ASC Signing Setup

VerifiedCaution

Set up bundle IDs, capabilities, signing certificates, provisioning profiles, and encrypted signing sync with the asc cli.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevOpsIntermediate
7/28/2026
Claude CodeCursorCodex
#ios-signing#provisioning-profiles#certificates#app-store-connect#cli

Recommended for

Automated summary

Automates the creation and renewal of iOS/macOS signing assets (bundle IDs, capabilities, certificates, provisioning profiles) through the asc CLI, including encrypted sync of signing material to a git repo.

Strengths

  • Covers the full signing chain: bundle ID, capabilities, certificate, profile, then profile download
  • Offers `asc signing sync` as a lightweight, non-interactive alternative to fastlane match with a match-style git layout
  • Provides explicit commands for rotating, revoking certificates and deleting stale profiles
  • Handles development/ad-hoc profiles with device inclusion and accepts comma-separated certificate IDs

Limitations

  • Assumes asc auth is already configured and that a CSR file is available
  • Relies entirely on the asc CLI, whose installation and enum values are not covered here
  • `signing sync pull` only writes files; keychain import and profile installation remain separate steps
When to use it

Use it when onboarding a new app, rotating signing assets, or sharing certificates and profiles across a team.

When not to use it

Skip it if you don't use the asc CLI or if signing is handled solely through Xcode or fastlane.

Security analysis

Caution
Quality score82/100

The instructions are transparent and limited to legitimate Apple Developer signing workflows via the `asc` CLI, with no obfuscation, remote code execution, or data exfiltration. However, it performs powerful and partially destructive actions (certificate revocation, profile deletion, encrypted cert sync to a git remote) and handles private key material and secrets, so it warrants caution rather than a clean 'safe' rating.

Findings
  • •Destructive operations on real signing assets (`asc certificates revoke --confirm`, `asc profiles delete --confirm`) are documented with only a `--confirm` flag and no backup/verification guidance.
  • •Encrypted-signing password is expanded inline into a CLI argument (`--password "$MATCH_PASSWORD"`), which can leak via shell history, process listings, or CI logs; no guidance on safer secret injection.
  • •`asc signing sync pull` decrypts certificates/profiles to an arbitrary `--output-dir` with no instruction on directory permissions or post-use cleanup of sensitive material at rest.
  • •Pushes private signing assets to a git remote; security depends entirely on the encryption password strength and repo access control, which the skill does not discuss.
  • •No guidance on scoping `ASC_*` credentials to least-privilege API keys, even though the skill manages account-wide signing infrastructure.
How this analysis is made

Examples

Onboard a new iOS app
Set up signing for a new iOS app with bundle ID com.example.app: create the bundle ID, enable iCloud, create an IOS_DISTRIBUTION certificate from ./cert.csr, then create and download an App Store provisioning profile to ./profiles/.
Rotate an expired certificate
My IOS_DISTRIBUTION certificate expired. Create a new one from ./cert.csr, recreate the App Store profile using the new certificate, then revoke the old certificate.
Share signing assets with the team
Push our signing assets for com.example.app (IOS_APP_STORE profile) to git@github.com:team/certs.git with asc signing sync, then show how a teammate pulls and decrypts them into ./signing.

name: asc-signing-setup description: Set up bundle IDs, capabilities, signing certificates, provisioning profiles, and encrypted signing sync with the asc cli. Use when onboarding a new app, rotating signing assets, or sharing them across a team.

asc signing setup

Use this skill when you need to create or renew signing assets for iOS/macOS apps.

Preconditions

  • Auth is configured (asc auth login or ASC_* env vars).
  • You know the bundle identifier and target platform.
  • You have a CSR file for certificate creation.

Workflow

  1. Create or find the bundle ID:
    • asc bundle-ids list --paginate
    • asc bundle-ids create --identifier "com.example.app" --name "Example" --platform IOS
  2. Configure bundle ID capabilities:
    • asc bundle-ids capabilities list --bundle "BUNDLE_ID"
    • asc bundle-ids capabilities add --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" --capability ICLOUD
    • Add capability settings when required:
      • --settings '[{"key":"ICLOUD_VERSION","options":[{"key":"XCODE_13","enabled":true}]}]'
  3. Create a signing certificate:
    • asc certificates list --certificate-type IOS_DISTRIBUTION
    • asc certificates create --certificate-type IOS_DISTRIBUTION --csr "./cert.csr"
  4. Create a provisioning profile:
    • asc profiles create --name "AppStore Profile" --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" --certificate "CERT_ID"
    • Include devices for development/ad-hoc:
      • asc profiles create --name "Dev Profile" --profile-type IOS_APP_DEVELOPMENT --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" --certificate "CERT_ID" --device "DEVICE_ID"
  5. Download the profile:
    • asc profiles download --id "PROFILE_ID" --output "./profiles/AppStore.mobileprovision"

Rotation and cleanup

  • Revoke old certificates:
    • asc certificates revoke --id "CERT_ID" --confirm
  • Delete old profiles:
    • asc profiles delete --id "PROFILE_ID" --confirm

Shared team storage with asc signing sync

Use this when you want a lightweight, non-interactive alternative to fastlane match for encrypted git-backed certificate/profile storage.

# Push current ASC signing assets into an encrypted git repo
asc signing sync push \
  --bundle-id "com.example.app" \
  --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE \
  --repo "git@github.com:team/certs.git" \
  --password "$MATCH_PASSWORD"

# Pull and decrypt them into a local directory
asc signing sync pull \
  --repo "git@github.com:team/certs.git" \
  --password "$MATCH_PASSWORD" \
  --output-dir "./signing"

Notes:

  • --password falls back to ASC_MATCH_PASSWORD.
  • The encrypted repo follows a familiar match-style git layout for certs and profiles.
  • pull writes files to disk; keychain import or profile installation is a separate step.

Notes

  • Always check --help for the exact enum values (certificate types, profile types).
  • Use --paginate for large accounts.
  • --certificate accepts comma-separated IDs when multiple certificates are required.
  • Device management uses asc devices commands (UDID required).

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Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/asc-signing-setup-ms47vqk1/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/asc-signing-setup-ms47vqk1/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/asc-signing-setup' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/asc-signing-setup-ms47vqk1' '.claude/skills/asc-signing-setup'

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Codex
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