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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add /usr/bin/codesign to acl for private key
Displaying attribute for a private key I see a number of applications that are allowed to access it without needing a password e.g. racoon; Keychain Access.app; Certificate Assitant.app etc.. I want to add /usr/bin/codesign to the list but the gui window that pops up when I click on + doesn't seem to allow me to do that :( How do I do it please
Topic: Code Signing SubTopic: General
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72
Apr ’25
CI - Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer
I am able to sign my application when logged in to the machine, however when build is running in CI (Jenkins), I get this: "Warning: unable to build chain to self-signed root for signer.." We just renewed or certificates, so I am not sure about previous procedure, but it used to work without temporary keychain and stuff, I believe. What should be the recommended way to sign an application on CI? What keychain should we use? system? temporary? other method? Thanks, Itay
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320
Sep ’25
Developer ID Notary Service
Yesterday there were reported outages on the Developer ID Notary Service, but it was reported pretty late and we were able to notice the outages in real time. It says resolved now, however an error still persists: Error: HTTP status code: 403. A required agreement is missing or has expired. This request requires an in-effect agreement that has not been signed or has expired. Ensure your team has signed the necessary legal agreements and that they are not expired. Is there an ongoing outage at this moment that is not being reported again? Our pipelines have been working flawlessly for months without intervention nor changes until the most recent outages
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273
Jun ’25
Gatekeeper stops directly distributed MacOS app with Network Extension
Is it possible to directly distribute a macOS app with a Developer ID Certificate that belongs to a different team? I am trying to resolve issues that arise when distributing a macOS app with a Network Extension (Packet Tunnel) outside the App Store using a Developer ID Certificate from a different team than the app’s provisioning profiles and entitlements. I started by attempting Direct Distribution in Xcode with automatic signing. However, it fails with the following message: Provisioning profile "Mac Team Direct Provisioning Profile: ” failed qualification checks: Profile doesn't match the entitlements file's value for the com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension entitlement. I suspect the issue is that the provisioning profile allows "packet-tunnel-provider-systemextension", whereas the entitlements generated by Xcode contain "packet-tunnel-provider". When I manually modify the .entitlements file to include the -systemextension suffix, the project fails to build because Xcode does not recognize the modified entitlement. If there is a workaround for this issue, please let me know. Due to these issues, I resorted to manually creating a signed and notarized app. My process is as follows: Export the .app from the Xcode archive. Since the exported .app does not contain the necessary entitlements or provisioning profile for direct distribution, I replace Contents/embedded.provisioningprofile in both the .app and the .appex network extension. Sign the app and its components in the following order: codesign --force --options runtime --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.app/Contents/Frameworks/<fw>.framework/ codesign --force --options runtime --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>"<app>.app/Contents/PlugIns/<netext>.appex/Contents/Frameworks/<fw>.framework/Versions/A/<fw> codesign --force --options runtime --entitlements dist-vpn.entitlements --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.app/Contents/PlugIns/<netext>.appex/ codesign --force --options runtime --entitlements dist.entitlements --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.app Verify the code signature: codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=4 <app>.app - <app>.app: valid on disk - <app>.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement Create a ZIP archive using: ditto -c -k --sequesterRsrc --keepParent <app>.app <app>.zip Notarize the app with notarytool and staple it. The notarization completes successfully with errors: nil. Package the notarized app into a DMG, notarize, and staple the DMG. The app runs successfully on the development machine. However, when moved to another machine and placed in /Applications, it fails to open. Inspecting Console.app reveals Gatekeeper is blocking the launch:
 taskgated-helper <bundleid>: Unsatisfied entitlements: com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension, com.apple.developer.team-identifier taskgated-helper entitlements: { "com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension" = ("packet-tunnel-provider-systemextension"); "com.apple.developer.team-identifier" = <teamid>; } As mentioned earlier, the Developer ID Certificate used for signing belongs to a different team. We are a third-party developer and do not have access to the Developer ID Certificate of the team assigned as the team-identifier. When I changed the bundle identifier (app ID), team, entitlements, and provisioning profiles to match the team associated with the Developer ID Certificate, the app worked. My question is:
 Is this failure caused by using a Developer ID Certificate from a different team, or should it still work if the provisioning profiles and entitlements are correctly set? Could there be an issue elsewhere in the provisioning profiles or entitlements for the original app ID?
