Understanding Provisioning Profiles and Certificates | Xcode | iOS App Development
Summary
TLDRIn this icode tutorial, Pallav delves into the intricacies of provisioning profiles and certificates for iOS app development. He explains the concept of code signing, ensuring the integrity of the code, and its necessity for app security. The video clarifies what provisioning profiles are, their components, and their role in linking developers and devices to authorized development teams. Pallav also discusses different types of profiles and how code signing works using public-private key pairs. Aimed at beginners, this video demystifies common errors and enhances understanding of iOS app security mechanisms.
Takeaways
- 🔐 Code signing is the digital signature of your code to ensure its integrity and security.
- 📜 Provisioning profiles act as a bridge between the developer account and devices, defining which apps can run on which devices.
- 📱 iOS devices need to be provisioned by Apple before you can run your app on them during development.
- 🛠 A provisioning profile includes development certificates, unique device identifiers, and the app ID.
- 🔗 The app ID in a provisioning profile is crucial for determining if an app is authorized to run on a device.
- 🖥️ When you build an app in Xcode, several checks are performed to ensure the certificate, device UUID, and app ID match the provisioning profile.
- 📲 There are different types of provisioning profiles: development, ad hoc, enterprise, and distribution.
- 🔄 Code signing uses public-private key pairs and asymmetric cryptography to ensure the source code hasn't been tampered with.
- 📤 To get a developer certificate, you must create a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) which includes a public key.
- 🔑 The private key on your machine is used to sign the app, and it must match the public key in the certificate for successful installation.
Q & A
What is the primary purpose of code signing?
-The primary purpose of code signing is to digitally sign your code, ensuring that after a certain point, your code cannot be modified, thereby making it more secure.
How does a provisioning profile act as a link between a developer account and devices?
-A provisioning profile acts as a link by uniquely tying developers and their devices to an authorized iPhone development team, allowing the app to run on specified devices and access certain services.
What does a provisioning profile contain?
-A provisioning profile contains development certificates, unique device identifiers, and the app ID, which authorizes test devices, identifies designated devices for app installation, and verifies the app's authorization to run on a device.
What happens when you hit Command + R in Xcode?
-When you hit Command + R in Xcode, it initiates the installation process. After the build is done and there are no compilation errors, several checks are made, including matching the developer certificate, authenticating the device, and verifying the app ID and entitlements before the app can be installed.
Why are there different types of provisioning profiles, and what are they?
-There are different types of provisioning profiles to cater to various stages of app distribution: development, ad hoc, enterprise, and distribution. Development profiles are used for testing on specific devices, ad hoc profiles for a larger audience not part of the Apple Developer program, and distribution profiles for app store submission.
How does code signing provide a sense of trust and confidence in the source code?
-Code signing provides trust and confidence by using a public-private key pair, ensuring that the source code has not been modified since it was signed, similar to how a sealed envelope ensures the security of its contents.
What is a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and why is it necessary?
-A Certificate Signing Request (CSR) is a block of encoded text that contains the public key generated from your machine. It is necessary to get the developer certificate from Apple, as it embeds the public key in the request, which Apple uses to create the certificate.
How does the process of asymmetric cryptography work in the context of code signing?
-Asymmetric cryptography in code signing works by using a public-private key pair. The private key signs the code, and the public key, which is embedded in the certificate, verifies the signature, ensuring the code's integrity and authenticity.
What happens if there is a mismatch between the provisioning profile and the certificate in the keychain?
-If there is a mismatch between the provisioning profile and the certificate in the keychain, the app installation will fail. This could be due to an expired certificate, incorrect device identifiers, or a mismatched app ID.
Why might an app icon appear greyed out in Xcode?
-An app icon might appear greyed out in Xcode if one of the checks during the installation process fails, such as a mismatch in the developer certificate, device UUID, app ID, or entitlements.
