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Getting started with macOS apps

Abstract

Get started on Bitrise by signing up via email or a Git provider, connecting a repository, and running the first build for your macOS app.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to add a macOS app to Bitrise, how to run Xcode tests, manage your code signing files and deploy the app to bitrise.io and to the App Store.

Adding a macOS app to Bitrise

Do you have a Bitrise account?

Make sure you have signed up to bitrise.io and can access your Bitrise account. There are multiple ways of registering an account:

  1. Go to your Bitrise Dashboard.

  2. Click the + sign on the top menu bar and select Add New App on web UI, which takes you to the Create New App page.

    Alternatively, you can add your app using a CLI. For more details, check out Adding a new app from a CLI.

  3. Choose the account you wish to add the app to.

  4. Set the privacy of the app to either Private or Public and click Next.

    Private vs public apps

    The most important difference between public and private apps is that if your app is public, everyone who has the build URL can see your build logs: Public apps. With a private app, you have full control over who has any access to the app.

  5. Select the Git hosting service that hosts your repository, then find and select your own repository that hosts the project.

  6. When prompted to set up repository access, click No, auto-add SSH key.

  7. Type the name of the branch that includes your project’s configuration - main, for example, - then click Next.

  8. Wait while Bitrise is validating your project. We look for your configuration files and set up your app based on them.

    Shared schemes only

    The validation will fail if you do not have a shared scheme in your project. You can still point Bitrise manually to your Xcode scheme but if it’s shared, we automatically detect it for you.

  9. Select the export method. You can modify this later - for now, select development.

    Getting started with MacOS apps

    Once you clicked it, you should see your:

    • Project or Workspace path.

    • Scheme name.

    • Export method.

    • macOS stack.

  10. Register a webhook when prompted so that Bitrise can start a build automatically when code is pushed to your repository, or a pull request is created. This also kicks off your first build - click the message and it will take you to the build page.

Testing your macOS app

Once you created your app, the first build will run based on the automatically created primary workflow. You can check it out in the app’s Workflow Editor: click the app’s name on your Dashboard then click the Workflow tab

If your app does not have test targets defined, the primary workflow will NOT include the Xcode Test for Mac Step.

If you have test targets defined, the primary Workflow of a macOS app includes the two Steps you need to run your Xcode tests, and view their results on bitrise.io:

  • Xcode Test for Mac

  • Deploy to Bitrise.io

Code signing files

Running Xcode tests and deploying their results to Bitrise do not require any code signing files. So don’t worry about them just yet!

The Xcode Test for Mac Step runs the pre-defined Xcode tests. It has a default configuration that does not need to be modified: if the tests are written correctly, they will work. You can find the same configuration options in Xcode, too.

The Deploy to Bitrise.io will deploy the following to the Logs and Artifacts tab of the build:

  • your Xcode test results.

  • your raw xcodebuildoutput log.

The Deploy to Bitrise.io Step also exports the results of the Xcode Test for Mac Step to the Test Reports add-on.

Code signing and exporting a macOS app

To install and test the app on other physical devices, you will need to create and export an .app or .pkg file. This requires setting up code signing. In the example, we’ll be exporting an app with the development export method: you cannot upload such an app to Testflight but you can test it, for example, on the devices of your internal testers.

Automatic Provisioining

The example procedure described here uses manual provisioning, with the Certificate and profile installer Step. However, Bitrise also supports automatic provisioning but it is not in the scope of this guide.

You will need:

  • the automatically created deploy workflow.

  • a Development certificate (a .p12 certificate file).

  • a Development type Provisioning Profile. For a macOS project, the file extension of the provisioning profile is .provisionprofile.

  1. Set the code signing type of your project in Xcode to either manual or automatic (Xcode managed), and generate the package file locally.

  2. Collect and upload the code signing files.

    The tool can also upload your code signing files to Bitrise - we recommend doing so! Otherwise, upload them manually: enter the Workflow Editor and select the Code signing tab, then upload the files in their respective fields.

  3. Go to your app’s Workflow Editor, and select the deploy workflow in the WORKFLOW dropdown menu in the top left corner.

  4. Check that you have the Certificate and profile installer Step in your Workflow. It must be before the Xcode Archive for Mac Step (you can have other Steps between the two, like Xcode Test for Mac).

  5. Check the Export method input under the app/pkg export configs input group of the Xcode Archive for Mac Step.

    If you selected development when you added the app to Bitrise, you don’t need to change the input. Otherwise, manually set it to development.

    macOS_export_method.png

  6. Start a build.

If you uploaded the correct code signing files, the Certificate and profile installer Step should install your code signing files and the Xcode Archive for Mac Step should export an .app or .pkg file with the development export method. If you have the Deploy to Bitrise.io Step in your workflow, you can find the binary package file on the Artifacts tab of the build page.

Deploying the app to the App Store Connect

If you set up your code signing files and created an .app or .pkg file for your internal testers, it is time to involve external testers and then to publish your macOS app to the App Store. Let’s see how!

Developer ID

If you want to distribute your app outside the App Store, you can sign it with a Developer ID. This method is not in the scope of this guide but on Bitrise, it works the same way: you just need to upload the appropriate code signing files.

To deploy to the App Store, you will need these code signing files:

  • a Mac App Distribution certificate.

  • a Mac Installer Distribution certificate.

  1. On your local machine, set up App Store code signing for your project in Xcode, and export an .app or .pkg file. If this fails locally, it will definitely fail on Bitrise, too!

  2. Collect and upload the code signing files.

  3. Go to the app’s Workflow Editor and create a new Workflow: click the + button next to the Workflow dropdown menu, enter the name of your new Workflow and in the BASED ON dropdown menu, select deploy. This way the new Workflow will be a copy of the basic deploy Workflow.

  4. Click on the the app/pkg export methods , and set the Export Method input of the Xcode Archive for Mac Step to app-store.

    You can export multiple binaries with different export methods: use the Export macOS Xcode archive Step in your Workflow, to do so.

  5. Add the Deploy to App Store Connect - Application Loader (formerly iTunes Connect) Step to your workflow, after the Xcode Archive for Mac Step but preferably before the Deploy to Bitrise.io Step.

  6. Provide your Apple credentials in the Deploy to App Store Connect - Application Loader (formerly iTunes Connect) Step.

    The Step will need your:

    • Apple ID.

    • password or, if you use two-factor authentication on iTunes Connect, your application password.

    Don’t worry, the password will not be visible in the logs or exposed - that’s why it is marked SENSITIVE.

And that’s it! Start a build - if everything went well, you should see your app on Testflight. From there, you can distribute it to external testers or release it to the App Store.

In this section:

An app on Bitrise represents a Git repository that stores source code and has been connected to Bitrise to be able to run builds on it. As such, a Bitrise app isn't necessarily an actual application: it's just the code on which you run builds with Bitrise.

The Bitrise Workflow Editor allows you to edit your Workflows, configure Steps, upload files (including code signing files) and manage your app's triggers and stacks on a graphical user interface. It is available both online and offline.

A Workflow is a collection of Steps, Environment Variables, and other configurations. When Bitrise starts a build, it runs one or more Workflows according to the configuration defined in the bitrise.yml file.

A Step is a block of script execution that encapsulates a build task on Bitrise: the code to perform that task, the inputs and parameters you can define for the task, and the outputs the task generates.