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577
Jun ’25
Notarization stuck for days
It's been over 24h and it's still in progress. Is there a timeout for a failed notarization? or do we just wait for days.. weeks.. moths? Successfully received submission info createdDate: 2025-06-25T09:52:03.153Z id: 2ae713a5-c2e3-432f-84ee-e5d3d4aed621 name: slideshow-city-1.1.0-arm64.dmg status: In Progress
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228
Jun ’25
Gatekeeper disallowing directly distributed app
This is a continuation of my own old post that became inactive to regain traction. I am trying to resolve issues that arise when distributing a macOS app with a SysExt Network Extension (Packet Tunnel) outside the App Store using a Developer ID Certificate. To directly distribute the app, I start with exporting the .app via Archive in Xcode. After that, I create a new Developer ID provisioning profile for both the app and sysext and replace the embedded ones in the .app package. After I have replaced the provisioning profiles and the have the entitlements files ready, I start signing the frameworks, sysext and parent app. codesign --force --options runtime --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>"<app>.app/Contents/Library/SystemExtensions/<sysext>.systemextension/Contents/Frameworks/<fw>.framework/Versions/A/<fw> codesign --force --options runtime --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.app/Contents/Frameworks/<fw>.framework/ codesign --force --options runtime --entitlements dist-vpn.entitlements --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.app/Contents/Library/SystemExtensions/<sysext>.systemextension/Contents/MacOS/<sysext> codesign --force --options runtime --entitlements dist.entitlements --timestamp --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.app After validation is successful with codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=4 <app>.app I zip the package, notarize and staple it ditto -c -k --keepParent "<app>.app" "<app>..zip" xcrun notarytool submit <app>.zip --keychain-profile “”<credents> --wait xcrun stapler staple <app>.app After that I finish creating signed and notarized .dmg/.pkg. hdiutil create -volname “<app>” -srcfolder “<app>.app/" -ov -format UDZO ./<app>.dmg codesign --force --sign "Developer ID Application: <name>" <app>.dmg xcrun notarytool submit <app>.dmg --keychain-profile "<credentials>" --wait xcrun stapler staple <app>.dmg Then when I move the .dmg to a clean system, open the .dmg, move the .app to the Applications folder, the attempt to run it fails with “The application “” can’t be opened.”. When I look into the console, the gatekeeper disallows the launch job with the message:
 86127 debug ProvisioningProfiles taskgated-helper ConfigurationProfiles entitlements: { "com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension" = ( "packet-tunnel-provider-systemextension" ); "com.apple.developer.system-extension.install" = 1; "com.apple.developer.team-identifier" = <teamid>; "keychain-access-groups" = ( “<teamid>.<app>.AppGroup" ); } com.apple.ManagedClient
<app>: Unsatisfied entitlements: com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension, keychain-access-groups, com.apple.developer.system-extension.install, com.apple.developer.team-identifier LAUNCH: Runningboard launch of <app> <private> returned RBSRequestErrorFailed, error Error Domain=RBSRequestErrorDomain Code=5 "Launch failed." UserInfo={NSLocalizedFailureReason=Launch failed., NSUnderlyingError=0x600001a25830 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=153 "Unknown error: 153" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Launchd job spawn failed}}}, so returning -10810

 I went through all possible formats (macOS-Style and iOS-Style App Group IDs) and combinations of appgroups according to the post “App Groups: macOS vs iOS: Working Towards Harmony”. But none of those work for me. The weird part is that when I try the same steps on different developer account, I am able to get the app running. What can be wrong?
