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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unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer
Having reviewed every document, this has been going on for nearly two months. Originally, it was thought that the problem might be related to the fact I had created the developer ID signing certificate on an intel mac, and trying to import and use it on an M1 Mac-Mini. That turned out to not be the case. Completely started over with a new account (the company changed names), requested and was granted the entitlements we needed. Create a new CSR from this new m1 machine, created a Developer ID certificate, installed the certificate on this machine. But no matter what, the codesign fails. Troubleshooting Environment: Brand new Apple Developer account and Developer ID Application certificate (generated CSR on this Mac, installed cert and private key in login keychain) macOS build/signing machine, not running codesign as root Working from Terminal app in GUI session, not via SSH/cron Keychain & Certificate Chain: Verified Developer ID Application: Fidelis Security LLC (J4WGF5B6KZ) certificate and private key are present in login keychain Verified certificate is marked as trusted and has a private key attached Developer ID Certification Authority present and trusted in System keychain (removed any extra from login) Evaluate certificate assistant shows everything is good Apple Root CA present and trusted in System keychain Set all trust settings back to System Defaults after testing with “Always Trust” No expired or duplicate Developer ID intermediates present codesign Troubleshooting: Ran: codesign --force --timestamp --options runtime --sign "Developer ID Application: Fidelis Security LLC (J4WGF5B6KZ)" ./fidelisevents Consistently received: Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer ... errSecInternalComponent Confirmed correct identity using: security find-identity -v -p codesigning (Shows my Developer ID Application cert as valid) Keychain order confirmed with security list-keychains Tried explicit --keychain argument in codesign (no change) Additional Steps Attempted: Downloaded and re-installed all relevant Apple intermediates/root certificates from https://www.apple.com/certificateauthority/ Rebooted the Mac and killed/restarted the securityd daemon Confirmed no use of sudo or root for codesigning Verified keychain is unlocked Checked that partition list grants access to codesign (set with security set-key-partition-list -S "apple:codesign:" -s -k "" ~/Library/Keychains/login.keychain-db) Attempted to codesign a copy of /usr/bin/true (same error) Ran codesign both with and without --timestamp, both on app bundle and binary Keychain Access showing: Certificate and private key present and linked Correct trust chain System keychain containing all Apple intermediates/roots No trust warnings or red Xs Downloaded the latest Apple CA and Developer ID Root certificates and installed those. None of the forum searches have helped. AI is likewise confused.
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335
Jun ’25
Codesign -- force not signing 3rd Pty binaries
This math-educational 3D-graphics courseware utilizes Java3D, which sits on top of hardware-dependent JOGAMP binaries (which instruct at the GPU-level). This code signing command applied to the installer .dmg: codesign -s "myName" --force --options runtime ~/DFG2D_MacOS_Manufacturing/MacOSInstallers/DFG2D_Mac_J1602_x86/DataflowGeometry2D-1.0.300.dmg is supposed to force signing of all the embedded binaries, BUT the notary tool finds about 25 jogamp-fat dynamic libraries (/ *.dylib) UNSIGNED. Processing complete id: 23d81a99-4087-48d2-a567-8072dd2820fe status: Invalid pierrebierre@Pierres-iMac ~ % xcrun notarytool log 17d2fe94-f38a-47d4-9568-cf4dc65f24c9 --apple-id "xxxxxxxxxxx" --team-id "XXXXXXXXX" --password pwpwpwpwpw { "logFormatVersion": 1, "jobId": "17d2fe94-f38a-47d4-9568-cf4dc65f24c9", "status": "Invalid", "statusSummary": "Archive contains critical validation errors", "statusCode": 4000, "archiveFilename": "DataflowGeometry2D-1.0.300.dmg", "uploadDate": "2025-07-13T21:28:21.147Z", "sha256": "57320c4ad4a07f144336084152bf7e3328f8c5694dd568d2cfd23a596b5b3b13", "ticketContents": null, "issues": [ { "severity": "error", "code": null, "path": "DataflowGeometry2D-1.0.300.dmg/DataflowGeometry2D.app/Contents/app/DFG2D_Mac_x86_300.jar/lib/jogamp-fat/jogamp-fat.jar/natives/macosx-universal/libnativewindow_awt.dylib", "message": "The binary is not signed.", "docUrl": "https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution/resolving_common_notarization_issues#3087721", "architecture": "x86_64" }, { "severity": "error", "code": null, "path": "DataflowGeometry2D-1.0.300.dmg/DataflowGeometry2D.app/Contents/app/DFG2D_Mac_x86_300.jar/lib/jogamp-fat/jogamp-fat.jar/natives/macosx-universal/libnativewindow_awt.dylib", "message": "The signature does not include a secure timestamp.", "docUrl": "https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution/resolving_common_notarization_issues#3087733", "architecture": "x86_64" }, What is your advice on how to get these binaries signed?