Outlines
🔐 Understanding Code Signing and Provisioning Profiles
The video begins with the host, Pallav, introducing the topic of provisioning profiles and certificates, which are crucial for iOS app development. He acknowledges the initial confusion faced by beginners and aims to clarify the concepts. Code signing is introduced as the digital signing of code to ensure its integrity and security. The analogy of sending a sealed envelope to ensure the security of sensitive information is used to explain the purpose of code signing. Provisioning profiles are explained as digital entities that link developers and their devices to an authorized iPhone development team, allowing specific devices to run the app during development. The video promises to delve into the use, necessity, and workings of provisioning profiles and certificates.
📱 Deep Dive into Provisioning Profiles and App Installation Process
This paragraph delves deeper into the specifics of provisioning profiles, explaining their role in the app development process. It details the contents of a provisioning profile, which includes development certificates, unique device identifiers, and the app ID. The paragraph also outlines the process of installing an app from Xcode, highlighting the checks made during the installation process, such as matching the developer certificate, code signing the bundle, and verifying the device's authenticity and app's entitlements. The different types of provisioning profiles—development, ad hoc, enterprise, and distribution—are introduced, with a focus on their specific uses and limitations. The paragraph concludes with an explanation of how code signing works using public-private key pairs and the role of asymmetric cryptography in ensuring the integrity of the source code.
🔑 Certificate Signing Request and Code Signing Process
The final paragraph discusses the creation of a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and the code signing process. It explains that a CSR involves generating a public-private key pair on the developer's machine, with the public key being sent to Apple. Upon approval, Apple issues a certificate that is matched with the private key on the developer's machine. This process ensures the secure installation of the certificate. The paragraph also touches upon the concept of asymmetric cryptography used by Apple for code signing, comparing it to a secure chat between two friends using public and private keys. The video concludes with an invitation for viewers to ask questions and a reminder to subscribe for future content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Provisioning Profiles
💡Certificates
💡Code Signing
💡Development Certificates
💡Unique Device Identifiers
💡App ID
💡Entitlements
💡Ad Hoc Distribution
💡Asymmetric Cryptography
💡Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
Highlights
Provisioning profiles and certificates are crucial for iOS app development, ensuring code integrity and security.
Code signing confirms that the source code hasn't been altered, enhancing security similar to a signed envelope.
A provisioning profile links a developer's account with devices, defining which apps can run on which devices and what services they can access.
Provisioning profiles contain development certificates, device identifiers, and the app ID, which are essential for app authorization and installation.
The installation process involves code signing with a developer certificate and checking device authenticity against the profile's UUIDs.
Development provisioning profiles are used for testing apps on specific devices during the development phase.
Distribution provisioning profiles are for app distribution on the App Store, allowing installation on any device after Apple's code signing.
Ad Hoc provisioning profiles facilitate app distribution to a larger audience outside of the Apple Developer Beta Program.
Code signing utilizes public-private key pairs and asymmetric cryptography to ensure the integrity of the source code.
Creating a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) generates a public-private key pair, with the public key sent to Apple for certificate issuance.
The certificate in the keychain matches the private key used for code signing with the public key provided by Apple, ensuring a secure process.
Understanding provisioning profiles and certificates is essential for iOS developers to avoid common code signing and provisioning errors.
The video provides a comprehensive guide for beginners to grasp the concepts of provisioning profiles and certificates in iOS development.
The presenter uses the analogy of an envelope with a signature to explain the concept of code signing in an accessible manner.
The video clarifies the purpose of different types of provisioning profiles and how they relate to the app development and distribution process.
Asymmetric cryptography plays a vital role in the code signing process, ensuring that the app hasn't been tampered with post-development.
The video offers practical insights into the iOS app development process, making it valuable for developers looking to understand the intricacies of code signing.
