macos-notarization-workflow

DevOps & Security

Automate Apple notarization with xcrun notarytool for macOS application distribution

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macos-notarization-workflow

Automate Apple notarization workflow using xcrun notarytool for macOS applications. This skill handles the complete notarization process including submission, status checking, and stapling.

Capabilities

Submit apps for notarization via notarytool
Monitor notarization status
Staple notarization ticket to app
Handle notarization errors
Generate CI/CD notarization scripts
Configure App Store Connect API keys
Validate apps before submission
Generate notarization reports

Input Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "projectPath": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Path to the project"
    },
    "appPath": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Path to the signed app bundle or DMG"
    },
    "authMethod": {
      "enum": ["app-store-connect-api", "apple-id", "keychain"],
      "default": "app-store-connect-api"
    },
    "credentials": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "keyId": { "type": "string" },
        "issuerId": { "type": "string" },
        "keyPath": { "type": "string" },
        "appleId": { "type": "string" },
        "teamId": { "type": "string" }
      }
    },
    "waitForCompletion": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "default": true
    },
    "staple": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "default": true
    }
  },
  "required": ["projectPath", "appPath"]
}

Output Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "success": { "type": "boolean" },
    "submissionId": { "type": "string" },
    "status": { "enum": ["Accepted", "Invalid", "In Progress", "Rejected"] },
    "logUrl": { "type": "string" },
    "errors": { "type": "array" },
    "stapled": { "type": "boolean" }
  },
  "required": ["success"]
}

Notarization Workflow

1. Prerequisites

# Ensure Xcode command line tools are installed
xcode-select --install

# Verify code signing
codesign --verify --deep --strict MyApp.app
codesign -vvv --deep --strict MyApp.app

# Check hardened runtime
codesign -dvvv MyApp.app | grep runtime
# Should show: flags=0x10000(runtime)

2. Store Credentials (Recommended)

# Store App Store Connect API key in keychain
xcrun notarytool store-credentials "MyProfile" \
    --key ~/private_keys/AuthKey_XXXXXXXXXX.p8 \
    --key-id XXXXXXXXXX \
    --issuer xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx

# Or store Apple ID credentials
xcrun notarytool store-credentials "MyAppleIDProfile" \
    --apple-id your.email@example.com \
    --team-id XXXXXXXXXX \
    --password @keychain:AC_PASSWORD

3. Submit for Notarization

# Using stored credentials
xcrun notarytool submit MyApp.app \
    --keychain-profile "MyProfile" \
    --wait

# Using API key directly
xcrun notarytool submit MyApp.app \
    --key ~/private_keys/AuthKey_XXXXXXXXXX.p8 \
    --key-id XXXXXXXXXX \
    --issuer xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
    --wait

# Using Apple ID
xcrun notarytool submit MyApp.app \
    --apple-id your.email@example.com \
    --team-id XXXXXXXXXX \
    --password @keychain:AC_PASSWORD \
    --wait

4. Check Status

# Check specific submission
xcrun notarytool info <submission-id> \
    --keychain-profile "MyProfile"

# Get submission log
xcrun notarytool log <submission-id> \
    --keychain-profile "MyProfile" \
    developer_log.json

# List recent submissions
xcrun notarytool history \
    --keychain-profile "MyProfile"

5. Staple Ticket

# Staple to app bundle
xcrun stapler staple MyApp.app

# Staple to DMG
xcrun stapler staple MyApp.dmg

# Staple to pkg
xcrun stapler staple MyApp.pkg

# Validate stapling
xcrun stapler validate MyApp.app

Complete Script

#!/bin/bash
# notarize.sh

set -e

APP_PATH="${1}"
KEYCHAIN_PROFILE="${2:-MyProfile}"

echo "=== Validating app bundle ==="
codesign --verify --deep --strict "$APP_PATH"

echo "=== Submitting for notarization ==="
SUBMISSION_OUTPUT=$(xcrun notarytool submit "$APP_PATH" \
    --keychain-profile "$KEYCHAIN_PROFILE" \
    --wait \
    --output-format json)

