Do the distribution profiles come from distribution certificate?

Question

The client has given me the distribution profiles, how can i add the profiles in xcode 5?

As far as i know distribution certificates are responsible for distribution profiles. Importing distribution certificate enables and add all the distribution profiles in xcode. Without certificate distribution profiles can't be used.

Please correct me if i am wrong and suggest the work around for importing profiles in xcode 5. Deployment phase is new for me.

Thanks

Answer 1

Importing the profiles is just double clicking on them. You can't use the profile without the private key for the certificate that was used to generate the profiles. This need to be exported from the keychain (usually as a p12 file) and imported onto your development machine.

It is possible that the client exported a package containing all of this info using Xcode, then double clicking should install everything required.

Importing distribution certificate enables and add all the distribution profiles in xcode

No, importing one doesn't automatically import the other.

There are no workarounds, you need to be supplied with both the certificate (private key) and the profiles.

Answer 2

A distribution profile is basically a way to make a trust relationship between a particular distribution certificate (which identifies your organisation as a registered Apple development organisation), a particular app or group of apps (identified by an AppID like com.foo.bar.myawesomegame), a set of valid devices where the app can be installed (in the case of ad-hoc distribution; in the case of App Store distribution this is not required), and a set of enabled services, like In-App Purchases.

In your particular situation, if the client wants to test your app, and you are provided with a valid distribution provisioning profile (a file with .mobileprovisioning extension), you also need to install a valid distribution certificate on your computer. The client can download this certificate from http://developer.apple.com (Member Center) and send it to you so you can import it on your machine with a double click on the .cer file.

To enable external users test an app, there's a simpler process, providing that your organisation is a registered Apple development organisation: First, you generate a distribution certificate from http://developer.apple.com. Then, you create a distribution (ad-hoc) provisioning profile and add the distribution certificate and the UUIDs of the iPhones the client wants to use for testing. The client can get the UUIDs from the iTunes app, for example. Then, you can download both the certificate and the distribution profile to your computer, double click to import them into Xcode, and finally sign the app (.ipa file) so that the client can test it on their own devices. You can do that by choosing Product, Archive in Xcode and selecting your distribution certificate and provisioning profile.