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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427
Aug ’25
Enterprise Vendor Id changing when it shouldn't
Hi All, Really weird one here... I have two bundle ids with the same reverse dns name... com.company.app1 com.company.app2 app1 was installed on the device a year ago. app2 was also installed on the device a year ago but I released a new updated version and pushed it to the device via Microsoft InTunes. A year ago the vendor Id's matched as the bundle id's were on the same domain of com.company. Now for some reason the new build of app2 or any new app I build isn't being recognised as on the same domain as app1 even though the bundle id should make it so and so the Vendor Id's do not match and it is causing me major problems as I rely on the Vendor Id to exchange data between the apps on a certain device. In an enterprise environment, does anyone know of any other reason or things that could affect the Vendor Id? According to Apple docs, it seems that only the bundle name affects the vendor id but it isn't following those rules in this instance.
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Jun ’25
Support for Non-Team ID prefixes on the Mac App Store
My iOS version of the app is available on the App Store with a non-team ID prefix for its bundle ID. It has been available there for a long time and I am not sure why I chose a custom prefix for it. The Mac version of the same app is available on the Mac App Store with a different bundle ID and with a prefix that matches my team ID. I am currently looking to "merge" both apps into a single bundle ID. The plan is to stop using the current Mac app and release a new one as a universal app under the existing bundle ID for the iOS app. Unfortunately, it looks like that the Mac App Store does not actually allow any submissions that have a non-team ID for a prefix. I know that it is a very specific case but any suggestions would be welcomed.
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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Jul ’25
Not Allowed To Open Rust Binary In Terminal
Hi, I am a long time programmer in C#, and newer to Rust, and a rookie to MacOS 15.1. Over the past few days I have made numerous attempts to run a Rust GUI binary that I compiled on Mac. Here are some examples of things I have tried using. Executable compiled in M1 mac not running on Apple Silicon Mac - help - The Rust Programming Language Forum And here.... How to run unsigned apps in macOS 15.1 Also here... "sudo spctl --master-disable" There are many more that I have tried. I also tried moving the binary from my developer folder to the Application folder and running.... xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/csv Note that "csv" is the name of my binary. You have probably seen this 100 times, so can you point me to me to something that allows my Rust binaries to run under MacOS? PS The Rust program code works just fine under Linux. I can either type Cargo Run and run the binary from the Terminal or go directly to the executable and double click on it to open the GUI application. The only thing that MacOS lets me do it open the GUI from the Terminal. Commander One says that I do not have the proper credentials to open the file directly. Finder also does not allow me to open the binary directly. Thanks, Jim
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1.1k
Jan ’25
macOS 26 Launch Constraints
I've recently upgraded to the RC candidates of macOS 26 and Xcode 26. The app I'm building has a helper tool using SMAppService. When I run the app and helper tool in macOS 15 or macOS 26, all works as expected. When it runs on macOS 13 or 14, which previously worked. The helper now crashes on launch with the following reason: Termination Reason: CODESIGNING 4 Launch Constraint Violation I found this developer session which seems to address this, but the plist I've added doesn't seem to satisfy the constraint. https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2023/10266/ Here are the contents of my new plist: Are there any gotchas here that I might be missing? Thanks!
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1.1k
Sep ’25
Devices upgraded to iOS 18 fail to launch apps signed with an enterprise certificate.
We are using an app distributed via an iOS enterprise certificate. There is an exceptional user who could normally use the app signed with this certificate before upgrading to iOS 18. However, after updating to iOS 18 (currently on version 18.3), the app crashes immediately upon launch. Real-time logs indicate that the application fails to start. This issue is unique to this user, as other users on the same iOS 18.3 system do not experience the problem. console log
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1.7k
Apr ’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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330
Aug ’25
"Application damaged and can't be opened' error prompt on 15.6.1 Sequoia
We have an application which keeps throwing the error "application is damaged and cannot be opened. You should move it to Trash" I have already referred to the documentation: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/706379 and https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/706442 I have checked the following possible root causes: Codesign of the application using the codesign command Notarization of the application using the spctl command Executable permissions Checked for the presence of "com.apple.quarantine" flag for the application using xattr -l <path to executables" Checked the bundle structure None of the above listed items seemed to be a problem and are as expected. Can you please help us understand what could cause this issue and how to resolve this without recommending an uninstall/reinstall of the application?
