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Obtaining a signing certificate for iOS apps

Updated on April 27, 2022

Create a signing certificate for the iOS certificate set that is required to generate an installation package for your iOS app.

Before you begin: Prepare the framework for generating a signing certificate for your app:
  • Ensure that you have access to an Apple Developer Portal account. For more information, see the Apple developer documentation.
  • Use a computer with the macOS operating system.
You generate a signing certificate in the Apple Developer Portal to prove that the code and updates of your app come from a legitimate source. The certificate is stored in a .p12 file that you upload to an iOS certificate set in Pega Platform.
  1. Go to https://developer.apple.com, and then sign in to your Apple Developer Portal account.
  2. On your account dashboard, click Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles.
  3. On the Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles page, in the category list on the left side of the screen, click Certificates.
  4. In the Certificates section, add a new certificate by clicking the plus icon.
  5. In the Create a New Certificate section, choose the certificate type that you want to use for your app:
    • To create a certificate that you want to use for app development, click Apple Development.
    • For the Apple Developer Program: To create a certificate to use for app distribution, click iOS Distribution (App Store and Ad Hoc).
    • For the Apple Developer Enterprise Program: To create a certificate to use for app distribution, click In-House and Ad Hoc.
    Note: The number of specific types of certificates that you can create on your account depends on the type of your Apple membership program. You can have up to two distribution signing certificates in your Apple Developer Portal account to maintain work and distribution continuity for your app. For example, when the first certificate in a profile expires, you can replace it with the second one to ensure that the profile remains active and valid. For more information about the limits on development and distribution signing certificates for your program, see the Apple developer documentation.
  6. Click Continue.
  7. Generate a certificate signing request file:
    1. On your macOS computer, open the Keychain Access application.
    2. On the menu bar, click Keychain AccessCertificate AssistantRequest a Certificate from a Certificate Authority.
    3. In the Certificate Assistant window, enter your email address and a common name for the certificate.
    4. Choose the request type by clicking Saved to disk.
    5. Click Continue, and then save the certificate signing request file on your hard drive.
  8. In the Apple Developer Portal, in the Create a New Certificate section, upload the file that you generate in Keychain Access, and then click Continue.
    Result: You have generated a signing certificate for your app. You can download the certificate as a .cer file.
  9. In the Download Your Certificate section, click Download, and then save the .cer file with your signing certificate on your hard drive.
  10. Generate a .p12 file that you can upload to your iOS certificate set:
    1. On your computer, double-click the .cer file, and then confirm its addition to Keychain Access.
    2. In Keychain Access, find your certificate file.
    3. Right-click the certificate, and then click Export "your certificate type and name".
    4. In the export window, in the File Format list, select the Personal Information Exchange (.p12) format.
    5. Click Save.
    6. In the password protection window, protect the file from unauthorized use by encrypting the file with a password, and then click OK.
    7. Enter your system password, and then click Allow.
Result: You now have a signing certificate in a .p12 file format that you can upload to an iOS certificate set in Pega Platform. You can also create a provisioning profile for your iOS app and pair it with the certificate that you created to ensure that the app you generate is signed.

    Tags

    Pega Platform 8.7 Mobile

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