Testing a Mac App on Registered Devices - xcode

I have a Cocoa Mac App that I don't know if it will on the Mac AppStore.
The application is still in development, and I want few persons to be able to launch it on their devices while the app gets new features.
The situation is the following :
I have a Mac Developer Certificate
Devices are registered in the Mac Member Center.
Every time they launch the app, GateKeeper complain the app doesn't come from the Mac AppStore, nor is provided by a identified developer, no matter if I sign the app or not.
So I tried to sign it and a provisioning profile is embedded into the app. If I don't sign it nothing embedded.
I should mention that the app has a Spotlight importer and QuickLook generator bundled into it.
I didn't find any clear explanation on how to resolve this issue in the Apple documentation, and most (if not all) blog posts, or articles on the Internet are about iPhone apps, not Mac ones (the process/requirements seems to be different on the two platforms).
The documentation is unclear on if all testers should be team members (which seems crazy because some of them aren't developers and don't have Xcode installed).
Can someone provide a clear step-by-step explanation on how to do that ?
Or maybe a article/blog post link or tips ?
Edit :
Here are screenshots of the app bundle structure and plug-in structure :
Everything seems to be right.
The way I obtained that is : I didn't set "Code Signing Identity" build setting, but rather archived the app, and exported it specifying code signing identity at that time.
Edit :
More and more curious, when I run codesign command in the terminal, codesign -vvv MyApp.app, the output tends to suggests that all is rightly done :
MyApp.app: valid on disk
MyApp.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement

Interpreting this question as essentially:
"how do I beta test Mac App Store apps" ?
Apple hasn't yet published an official workflow in the App Distribution Guide, but the following process works:
Tester sends "System Information utility > Hardware tab > Hardware UUID" to developer
Developer updates dev provisioning profile to include the hardware UUID
Developer uses Xcode Organizer Archives tab, Distribute > "Save as Mac Application", then select the updated development signing identity.
Developer sends newly built app to the tester
Note: The development identities have yellow caution ! icons during the re-signing process but they can still be used.
Not only does this avoid the GateKeeper prompt, but the development provisioning profile is also needed for any store technologies you might be using to work during testing, e.g. iCloud, GameCenter, etc.

Related

not able to add .ipa file in iphone device

i have generated the .ipa file and trying to add in any iphone device but its not adding.
the error is showing like:- couldnot install(in xcode).
i tried with apple configurator 2:- in this scenario app is installing a bit just assume
75% and after that the app icon is getting grayed out and clicking on that app is giving
popup as :- could not install please try later.
somewhere i saw that you have to allow from your device to trust this app, location is like :- settings > general > profile&management > you will find your profile here for new app installing.i didn't get any profile there.
FYI
i am using free developer account and created the xamarin app from windows and building it through mac, the xcode version is 9.4 beta and i also tried to override with xcode version 11.3.
i am not getting whether i am missing something or messed up with xcode versioning.
i am using free developer account and created the xamarin app from windows and building it through mac...
If using a free apple developer account , you can not install a .ipa file to iOS Device .This is limited by Apple.
About IPA Support in Xamarin.iOS , you will see there are two uses as follow :
Ad Hoc Testing — An iOS application can be deployed to up to 100 users (identified by specific iOS device UUIDs) for Alpha and Beta testing purposes. See our Provisioning an iOS Device for Development documentation for detailed information on adding test iOS devices to your Apple developer account, and the Ad-Hoc guide, for more information on how to distribute in this way.
In House / Enterprise Deployment — An iOS application can be deployed internally, within a company, which requires membership of Apple's Developer Enterprise program. More information on In House Distribution is detailed in the In House Distribution guide.
In either case, an IPA package (a special type of zip file) must be created and digitally signed with the correct Distribution Provisioning Profile.
If using a free provisioning , there is a Limitation as follow :
Access to iTunes Connect is limited and therefore services such as publishing to the App Store and TestFlight are unavailable to developers provisioning their applications freely. An Apple Developer Account (Enterprise or Personal) is required to distribute via Ad Hoc and In-House means.
Therefore , if need to add .ipa file in iphone device , you should use a paid Apple Developer Program account.

Is it possible to distribute an OSX app ad-hoc without UUID but with entitlements

I'm having some serious trouble signing an application for ad-hoc distribution. Is it possible to distribute an app with the following requirements?:
Does not require tester to provide UUID up front
Outside app store
Utilizes entitlements such as VPN or Keychain Sharing
I ask because exporting without signing (Organizer (select archive) > Export > Export as Mac Application) fails with "embedded provisioning profile not valid: ..." on some devices. It appears to work on others though.
Thank you!
If you're trying to use the NetworkExtension framework (which I'm assuming because you tagged your question with nevpnmanager,) unfortunately that's only available in App Store apps.
I know this because I asked Apple. I was trying to make a non App Store NEVPN app, but no dice. Quinn from Developer Tech Support told me the NEVPN stuff is only available for App Store apps, and that I should file a bug report (which I think I did.)