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309
Jul ’25
Binary is improperly signed but only on macOS 11
Hi all, I’ve run into a signing/entitlements problem that shows up only on Big Sur (11.x). The very same .app launches perfectly on Monterey (12), Ventura (13), Sonoma (14 / 14.5) and Sequoia (15). Failure on macOS 11 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (application.app.myapp.exams.566312.566318[1602]): removing service since it exited with consistent failure – OS_REASON_CODESIGNING | When validating …/MyAppNameBlurred 3.13.1.app/Contents/MacOS/MyAppNameBlurred 3.13.1: Code has restricted entitlements, but the validation of its code signature failed. Unsatisfied Entitlements: Binary is improperly signed. Launching from Terminal: open -a "/Users/admin/Downloads/MyAppNameBlurred 3.13.1.app" kLSNoLaunchPermissionErr (-10826) | Launchd job spawn failed with error: 153 What I’ve already checked # signature itself codesign -dvvv "/Users/admin/Downloads/MyAppNameBlurred 3.13.1.app" # => valid, Authority = Developer ID Application, runtime enabled # full deep/strict verification codesign --verify --deep --strict -vvv "/Users/admin/Downloads/MyAppNameBlurred 3.13.1.app" # => “satisfies its Designated Requirement” # Gatekeeper assessment spctl --assess --type execute --verbose=4 "/Users/admin/Downloads/MyAppNameBlurred 3.13.1.app" # => accepted (override security disabled) # embedded provisioning profile matches bundle ID codesign -d --entitlements :- "/Users/admin/Downloads/MyAppNameBlurred 3.13.1.app" | plutil -p - security cms -D -i "/Users/admin/Downloads/MyAppNameBlurred 3.13.1.app/Contents/embedded.provisionprofile" \ | plutil -extract Entitlements xml1 -o - # => both show the AAC entitlement and everything looks in order # notarization ticket stapler validate "/Users/admin/Downloads/MyAppNameBlurred 3.13.1.app" # => “The validate action worked!” Deployment target: MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET = 11.0 Entitlement added: com.apple.developer.automatic-assessment-configuration = true Provisioning profile: generated this year via Developer ID, includes the assessment entitlement and nothing else unusual. Runtime code: we call AEAssessmentSession's network configuration part only on 12 + (guarded with @available(macOS 12.0, *)). Has anyone hit this mismatch on 11.x? Could Big Sur be expecting something older or idk? Any pointers appreciated! Thanks!
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337
Jul ’25
Notarization Rejection - The binary is not signed with a valid Developer ID certificate
Notarization Rejects Valid Developer ID Certificates - Apple Infrastructure Issue? Environment macOS: 15.6.1 Xcode: 26.0.1 Architecture: arm64 (Apple Silicon) Team ID: W---------- Certificate Status: Valid until 2030 (verified on developer.apple.com) Problem Apple's notarization service consistently rejected properly signed packages with error: "The binary is not signed with a valid Developer ID certificate." Despite: ✅ Valid certificates on developer.apple.com ✅ Local signing succeeds (codesign --verify passes) ✅ Proper certificate/key pairing verified ✅ Package structure correct Failed Submission IDs September 2025: adeeed3d-4732-49c6-a33c-724da43f9a4a 5a910f51-dc6d-4a5e-a1c7-b07f32376079 3930147e-daf6-4849-8b0a-26774fd92c3c b7fc8e4e-e03c-44e1-a68e-98b0db38aa39 d7dee4a1-68e8-44b5-85e9-05654425e044 da6fa563-ba21-4f9e-b677-80769bd23340 What I've Tried Re-downloaded fresh certificates from Apple Developer Portal Verified certificate chain locally Tested with multiple different builds Confirmed Team ID matches across all configurations Verified no unsigned nested components Waited 3 months for potential propagation delays Verified all agreements are current and accepted Re-tested with minimal test package - same error persists Local Verification # Certificates present and valid security find-identity -v -p codesigning | grep "Developer ID" 1) XXXXXXXXXX "Developer ID Application: <<REDACTED>> (W----------)" 2) XXXXXXXXXX "Developer ID Installer: <<REDACTED>> (W----------)" # Signing succeeds codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=2 [app] → Success Question This appears similar to thread #784184. After 3 months and ensuring all agreements are signed, the issue persists with identical error. The certificates work for local signing but Apple's notarization service rejects them. Could this be: Backend infrastructure issue with Team ID W----------? Certificate not properly registered in Apple's notarization database? Known issue requiring Apple Support intervention? Has anyone else experienced valid Developer ID certificates being rejected specifically by the notarization service while working locally?
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911
Jan ’26
'Certificates, IDs & Profiles' section missing from developer.apple.com
The entire 'Certificates, IDs & Profiles' section is missing from developer.apple.com portal for one of the accounts I am a developer for. The Team is also missing from the dropdowns in Xcode in Code Signing. The organization account membership is paid through July 2026, and I do not see that the Account Holder needs to sign any agreements. I am a user on other accounts, and none of them have this issue. Does anyone know what's going on?