Transcripts
hey guys welcome to my channel icode
i am pallav and today we are going to
have a look at a very interesting topic
that is provisioning profiles and
certificates
i understand that as a beginner it's a
real pain it's very confusing to
understand that water provisioning
profiles what are certificates
why they are used what they do and how
they do
how our profiles link to certificates
those random errors of code signing
and everything else so today we will
deep dive into them
we will see that what is the use of
profiles
why they are used what is the use of
certificates how it is linked to
profiles
how they work in sync and everything
else so let's dive in
i believe that before understanding the
what part or how
part we must look at the why part as in
before understanding that what profiles
and certificates do
or how they do whatever they do we must
understand that why are they needed
so let's look at that first and then
we'll understand
that how they work so the first thing
that is why
and the answer is code signing code
signing is digitally signing of your
code
so whatever source code that you have
written for your application
the code signing gives us a confirmation
that after this point your code cannot
be modified
or in other words it just make it more
secure
so assume that you want to send some
sensitive information to your friend
you put that information in an envelope
and you cohere it to your friend
but you are afraid about its security
that it does not get compromised
the information do not get changed
before it is received and a simple way
to fix this
is to put a stamp to sign the envelope
to put your signature on it
so that whenever the envelope will be
received by the other party by your
friend
it will give a sense of confirmation a
sense of security that if the seal is
not broken
if your signature your stamp is not
broken it means that the information has
not been compromised
and the same thing is being done by code
signing
so your source code is digitally signed
to make it more secure
and this is done using provisioning
profiles and certificates
so now let's see that what is
provisioning profile
as per the apple's definition a
provisioning profile is a digital entity
that uniquely ties developers
and their devices to an authorized
iphone development team
and i understand that this is not very
clear so let's see it in detail
the first thing is that unlike android
iphone applications cannot run directly
on any device
those devices on which we target to test
our applications to run our applications
while development phase
those devices need to be signed by the
apple first or we say that those devices
need to be provisioned
now to do so provisioning profiles acts
as a link between the developer account
and the devices so with your developer
account whatever devices that you have
provisioned the provisioning profile
will act as a link between those two
provisioning profile decides that our
app can run on what all devices
and what all services it can access so
this relates to the entitlements part
that our app is entitled to use what all
features what are services like app
groups push notifications
everything else so before the ip
is made the profiles are downloaded from
the developer account
they are embedded in the bundle and then
the bundle is code signed
using certificates so assume that your
company your organization is sending you
to attend some conference
and the conference organizers want some
extra piece of information
to verify that you are the authorized
person who is here to attend the
conference
and what part of conference will you be
attending and
some other relevant information so along
with the other documents
your company will put an extra piece of
information having your employee id your
conference id or whatever information is
required by the organizers
that will help them identify that you
are the authorized person
and they will close the envelope they
will stamp it they will sign it
so that it gives a sense of security
that the information has not been
changed
and this extra piece of information that
they have put in the envelope
can be treated as provisioning profiles
now that we have an understanding of
what is a provisioning profile and what
it does
let's see that what does a provisioning
profile contains
so provisioning profile contain three
things development certificates
unique device identifiers and the app id
the development certificates authorizes
the test devices
that we want to run our app on the
unique device identifiers will let the
ios know
if this is the designated device on
which the app should run and the app id
helps in identify
that whether this particular application
is authorized to run on this device or
not
so app id is a two-part string which
contains the team id
followed by the bundle identifier so if
the app id that is in our provisioning
profile
if it contains the bundle identifier of
the application that we are trying to
run
if the two bundle ids match then it will
allow to install the application
otherwise the installation will fail
so provisioning profile contains these
three things the app id the certificates
and the device identifiers
now let's see that how does an app run
from the xcode
what actually happens when we hit
command r in rx code
how does the installation process take
place
once the build is done there are no
compilation errors there are a number of
checks that are made
the developer certificate that is
mentioned in our provisioning profile
is matched against the certificate that
we are having in our max keychain
if a match is found that certificate is
used to code sign our bundle
once the code signing happens the device
is checked for its authenticity
so the device on which we are trying to
run our application its uuid
