; if (![frameworkBundle isLoaded]) { BOOL success = [frameworkBundle load]; if (!success) { NSString *errorMessage = @"Failed to load framework"; *error = [NSError errorWithDomain:@"OpacitySDKDylibError" code:1002 userInfo:@{NSLocalizedDescriptionKey : errorMessage}]; return -1; } } As you can see, I have also tried dlopen both work when run from Xcode but crash when deployed on testflight. I have tried re-signing the xcframework/frameworks on a pre build step but it doesn't work As stated, I can call the functions inside the dylib, but once they try to call my exposed code it crashes Is this achievable at all or just a limitation of the iOS sandbox?
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General Tags:
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16
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460
Activity
Aug ’25