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728
Jan ’26
Code Signing - Invalid Signature - Special Characters in Name, Team Name and Address
I was trying to put my game to test flight. I would test features like ads and in-app-purchases, then put on the Appstore(release). The game already works on Ipad. For test flight, the "automatically manage signing" option was enabled. Then I pressed the "archive" button. Built succeeded. Then I clicked the distribute button. That time, I had an error. "Upload failed, Invalid signature, App is not properly signed". I researched, and found special characters in name, team name and address can make errors. My name, address and team name have special characters(turkish). If it will be resolved, I want to re-write(fix) my name, team name and address. I already tried to change my name, team name and address from apple developer website but failed. They are asking a document of my identity of my new name but I didn't changed my name and address. Overall, there aren't any other facts that cause this issue as I know. If I send my current, unchanged identity and home address, could they allow to change(fix) them? On Console Log: DangerNo.app/DangerNo: ID : 6cfa13a9-685c-4df9-86dd-7506d67be8c5 DangerNo.app/Frameworks/UnityFramework.framework/UnityFramework: ID : 2b63aacc-9caf-453c-913f-bae0db14d363 My App ID : 6744022885 Error : Invalid Binary rejection email indicating a corrupted code signature was detected. Explanation : Invalid Signature - Make sure you have signed your application with a distribution certificate, not an ad hoc certificate or a development certificate. Verify that the code signing settings in Xcode are correct at the target level (which override any values at the project level). Additionally, make sure the bundle you are uploading was built using a Release target in Xcode, not a Simulator target. If you are certain your code signing settings are correct, choose "Clean All" in Xcode, delete the "build" directory in the Finder, and rebuild your release target.
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173
Apr ’25
Notarising two builds of the same app
I have built my application for arm and x64 so I have two files called DeepSkyStacker.app in different directories. I have followed the instructions to notarise the arm version of the app, but an concerned about what I should do to notarise the other one - do I just zip that up and then run: xcrun notarytool submit "DeepSkyStacker.zip" --keychain-profile "Notary Profile for DeepSkyStacker" --wait xcrun stapler staple DeepSkyStacker.app again or will that mess everything up? Related to that can I use the Notary Profile I created for DeepSkyStacker to notarise other apps that are part of the same product (DeepSkyStackerLive and DeepSkyStackerCL)?? Thanks David
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161
Apr ’25
App Groups Entitlement: ad hoc signing
On MacOS, I know that App Groups (com.apple.security.application-groups) do not require a provisioning profile. I was wondering if it's possible to sign them "ad hoc" and have it work? So maybe use a random TEAMID prefix and have it work? I would only need the app to work locally (for testing), not be distributed in that fashion, of course.
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494
Mar ’25
notarytool is giving me HTTP status error
I am using the xcrun notarytool submit --apple-id xxxxx@gmail.com --password xxxxx--team-id xxxxxx --output-format json --wait --no-progress /my/dmg/file to notarize my DMG file. But it always gives me back the error, Error: HTTP status code: 403. A required agreement is missing or has expired. This request requires an in-effect agreement that has not been signed or has expired. Ensure your team has signed the necessary legal agreements and that they are not expired. I did log in my developer account and found no place to sign any agreement. Actually in the morning when I logged in the developer account, it indeed pop up the agreement for me to sign and I did sign it. But now it seems I don't have any more agreements to sign. So, any ideas about what I should do?
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591
Jan ’26
macOS 11.x system reported an error when using endpoint security
This is .entitlements file: <?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.developer.endpoint-security.client</key> <true/> </dict> </plist> Code signing: codesign --sign -vvv --timestamp --options=runtime --force --entitlements ./UES.entitlements -s "Developer ID Application: XXXX Ltd. (XXXXXX)" ./UES.app When I run it on macOS 13.x, it works fine. If I run the system on macOS 11.x, it reports a "killed" error (if codesign remove --entitlements ./UES.entitlements, Then the startup will not report an error, but the endpoint security rights cannot be used) System log: 2025-04-21 13:58:27.039638+0800 0xd5941 Default 0x0 149 0 amfid: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES signature not valid: -67050 2025-04-21 13:58:27.039762+0800 0xd5bbf Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: mac_vnode_check_signature: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: code signature validation failed fatally: When validating /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: 2025-04-21 13:58:27.039815+0800 0xd5bbf Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: proc 29354: load code signature error 4 for file "UES" 2025-04-21 13:58:27.040720+0800 0xd5bc0 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSystemPolicy) ASP: Security policy would not allow process: 29354, /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES 2025-04-21 13:58:27.045974+0800 0xd58be Error 0x0 66405 0 CoreServicesUIAgent: [com.apple.launchservices:uiagent] handle LS launch error: {\n Action = oapp;\n AppMimimumSystemVersion = "10.13";\n AppPath = "/Applications/UES.app";\n ErrorCode = "-10826";\n} 2025-04-21 13:58:39.121619+0800 0xd5941 Default 0x0 149 0 amfid: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES signature not valid: -67050 2025-04-21 13:58:39.121832+0800 0xd5e0f Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: mac_vnode_check_signature: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: code signature validation failed fatally: When validating /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: 2025-04-21 13:58:39.121861+0800 0xd5e0f Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: proc 29415: load code signature error 4 for file "UES" 2025-04-21 13:58:39.122571+0800 0xd5e10 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSystemPolicy) ASP: Security policy would not allow process: 29415, /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES 2025-04-21 13:58:46.297915+0800 0xd5941 Default 0x0 149 0 amfid: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES signature not valid: -67050 2025-04-21 13:58:46.298031+0800 0xd5f85 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: mac_vnode_check_signature: /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: code signature validation failed fatally: When validating /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES: 2025-04-21 13:58:46.298072+0800 0xd5f85 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: proc 29485: load code signature error 4 for file "UES" 2025-04-21 13:58:46.300248+0800 0xd5f86 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleSystemPolicy) ASP: Security policy would not allow process: 29485, /Applications/UES.app/Contents/MacOS/UES May I ask what the reason is?
