Is configuring entitlements for Mac App Store application a must? - macos

I am going to submit my application for Mac App Store, and I am confused about enabling entitlements.
In Apple developer guide for configuring your app for mac App store, it does not say if it is required, or its just better to do it.
I am not using iCloud or push notifications (and are not enabled in my App ID).
I am not going to enable Sandboxing before 1st of March.
I sign my executable with the appropriate Apple Application Certificate and my installer with Installer certificate.
I am following the File-System Usage Requirements for the Mac App Store guide lines.
Last time my binary was accepted, but application was rejected in review due to some other violation.
My question is, will my app get rejected if I do not check the Enable Entitlements checkbox in Xcode. If I enable it, the second option is if I want to enable Sandbox which I do not, so it seems irrelevant.
I found this answer which says its not required but its for iOS.
Can someone confirm?
Thanks in Advance.

No it is not needed. My App was approved without Enabling entitlements. But, it will be needed once I start using Push notifications, Sandboxing, or iClouds.

Related

Is notarization necessary for Mac App store release?

Is it necessary to notarize app before uploading to Apple App Store? I come across some article says that notarization is needed for non-app store distribution, while apple will run notarization before approving an app store version.
Anyone can confirm?
The reason I ask this question is because I notarized the app for outside Mac App Store distribution and it works fine. For the Mac app store build, I can upload and distribute it and it works fine on Mac, only have issue on Catalina(beta) when user try to open, see attached pic. Wonder if it's related to notarization.
Update: the issue was not due to notarization, but due to code signing. One of the node binary is not signed before uploading to MAS, maybe Catalina has a more strict rule checking it.
No, it's not required. Apps downloaded from the app store are not notarized. You can verify it using spctl command.
spctl -a -v /Applications/Pages.app
/Applications/Pages.app: accepted
source=Mac App Store
Gatekeeper will check notarization only if the app is downloaded from outside the App Store.
From Safely open apps on your Mac
When you install Mac apps, plug-ins, and installer packages from
outside the App Store, macOS checks the Developer ID signature and
notarization status to verify that the software is from an identified
developer and that it has not been altered.
Notarization is only required for distribution outside the Mac App Store. See Distribute outside the Mac App Store (macOS), which says:
In some cases, you may want to distribute an app outside of the Mac App Store [...] Users gain additional assurance if your Developer ID-signed app is also notarized by Apple.
The macOS User Guide has this to say:
App Store: [...] All the developers of apps in the Mac App Store are identified by Apple, and each app is reviewed before it’s accepted
App Store and identified developers: [...] Identified developers are registered with Apple and can optionally upload their apps to Apple for a security check. If problems occur with an app, Apple can revoke its authorization.

Testing a Mac App on Registered Devices

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.

Publishing Mac App on App Store

We are developing an application for our client and he wanted us to build App so he can publish the app over the Mac App store,
As of now we don't have Mac Developer Id, and we have received App Id from the client,
My question is, is it possible to make build only using App Id ?
I guess with App ID you mean something like "com.company.product".
Getting an Application for OS X to the App store is not an easy task (compared to iPhone/iPad).
To sign the App you need the public/private Key pair and a couple of certificates from your client.
The convenient way to upload the app to apple is done using Xcode.
Does the client use Xcode? If your client uses Xcode, then your client can do all the signing stuff. Then your client needs just the source code.
If your client needs a signed binary, then it's not obvious HOW he gets the app to the Appstore. There is a tool which can be used to upload the binary: "Application Loader.app"
(Here is a similar SO question which describes the toolchain: How to submit an iOS app WITHOUT XCode?)
If you need to deliver your results to your client as a signed bundle then you need all Certificates from the client. Your code must have all entitlements set. Uploading this code without testing your entitlements on your local machine is like driving a car blindfolded.
However: If you need to deliver a signed binary to your client, then you need all certificates.
If you will distribute the code to the client, it's not a problem delivering an unsigned binary to the client. Apps can be executed without code signing. Even without an valid AppID your code may be executed.
If your client has knowledge about Mac development, this should be no problem. If your client't doesn't know anything about Mac development, you should get access to his Mac-Developer account and do it for him.
Conclusion: The AppID is just a string to identify the app. If your client does the code signing stuff and uploading to Apple by himself using Xcode, then you need nothing else.
If you should use iCloud or App-Sandboxing (Entitlements) then you NEED certificates from your client.

OSX Lion application with iCloud access

I need to build an application for Lion with iCloud functionality.
I know that I have to sign the application in order to use entitlements options to enable iCloud.
I do NOT have to distribute my application on MacStore, just to sell it directly to my clients.
Do I need to subscribe to Mac Developer program in order to get a working certificate? Or I can generate a self-signed one and use it to sign my application?
Thanks
Currently it looks like you have to sign up to the Mac Dev Programme to be able to support iCloud in your apps (you need to edit a setting in the portal to enable iCloud for your bundle ID).
Additionally, it is unclear if non-appstore apps will be able to support iCloud anyway.

How can I self-sign in Xcode for iPhone?

How can I self-sign an iPhone application using Xcode? I have done the following:
Created a cert following these instructions
Modified my /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Info.plist to include the two keys
<key>PROVISIONING_PROFILE_ALLOWED</key>
<string>NO</string>
<key>PROVISIONING_PROFILE_REQUIRED</key>
<string>NO</string>
I have changed the info.plist associated with the project to say
<key>SignerIdentity</key>
<string>Apple iPhone OS Application Signing</string>
I have changed the project properties to refer to the signing authority with the name iPhone Developer, which is the name of my certificate.
The error is currently a valid provisioning profile matching the applications identifier... cannot be found.
Note: I am pretty sure that this can be done without a $99 cert from Apple. Also, I am not trying to build for the simulator but rather for the iPhone/iPod Touch itself.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Perhaps Relevant link.
Have you tried http://iphonedevwiki.net/index.php/Xcode#Developing_without_Provisioning_Profile? The link you've provided only works for SDK 2.x.
The error message is because you do not have the proper provisioning profile through the developer site of Apple, which follows from paying the $99 yearly. It may somehow work on a jail broken device which is not how Xcode is designed to be used.

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