SUBMISSION_ID=$(echo "$SUBMISSION_OUTPUT" | jq -r '.id')
STATUS=$(echo "$SUBMISSION_OUTPUT" | jq -r '.status')

echo "Submission ID: $SUBMISSION_ID"
echo "Status: $STATUS"

if [ "$STATUS" != "Accepted" ]; then
    echo "=== Notarization failed, fetching log ==="
    xcrun notarytool log "$SUBMISSION_ID" \
        --keychain-profile "$KEYCHAIN_PROFILE" \
        notarization_log.json

    cat notarization_log.json
    exit 1
fi

echo "=== Stapling ticket ==="
xcrun stapler staple "$APP_PATH"

echo "=== Validating staple ==="
xcrun stapler validate "$APP_PATH"

echo "=== Notarization complete ==="

GitHub Actions Integration

name: Build and Notarize

on:
  push:
    tags: ['v*']

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: macos-latest

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4

    - name: Import signing certificate
      env:
        CERTIFICATE_BASE64: ${{ secrets.MACOS_CERTIFICATE }}
        CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.MACOS_CERTIFICATE_PWD }}
      run: |
        CERTIFICATE_PATH=$RUNNER_TEMP/certificate.p12
        KEYCHAIN_PATH=$RUNNER_TEMP/app-signing.keychain-db
        KEYCHAIN_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32)

        echo -n "$CERTIFICATE_BASE64" | base64 --decode > $CERTIFICATE_PATH

        security create-keychain -p "$KEYCHAIN_PASSWORD" $KEYCHAIN_PATH
        security set-keychain-settings -lut 21600 $KEYCHAIN_PATH
        security unlock-keychain -p "$KEYCHAIN_PASSWORD" $KEYCHAIN_PATH

        security import $CERTIFICATE_PATH -P "$CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD" -A -t cert -f pkcs12 -k $KEYCHAIN_PATH
        security list-keychain -d user -s $KEYCHAIN_PATH

    - name: Build app
      run: |
        xcodebuild -project MyApp.xcodeproj \
            -scheme MyApp \
            -configuration Release \
            -archivePath build/MyApp.xcarchive \
            archive

        xcodebuild -exportArchive \
            -archivePath build/MyApp.xcarchive \
            -exportOptionsPlist ExportOptions.plist \
            -exportPath build/

    - name: Store notarization credentials
      env:
        API_KEY: ${{ secrets.NOTARIZATION_API_KEY }}
        API_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.NOTARIZATION_API_KEY_ID }}
        API_ISSUER: ${{ secrets.NOTARIZATION_API_ISSUER }}
      run: |
        mkdir -p ~/private_keys
        echo -n "$API_KEY" > ~/private_keys/AuthKey.p8

        xcrun notarytool store-credentials "CI_PROFILE" \
            --key ~/private_keys/AuthKey.p8 \
            --key-id "$API_KEY_ID" \
            --issuer "$API_ISSUER"

    - name: Notarize app
      run: |
        xcrun notarytool submit build/MyApp.app \
            --keychain-profile "CI_PROFILE" \
            --wait

        xcrun stapler staple build/MyApp.app

    - name: Create DMG
      run: |
        create-dmg build/MyApp.app build/
        xcrun notarytool submit build/*.dmg \
            --keychain-profile "CI_PROFILE" \
            --wait
        xcrun stapler staple build/*.dmg

    - name: Upload artifact
      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
      with:
        name: MyApp
        path: build/*.dmg

Common Issues

Issue: Hardened runtime not enabled

Error: The signature does not include a secure timestamp.

Fix: Sign with hardened runtime and timestamp:

codesign --force --options runtime --timestamp --sign "Developer ID" MyApp.app

Issue: Missing entitlements

Error: The executable does not have the hardened runtime enabled.

Fix: Include entitlements in signing:

codesign --force --options runtime --timestamp \
    --entitlements MyApp.entitlements \
    --sign "Developer ID Application: Company" MyApp.app

Issue: Unsigned nested code

Error: The signature of the binary is invalid.

Fix: Sign all nested components:

find MyApp.app -name "*.dylib" -o -name "*.framework" | \
    xargs -I {} codesign --force --options runtime --timestamp --sign "Developer ID" {}

Best Practices

Use App Store Connect API: More reliable than Apple ID
Store credentials securely: Use keychain profiles
Validate before submitting: codesign --verify
Always staple: Makes offline verification possible
Archive submission logs: For debugging
Test on fresh Mac: Verify Gatekeeper acceptance

Related Skills

macos-entitlements-generator - Entitlements configuration
macos-codesign-workflow - Code signing
code-signing-setup process - Full signing workflow

Related Agents

swiftui-macos-expert - macOS development
code-signing-specialist - Signing expertise