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205
Apr ’25
Can't fix "Provisioning profile doesn't include com.apple.InAppPurchase entitlement" even after resetting everything
Hi everyone, I’ve been struggling for days with a recurring issue in my iOS app build. The build fails with the following error: Provisioning profile "iOS Team Provisioning Profile: com.myapp.bundleid" doesn't include the com.apple.InAppPurchase entitlement. Here’s what I’ve already tried: Created a new Bundle ID with correct capabilities (In-App Purchase, Push Notifications, Sign in with Apple). Created a new provisioning profile manually from Apple Developer Console. Used EAS CLI (Expo) and Xcode to regenerate all certificates and provisioning profiles. Ensured that the In-App Purchase capability is enabled in the App ID (it's greyed out but enabled). Made sure all subscriptions and products in App Store Connect are “Ready to Submit”. Followed all steps from RevenueCat and Apple documentation. Cleaned entitlements in .entitlements file and tried both and variations. Tried building both locally and with EAS – same error every time. Sent multiple tickets to Apple Developer Support, but no helpful reply yet. Extra Notes: I'm using react-native-purchases and RevenueCat, already integrated and working before this started. The error began randomly; before that, I was able to build successfully with in-app purchases. Even creating a completely fresh app from scratch results in the same entitlement missing error. Has anyone faced this exact problem where the provisioning profile fails to include com.apple.InAppPurchase, even though everything is correctly set up? Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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410
Jul ’25
Notarytool in progress for over 2 days
Whilst waiting for the company developer account I successfully notarised an app/pkg On switching to the company account the app/pkg has been stuck in progress for over 2 days (see below) The initial submission was via Xcode and later via command line. The last one was when I updated bundle ids etc and built with Github Actions. The initial submission did coincide with a service outage, however that is marked as resolved. I would like to cancel all of them now that I have switched the signing account and the bundle ID but there seems no way to do this? Thoughts and comments welcome. Thanks Paul -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-14T11:03:24.837Z id: edf215d0-4d15-4075-aa6f-4755a35b3d45 name: ZenityEndpointAgent.pkg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-12T21:36:36.345Z id: 9c98de09-d3aa-449b-ad47-7e721b0342c5 name: AIEdgeDeviceAgent.pkg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-12T16:58:50.891Z id: 9206f9be-0fc4-4c6c-aa66-8fcbe3332155 name: AIEdgeDeviceAgent.pkg status: In Progress -------------------------------------------------- createdDate: 2025-08-12T10:37:35.624Z id: b20d1dd0-084e-441c-87a6-641fb088819e name: AIEdge Device Agent.zip status: In Progress
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318
Aug ’25
Gatekeeper "bundle_id: NOT_A_BUNDLE" rejection
Context: large platform-agnostic CLI tool built as a handcrafted bundle (not via an Xcode project) that has been successfully codesigned, stapled, and zipped; macOS 14.7.5 syspolicy_check reports App passed all pre-distribution checks and is ready for distribution. However, running the executable in the Terminal produces a "cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified" popup. The executable does succeed after manually clearing its quarantine attribute. Having worked through Resolving Gatekeeper Problems, the only detail logged in the Console is Adding Gatekeeper denial breadcrumb (direct): ... bundle_id: NOT_A_BUNDLE. Experimental observations: a minimized trivial CLI executable with a similar bundle layout and name successfully executes without being rejected, and oddly, renaming the original bundle from "name" to "name.suffix" allows it to be successfully executed. It's unclear why the bundle name would affect Gatekeeper only in some circumstances, and we'd greatly prefer not to rename the bundle for compatibility reasons, so it would be good if there were some way to get further diagnostic detail leading to a workaround - thank you.
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185
Apr ’25