Provisioning profile

Before you can distribute proprietary in-house apps to iPhone, iPad,Apple TV,Apple Vision Pro andApple Watch devices, you need to have a provisioning profile. You can install and manage provisioning profiles using a device management service, and then users can download and install them through that service or an app update.

Before a provisioning profile expires, create a new profile for the app through theiOS Developer website, theiPadOS Developer website or thevisionOS Developer website. Export a new app bundle (a .ipa file) with the new provisioning profile for users installing the app for the first time.

If users already have the app, you may want to time your next released version so that it includes the new provisioning profile. In this way, users won’t be interrupted doing work with your app. If not, you can distribute just the new .mobileprovision file, so users won’t have to install the app again. The new provisioning profile overrides the one already in the app archive.

Distribution provisioning profiles expire 12 months after they’re issued. After the expiry date, the profile is removed and the app won’t launch.

Provision and manage users for proprietary in-house app developers

Proprietary in-house app developers have access to Apple APIs for provisioning and managing users, allowing them to automate tasks such as provisioning profile generation and integrating user management into existing workflows.

For more information, seeEnterprise Program API on the Apple Developer website.

There are two ways you can distribute proprietary in-house apps:

• Using a device management service

• Using a website

Both of these methods require preparing the app for distribution, which includes the preparation of a manifest.

Prepare a proprietary in-house app for wireless distribution

To prepare your proprietary in-house app for wireless distribution, you build an archived version (an .ipa file) and a manifest file that enables wireless distribution and installation of the app. Use Xcode to create a versioned archive of your app, and then export the app for distribution to the organisation. Xcode uses the distribution certificate and includes the appropriate provisioning profile. The manifest file is an XML property list (a .plist file) used by Apple devices to find, download and install apps from your web server. The manifest file is created by Xcode using information you provide when you share an archived app for distribution to an organisation. To view the list of attributes and associated values, see theInstall Application command on the Apple Developer website.

Use a device management service to distribute the app

To use a device management service, you need to use the prepared manifest file with one of the following:

• Declarative app management available oniOS 17.2,iPadOS 17.2 orvisionOS 1.1, or later.

• TheInstallEnterpriseApplication (manifest file or embedded manifest) command.

• TheInstallApplication command (manifest file)

Use a website to distribute the app

For wireless app installation, iOS, iPadOS and visionOS apps need to meet the following requirements:

• Apps need to be in .ipa format and be built with an in-house provisioning profile.

• They need to have an XML manifest file.

• They need to be downloaded from a website whose address begins with HTTPS.

• They need to be signed by a certificate that’s trusted on the device.

• Their network configuration needs to allow devices to access a server at Apple. For more information, see the Apple Support articleUse Apple products on enterprise networks.

To install the app, users download the manifest file from your website using the special URL prefix. You can distribute the URL for downloading the manifest file by iMessage or a mail message. Here’s a sample link with the prefix added:

It’s up to you to design and host the website used to distribute these types of apps. Make sure that users are authenticated and that the website is accessible from your intranet or the internet, depending on your needs. Your website can be a single page that links to the manifest file. When a user taps a web link, the manifest file is downloaded, which triggers the downloading and installation of what your web page has described.

Make sure you follow this additional guidance:

• Don’t add a web link directly to the archived app (.ipa). The .ipa file is downloaded by the device when the manifest file is loaded. Although the protocol portion of the URL is “itms-services”, the App Store isn’t involved in this process.

• Make sure the .ipa file is accessible over HTTPS and that your site is signed with a certificate that’s trusted by iOS and iPadOS. Installation fails if a self-signed certificate doesn’t have a trusted anchor and can’t be validated by the device.

Upload these items to an area of your website that your authenticated users can access:

• The manifest file (with a .plist filename extension)

• The app file (with a .ipa filename extension)

You may need to configure your web server so the manifest file and app file are transmitted correctly. For the server, add the MIME types to the web service’s MIME types settings:

• application/octet-stream ipa

• text/xml plist

For Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS), use IIS Manager to add the MIME types in the Properties page of the server:

• .ipa application/octet-stream

• .plist text/xml

Certificate validation

The first time a user opens an app, the distribution certificate is validated by contacting the Apple OCSP server. If the certificate has been revoked, the app won’t launch. To verify the status, the device needs to be able to reach ocsp.apple.com.

The OCSP response is cached on the device for the period of time specified by the OCSP server — currently between 3 and 7 days. The validity of the certificate isn’t checked again until the device has restarted and the cached response has expired. If a revocation is received at that time, the app won’t launch.

Your distribution certificate is valid for three years from when it was issued or until your Apple Developer Enterprise Programme membership expires, whichever comes first. To keep your certificate from expiring, be sure to renew your membership before it expires.

You can have two independent distribution certificates active at the same time, with each independent from the other. The second certificate provides an overlapping period in which you can update your apps before the first certificate expires. When you request your second distribution certificate, make sure not to revoke your first certificate.

Manually update proprietary in-house apps

For proprietary in-house apps distributed using a device management service, you can use the managed app mechanism to update an app.

If users have downloaded them manually, apps aren’t automatically updated. When there’s a new version, notify users of the update and instruct them to install the app. Consider having the app check for updates and for it to notify the user when the app opens. Make sure the notification provides the itms-services link. You can also use openURL from within the app to install the update.

If you want users to keep the app’s data stored on their device, make sure the new version uses the same bundle identifier as the one it’s replacing, and tell users not to delete their old version before installing the new one.

Troubleshoot wireless app distribution

If wireless app distribution fails with an “unable to download” message:

• Make sure the app is signed correctly. Test it by installing it on a device usingApple Configurator for Mac, and see if any errors occur.

• Make sure the link to the manifest file is correct and the manifest file is accessible to web users.

• Make sure the URL to the .ipa file (in the manifest file) is correct and the .ipa file is accessible to web users over HTTPS.