asc signing setup

Use this skill when you need to create or renew signing assets for iOS/macOS apps.

Preconditions

• Auth is configured (asc auth login or ASC_* env vars).
• You know the bundle identifier and target platform.
• You have a CSR file for certificate creation, or you will let asc certificates create --generate-csr create one.

Workflow

1. Create or find the bundle ID:

• asc bundle-ids list --paginate
• asc bundle-ids create --identifier "com.example.app" --name "Example" --platform IOS

1. Configure bundle ID capabilities:

• asc bundle-ids capabilities list --bundle "BUNDLE_ID"
• asc bundle-ids capabilities add --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" --capability ICLOUD
• Add capability settings when required:
• --settings '[{"key":"ICLOUD_VERSION","options":[{"key":"XCODE_6","enabled":true}]}]'

1. Create a signing certificate:

• asc certificates list --certificate-type IOS_DISTRIBUTION
• asc certificates create --certificate-type IOS_DISTRIBUTION --csr "./cert.csr"
• Or generate a key and CSR inline:
• asc certificates create --certificate-type IOS_DISTRIBUTION --generate-csr --key-out "./signing/dist.key" --csr-out "./signing/dist.csr"
• For Wallet passes, create the Pass Type ID first, then create its certificate:
• asc pass-type-ids create --identifier "pass.com.example" --name "Example Pass"
• asc certificates create --certificate-type PASS_TYPE_ID --pass-type-id "PASS_TYPE_ID" --csr "./pass.csr"
• asc pass-type-ids certificates list --pass-type-id "PASS_TYPE_ID" --paginate

1. Create a provisioning profile:

• asc profiles create --name "AppStore Profile" --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" --certificate "CERT_ID"
• Include devices for development/ad-hoc:
• asc profiles create --name "Dev Profile" --profile-type IOS_APP_DEVELOPMENT --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" --certificate "CERT_ID" --device "DEVICE_ID"

1. Download the profile:

• asc profiles download --id "PROFILE_ID" --output "./profiles/AppStore.mobileprovision"

1. Inspect and install the downloaded profile locally when needed:

• asc profiles inspect --path "./profiles/AppStore.mobileprovision" --output table
• asc profiles inspect --path "./profiles/AppStore.mobileprovision" --entitlements --output markdown
• asc profiles local install --path "./profiles/AppStore.mobileprovision"
• asc profiles local list --output table

Rotation and cleanup

• Revoke old certificates:
• asc certificates revoke --id "CERT_ID" --confirm
• Audit remote provisioning profiles before deleting or rotating:
• asc profiles list --profile-state ACTIVE,INVALID --paginate --output json
• Apple profileState is not a complete expiration signal: some profiles can have a past expirationDate while still reporting ACTIVE. For true expired-profile audits, compare expirationDate against the current date instead of relying only on INVALID.
• Delete old profiles:
• asc profiles delete --id "PROFILE_ID" --confirm
• Clean local Xcode provisioning profiles:
• asc profiles local clean --expired --dry-run
• asc profiles local clean --expired --confirm

Shared team storage with asc signing sync

Use this when you want a lightweight, non-interactive alternative to fastlane match for encrypted git-backed certificate/profile storage.

bash
# Push current ASC signing assets into an encrypted git repo
asc signing sync push \
  --bundle-id "com.example.app" \
  --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE \
  --repo "git@github.com:team/certs.git" \
  --password "$MATCH_PASSWORD"

# Pull and decrypt them into a local directory
asc signing sync pull \
  --repo "git@github.com:team/certs.git" \
  --password "$MATCH_PASSWORD" \
  --output-dir "./signing"

Notes:

• --password falls back to ASC_MATCH_PASSWORD.
• The encrypted repo follows a familiar match-style git layout for certs and profiles.
• pull writes files to disk; keychain import or profile installation is a separate step.

Notes

• Always check --help for the exact enum values (certificate types, profile types).
• Use --paginate for large accounts.
• --certificate accepts comma-separated IDs when multiple certificates are required.
• Device management uses asc devices commands (UDID required).
• asc profiles inspect and asc profiles local ... operate on local disk state, not App Store Connect API resources.