How to make an IPA on XCode 4.3?

Question

I have a Mac OS X Lion setup with XCode 4.3. I am not a registered Apple developer.

I told, via the plist files: /Applications/Xcode.App/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Info.plist and /Applications/Xcode.App/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS5.0.sdk/SDKSettings.plist, XCode not to require codesigning.

I then compiled my project, just a basic iPhone app project, it ran well in simulator. I could build and archive it, then sign it using a self-created certificate and the archive appeared in the Organizer.

Nothing strange for the moment, but there comes the problem: I have no "Share" button in the organizer. I absolutely need to make an IPA file out of my project if I want it to work under an iPhone as it won't accept xcarchive files. I only get the "Validate" and "Distribute" buttons which both require to be a registered Apple developer. But, no "Share" button which enables building an IPA... for free.

I have gone through XCode settings but nothing seemed to help me there. Even the documentation says a Share button is available in XCode 4.3, so my question is: Why don't I get the possibility to make an IPA? IS there any workaround to get this Share button or make an IPA out of the xcarchive via any command line or whatever?

Answer 1

Here's how you can make an IPA in XCode 4.3:

To Disable Code Signing:

1. Go to /Applications.
2. Right click on XCode and select 'Show Package Contents'.
3. Copy Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS5.1.sdk/SDKSettings.plist to your desktop. (Make sure to actually copy and paste. No drag and drop)
4. Open it and under DefaultProperties set CODE_SIGNING_REQUIRED to NO.
5. Copy it back and replace the original file.
6. Restart XCode.
7. Open your project.
8. In Project Navigator select your project and open Build Settings section of your porject (and not any particular target)
9. Under Code Signing find Code Signing Identity and for both Debug and Release modes set Any iOS SKD to Don't Code Sign.
10. Now you should be able to build your project without any errors.

To make an IPA:

1. In 'Project Navigator' select Products
2. Right click on [NameOfYourProject].app and select 'Show in Finder'.
3. Create a folder and name it Payload
4. Move [NameOfYourProject].app to Payload.
5. Compress Payload and rename it to [NameOfYourProject].ipa

Answer 2

You should be able to get an IPA by clicking 'Distribute...' in Organizer->Archives, and choosing to 'Save for Enterprise or Ad-Hoc Deployment'.

Answer 3

Beginning iOs 5.1 Apple moved their files from /Developer/... to XCode->Show Package Content In order to export codesign_allocate correctly run this line on your Mac terminal : export CODESIGN_ALLOCATE=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/usr/bin/codesign_allocate