is checked against the uui ids that are
mentioned in the provisioning profiles
if this goes well then the bundle
identifier of our application
is checked against the bundle identifier
mentioned in the app id
that is in the provisioning profile once
this is done then the entitlements
required by our
app are verified against the associated
ones with the app id
if all of these checks are done if
everything goes smooth
then the installation takes place
otherwise the app install
fails and at times you would have seen
that your app icon is greyed out
that is because one of these checks fail
or we can say that the installation
failed
so if you see your app id your
certificates the capabilities
the entitlements associated with your
app id and everything else can be
checked
in the signing and capabilities tab of
your export
now let's see that what are the types of
provisioning profiles
there's development ad hoc enterprise
and the distribution programming profile
now let's see the development first
development is the most
easy to understand provisioning profile
and we deal it with almost daily
as a part of our development process so
the development provisioning profile
contains the list of our test devices on
which we want to test our application
in our development phase and it cannot
be used for distributing
our application on test flight or on the
app store
the distribution profile does not
contain the identifier of any of our
devices
and it is used to distribute our app to
ship it on the app store
so if the distribution profile has been
used then the app can be installed on
any device
once apple code signs it and that
happens when we submit our app
to the app store the other two are used
in the development process
but at a later stage an add-on profile
is used to distribute our app to a
larger audience
the people who are not the part of the
apple developer beta program
or their devices are not mentioned in
our developer certificates
can test our app using the addock
profile
so an app that is deployed using ad hoc
provisioning profile is very identical
to the version that we submit on our app
store
as in the app store push notification
certificate is used with the adult
provisioning profiles
and it gives the almost same experience
as that of the app store build
now let's see that how code signing
works because we have been discussing
about the code signing since the start
of the video
now let's see that how it is done
so one thing that we know is that code
signing gives us a sense of confidence a
sense
of trust that our source code has not
been modified
since we have signed it now this is done
using a public private key pair
that apple has created for us or we can
say
that apple uses asymmetric cryptography
for this purpose
let's understand it
sam and john are two friends and they
decide to encrypt their chat
to do so they came with the concept of
public and private key
both of them made a pair of keys that is
public and private key
sam gave his public key to jon and john
gave his public key to sam
now when sam needs to send a message to
john he encrypts the message using
john's public key when john will receive
the encrypted message he will decrypt it
using his private key
same will be done by john he will
decrypt the message using sam's public
key and when sam will receive it he will
decrypt it using his private
key this concept is called the symmetric
trip
so this is the concept of asymmetric
cryptography that apple uses
for signing our code when we request a
certificate from the certificate signing
authority or that we create the csr that
will see it in a moment
the same thing happens the public key
and the private key pair is used for
signing our code
let's see certificate signing request
to get the developer certificate from
the apple we need to create a
certificate signing request
through our keychain when we create the
certificate signing request
a public private key pair is created on
our machine
and the public key is embedded in that
request that we send to apple
so basically certificate signing request
is a block of encoded text
that is having our public key that has
been generated from our machine
after the apple proof the request and we
get the certificate
when we double click the certificate to
install it in the keychain
it is matched against the private key
that was generated at the time of
certificate signing request
so when we created the csr or
certificate signing request
we created a pair of public key and the
private key the public key was
embedded in the certificate signing
request using which the apple created
the certificate
and now when we are trying to install
that certificate it is matched against
the private key that we are having in
our machine
if the match succeeds then the
certificates will be installed
otherwise it will not
now the certificate that we are having
in our keychain it also has a public key
given by apple
so at the time of installation the
private key that is used to sign the
bundle
is matched against the public key in the
certificate
if the match succeeds the installation
happens otherwise it fails so this is
the whole idea behind the code signing
the public private key or the asymmetric
cryptography that is used by apple for
this purpose
so i hope that you have got the concept
of provisioning profiles and
certificates
like why they are used what they do and
how they do
why do we get the errors for code
signing for provisioning profiles
identify or not match etc etc and if
there are any other doubts please put
them in the comments and i'll try to
answer them
so that's pretty much for this video a
new video comes out every sunday
so do subscribe to my channel let's
write better code together
happy coding and stay safe
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