Export XCode App for One Person

Alright so I've built my first desktop app in xcode. The app is intended for use by one person only. I want to export it in the quickest, easiest way possible so they can use it on their laptop.
I've got Mac OS 10.10.3 and XCode 6.4. The target laptop has Mac OS 10.10.5. I am reluctant to update my system and the one on the laptop but will do if I have no other choice.
Getting it to work on my own computer would be a great start. Currently if I do Product > Archive. And then Export "As Mac Application" (unsigned). It creates the app but when I try and open it, it say "App couldn't open because of a problem". Is there a way I can debug this? Or an obvious thing I may have missed?
Ideally I want the app to work on my computer and to be able to transfer it to the target laptop and have it work on there too. I'll pay for the developer licence if I have no other choice but for a single-target application I feel like it's a waste of money.
You don't say it explicitly in your question but do you not have an apple developer certificate? If not, then you will not likely be able to sign the app appropriately to export it for use. If I'm not mistaken, when I export my apps (even for local testing on other machines in my house) the app gets signed with my developer certificate, enabling OSX to see that the app has been signed by a registered developer.
I believe you will be able to run the app in Xcode (without a developer certificate), but in order to export it you need a signature (development certificate) which is provided as part of the Apple Developer subscription.
An easy thing you could try to do, assuming your app builds:
Run your app
Right click the app icon in the dock
Click Options -> Show in Finder
Boom there's your app bundle. Send that over to your recipient
It seems fairly obvious in hindsight but I ended up installing XCode on the target computer (using the Apple Developer site to get the same version as I was running on the dev computer. I was then able to just copy the project across and run it. This wasn't ideal but it did the job.

Distribute App Outside the Mac App Store

I'm a newbie in OSX Development. I built an application in which will be distributed outside the Mac App Store. I have all the other certificates and keys working except for the Developer ID (App and Installer) for production.
I know that this may sound stupid, but for what it's worth, I just wanna make sure.
Will my app still be considered Developer ID - signed if I exported it as a Mac Installer Package instead of selecting Export Developer ID-signed Application, when I install it to its destination devices? Will it be successfully installed or be rejected with GateKeeper-enabled devices?
I have been scratching my head for this since for some weird reason, I cannot add a new Distribution Developer-ID from the Dev Center. I was able to add a Developer ID earlier this week however, I ran into some issues with my private keys. As per suggested by Apple and many other developers, I revoked all the Developer IDs and private keys to start fresh. The problem now is that I can't add any new Developer ID (Distribution). I cannot add in both Dev Center and by requesting through Xcode 5.0.1. I'm stuck.
I have submitted a Bug Report to Apple, but who knows when they'll be able to resolve it.
So now, temporarily, since I don't have any choice (I guess), I'll use the Mac Installer Package, but the question is, will it work?
Any help would be very, very much appreciated.
I've done this recently and have created a third Xcode project configuration to Debug and Release called Archive, which is a copy of Release except the app is signed using the Mac App Distribution / Third Party Mac App Developer and, confusingly there is a third name used for this same certificate.
I then changed the Archive scheme to use the Archive configuration to build.
Before doing this I had errors on some Macs when signing with my Developer ID, in some cases they claimed the app was corrupted, and in other cases I got gatekeeper blocking the app, forcing me to override it in System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
I personally use xcodebuild (from Jenkins) to build the app for distribution to testers, which I package in a .dmg so they only need to drag it to /Applications or ~/Applications and I do all that using a script within the Jenkins configuration. Your experience may differ to mine if you are using the Xcode app instead.

Share Mac App without Mac App store

How to share mac desktop application on mountain lion to limited user without using Mac App store?
Can anyone tell me the procedure?
Thanks in advance.!
Compress your application in finder.
Upload to cloud(Dropbox, Sugarsync,IDrive,crashPlane) and share.
The correct way to do this is:
1) In the Apple Developer Portal, under "Certificates and Identifiers" ensure that your developers (and their Mac UUID's are all added to the portal
2) Download their corresponding profiles and make sure that they're installed on their development mac's (the ones which you registered under devices)
3) In Xcode, when you build an app for development testing, make sure that you're code-signing as "Mac Developer"
Once this is done, check that it's code-signed properly by dropping to terminal and testing it (this example I'll check the Apple Mail app):
04:31 $ spctl -vvvv -a /Applications/Mail.app
/Applications/Mail.app: accepted
source=Apple System
origin=Software Signing
If that passed, then it's free to distribute to your development team. In this case, it's not a developer app, but in the case of a developer app it'll appear as:
04:34 $ spctl -vvvv -a ./SomeApp.app
./SomeApp.app: accepted
source=Mac Developer
origin=Mac Developer: Your Details (TEAMID12345)
From here you can zip it up and email it to your development team to run on their machines.

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