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1.5k
Oct ’25
The installer package includes files that are only readable by the root user
I'm into packaging up my Mac game and want to submit it to the Mac App Store via XCode -> Product -> Archive -> Distribute App. I'm getting the following error: Validation failed The installer package includes files that are only readable by the root user. This will prevent verification of the application's code signature when your app is run. Ensure that non-root users can read the files in your app. I've created post build and post package hooks in xcode that list out the files do a debug log file, but there is no single file that is root only or having not 755 as rights. Any idea what I can change to fix this? Is this even something I can influence? Or is this a App Store connect issue? Thanks Martin
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288
Jul ’25
AppStore submission for Ruby/Glimmer app on MacOS without Xcode
Background I've repeatedly run into codesigning (and missing provisioning profile) issues for my Ruby/Glimmer app and am looking for ways to troubleshoot this outside of Xcode. The app structure is as follows: PATHmanager.app └── Contents ├── Info.plist ├── MacOS │   └── PATHmanager ├── PkgInfo ├── Resources │   └── AppIcon.icns ├── _CodeSignature │   └── CodeResources └── embedded.provisionprofile Architecture I have a Mac mini Apple M2 Pro with macOS Ventura 13.4. Xcode is not used directly, but the underlying command line tools (e.g., codesign, productbuild, pkgutil, xcrun) are run from a custom Ruby script. xcodebuild -version Xcode 14.3.1 Build version 14E300c Questions Is the .app directory and file structure/naming sufficient? If not, can you point me in the direction of a minimal example that does not use Xcode? Info.plist is an XML text document (not binary), which I believe is in an acceptable format, but how do I lint this file and determine if it contains all of the necessary key/value pairs? <?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>CFBundleDevelopmentRegion</key> <string>en</string> <key>CFBundleDisplayName</key> <string>PATH manager</string> <key>CFBundleExecutable</key> <string>PATHmanager</string> <key>CFBundleIconFile</key> <string>AppIcon.icns</string> <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key> <string>com.chipcastle.pathmanager</string> <key>CFBundleInfoDictionaryVersion</key> <string>6.0</string> <key>CFBundleName</key> <string>PATHmanager</string> <key>CFBundlePackageType</key> <string>APPL</string> <key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key> <string>1.15</string> <key>CFBundleSupportedPlatforms</key> <array> <string>MacOSX</string> </array> <key>CFBundleVersion</key> <string>1.15</string> <key>ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption</key> <false/> <key>LSApplicationCategoryType</key> <string>public.app-category.developer-tools</string> <key>LSMinimumSystemVersion</key> <string>12.0</string> <key>LSUIElement</key> <false/> <key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key> <dict> <key>NSAllowsArbitraryLoads</key> <true/> </dict> <key>NSHumanReadableCopyright</key> <string>© 2025 Chip Castle Dot Com, Inc.</string> <key>NSMainNibFile</key> <string>MainMenu</string> <key>NSPrincipalClass</key> <string>NSApplication</string> </dict> </plist> PATHmanager is a Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64 file created by using Tebako. Does this executable need to be codesigned, or is codesigning the .app folder sufficient? Does the .app directory need an entitlements file? Here's how I codesign it: codesign --deep --force --verify --verbose=4 --options runtime --timestamp --sign 'Apple Distribution: Chip Castle Dot Com, Inc. (BXN9N7MNU3)' '/Users/chip/Desktop/distribution/PATHmanager.app' Does the PATHmanager binary need an entitlements file? Here's how I codesign it: codesign --deep --force --verify --verbose=4 --options runtime --timestamp --entitlements '/Users/chip/Desktop/PATHmanager.entitlements' --sign 'Apple Distribution: Chip Castle Dot Com, Inc. (BXN9N7MNU3)' '/Users/chip/Desktop/distribution/PATHmanager.app/Contents/MacOS/PATHmanager' How can I verify what entitlements, if any, are required for codesigning the binary? The PATHmanager.entitlements file is an XML text file containing only the following: <?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.security.app-sandbox</key> <true/> </dict> </plist> Is the embedded.provisionprofile necessary, and if so, how do I know determine if it matches the certificate or entitlements that I'm using? Additionally, is it named and located properly? I submitted this to the AppStore several weeks ago and the reviewer reported that the executable would not load on their machine (even though it worked on mine.) Is it better for me to release via TestFlight for testing, and if so, do I need to following a separate process for codesigning (i.e., using different entitlements, profiles, certs, etc) when doing so? I've been playing whack-a-mole with this for too long to mention and am hoping to nail down a better deployment flow, so any suggestions for improvement will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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1.1k
Apr ’25