Getting Your Development Signing Certificate

A signing certificate is the first requirement you need in order to be able to sign apps for installation on iOS devices. Specifically, you need a development certificate, which lets an individual install and run an app on a device. (Note that this is different from a distribution certificate, which is issued to a team; for complete information about Apple's certificate requirements, see Your Signing Certificates in Depth in Apple's iOS Developer Library.)

To learn about the additional signing requirements, see Signing Apps for Use with iOS Gateway.

Step by Step: Getting a Signing Certificate from Apple

The signing certificate must be obtained from the online Apple Developer portal. To obtain a development signing certificate, follow the steps below.

note

These steps should be completed on the same machine where iOS Gateway is installed. If you create your developer certificate on a different machine, you will need to export it from that machine and import it on the machine where iOS Gateway is installed before you can use it for signing apps with iOS Gateway.

1. Navigate to the Member Center on the Apple Developer website and log in with your Apple developer account. If you do not have an Apple developer account, you will need to create one.

2. In the Member Center, click to select the Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles section, then select Certificates under iOS Apps.

3. To create a certificate, click the Add button (+) in the upper-right corner.

4. Choose Apple Development or iOS App Development as the type, then click Continue.

   Important

   If you have both an Apple Development certificate and an iOS Development Certificate on your computer, and are using Xcode 11 or later, you must choose the profile that contains your Apple Development certificate in iOS Gateway to be able to automate your device.

5. Follow the on-screen instructions to create a certificate signing request (CSR) file through Keychain Access on your Mac and upload it to the website, then click Generate.

6. Download the certificate, then double-click the downloaded certificate to install it in your keychain.

If you have previously created a certificate, you can download it in the Member Center. In the left sidebar, click All certificates to see what certificates are available. Select the correct one in the list, then click Download.