Create iOS Distribution Certificate

This article explains how to create an iOS Distribution Certificate on an Apple Developer Enterprise License, and how to export an iOS Distribution Certificate as a .p12 file.

This article explains:

• How to create an iOS Distribution Certificate.

• How to export an iOS Distribution Certificate as a .p12 file.

How to create a new iOS Distribution Certificate

1. Navigate to https://developer.apple.com/account and login with your Apple Developer account.

2. Open the Certificates section and click the blue + button at the top of the page to create a new certificate.

   

   Apple Developer Portal - Certificates
3. Select the option In-House and Ad Hoc and click Continue.

   

   Apple Developer Portal - Create new certificate
4. Upload the Certificate Signing Request file and click Continue. Note: You can obtain the Certificate Signing Request (.csr) file from AppMachine by following steps 1-3 in this article. At step 3, choose the option to create a new certificate.

   

   Apple Developer Portal - Upload .csr file
5. Download the Certificate (.cer) file from the Apple Developer Portal. Note: If you're a MacOS user then you can double click the certificate file to add the certificate and its private key (.csr file) to Keychain Access, from which you can export both files as a single .p12 certificate for re-use. Learn more..

   

   Apple Developer Portal - Download .cer file
6. After downloading the certificate (.cer) file, you can follow the steps in this article to link the iOS Distribution Certificate to your AppMachine app.

How to export an iOS Distribution Certificate as a .p12 file

The following steps assume that you are in possession of the iOS Distribution Certificate and its private key, and that you're using a MacOS system with the Keychain Access app installed and accessible.

1. Open Keychain Access on your MacOS machine.

2. Locate the certificate you wish to export as a .p12 file. Note: The default location for certificates is the My Certificates tab of the Login keychain.

3. Select both the certificate and its private key, which is nested under the certificate, then right-click on your selection and click on Export 2 items. Note: Your certificate cannot be used by others without the private key. If the private key is not available in Keychain Access, then it is likely not on your machine at all. In that case you can either contact people in your organisation to obtain the private key, or create a new distribution certificate instead.

   

   Keychain Access - Export Distribution Certificate
4. Enter a name for the file and click Save. The exported items will be saved as a single Personal Information Exchange (.p12) file.

5. After saving the file you will be prompted to enter a password for the file. Store the file and its password in a safe place.

6. Now that you've exported the iOS Distribution Certificate and its private key as a .p12 file, you can follow the steps in this article to link the exported iOS Distribution Certificate (.p12) to your AppMachine app.