Pipeline Fails with Multiple Provisioning Profiles (App + Widget extension)

[amal-tash]

When configuring my Azure pipeline for iOS builds, I’m using two provisioning profiles:

• One for my main app target.
• One for my widget extension

The pipeline fails with the following errors:
Xcode couldn't find any iOS App Development provisioning profiles matching 'com.app.name'. Automatic signing is disabled and unable to generate a profile. To enable automatic signing, pass -allowProvisioningUpdates to xcodebuild. (in target 'Runner' from project 'Runner')

and

No profiles for 'com.app.name.HomeWidget' were found: Xcode couldn't find any iOS App Development provisioning profiles matching 'com.app.name.HomeWidget'. Automatic signing is disabled and unable to generate a profile.

With just the provisioning profile for my main app, everything worked fine. As soon as I added the HomeWidget extension and its provisioning profile, the pipeline started to fail.

Is there any special configuration required to ensure both profiles are used for their respective targets?

Thanks!

[hey24sheep]

Hi, you can go through the already asked questions regarding the provisioning profile or you can check the wiki

[markclemonsaya]

Hi, you can go through the already asked questions regarding the provisioning profile or you can check the wiki

Assuming I've read those resources and didn't find what I need, any chance you could offer some actual insight into the issue above when using multiple provisioning profiles?

[hey24sheep]

Hi, the thing is I have personally not worked with multiple profiles so I wish I could help but I am clueless there. This issue is similar issue. You can also ask on StackOverflow or ChatGPT for more help. If I find anything I will help you out, thanks

[hey24sheep]

Just for ref - Gemini gives me this answer

Yes, you have hit a very common and specific challenge when building iOS apps with multiple targets (like a widget extension) in a CI/CD environment.

The pipeline is failing because it doesn't know which provisioning profile belongs to which target. By default, the `Xcode` task and the `xcodebuild` command-line tool look for a single profile that matches the main app's bundle identifier. When a second target with a different bundle ID is introduced, the build process for that target fails because it can't find a matching profile.

You need to explicitly configure the `Xcode` task to use the correct provisioning profile for each target.

### The Solution: Explicitly Specifying Provisioning Profiles for Each Target

The key is to pass the `PROVISIONING_PROFILE_SPECIFIER` flag to `xcodebuild` for each target. This tells Xcode exactly which profile to use.

Here is a step-by-step guide and a complete YAML example.

#### Step 1: Install Both Provisioning Profiles

The first step is to ensure both provisioning profiles are correctly downloaded and made available to the build agent. The `Install Apple Provisioning Profile` task is designed for this. You can list both profiles in a single task.

  * **Main App Provisioning Profile:** `com.app.name`
  * **Widget Extension Provisioning Profile:** `com.app.name.HomeWidget`

#### Step 2: Configure the `Xcode` Task

The `Xcode` task needs a `signingIdentity` and a `teamId` for manual signing. Most importantly, you will use the `args` parameter to pass the specific `PROVISIONING_PROFILE_SPECIFIER` for both your main app target and your widget extension target.

The syntax for this is crucial:

  * `-xcconfig`: You can use a build configuration file, but for a single pipeline, passing the arguments is cleaner.
  * `PROVISIONING_PROFILE_SPECIFIER[your-target-name]=your-profile-name-or-uuid`

You will pass the name of the provisioning profile that you uploaded to your Azure DevOps library.

-----

### Complete YAML Pipeline Example

Here is a full YAML pipeline that demonstrates the correct configuration. You will need to replace the placeholder values with your actual data.

```yaml
# azure-pipelines.yml
pool:
  vmImage: 'macOS-latest'

variables:
  # Your Apple Developer Team ID
  DEVELOPER_TEAM_ID: '<your-apple-developer-team-id>'

  # The Bundle IDs for your targets
  MAIN_APP_BUNDLE_ID: 'com.app.name'
  WIDGET_EXTENSION_BUNDLE_ID: 'com.app.name.HomeWidget'
  
  # The names of your provisioning profiles as they appear in Apple Developer Portal or in your repo
  MAIN_APP_PROFILE_NAME: 'MainAppDistributionProfile' # Or use the UUID
  WIDGET_PROFILE_NAME: 'WidgetExtensionProfile'       # Or use the UUID

trigger:
- main

stages:
- stage: Build
  displayName: 'Build iOS App'
  jobs:
  - job: BuildJob
    displayName: 'Build and Archive'
    steps:
    - task: InstallAppleProvisioningProfile@1
      displayName: 'Install Provisioning Profiles'
      inputs:
        # Use a comma-separated list to install multiple profiles
        # The names must match the file names in your Secure Files library
        provisioningProfiles: '$(MAIN_APP_PROFILE_NAME).mobileprovision, $(WIDGET_PROFILE_NAME).mobileprovision'
        # Or, if you use the UUIDs:
        # provisioningProfiles: '$(MAIN_APP_PROFILE_UUID), $(WIDGET_PROFILE_UUID)'

    - task: Xcode@5
      displayName: 'Build and Archive iOS App'
      inputs:
        actions: 'archive'
        # The workspace and scheme names for your project
        # projectFile: 'Runner.xcodeproj' # Use this for projects without a workspace
        xcWorkspacePath: '**/*.xcworkspace'
        scheme: 'YourAppSchemeName'
        sdk: 'iphoneos'
        configuration: 'Release'
        
        # Explicitly set the signing method to 'manual'
        packageApp: true
        signingOption: 'manual'
        
        # Set the signing identity and team ID for the build
        signingIdentity: 'Apple Distribution'
        teamId: '$(DEVELOPER_TEAM_ID)'
        
        # CRITICAL: Use the 'args' parameter to specify which profile to use for each target.
        # The syntax is 'PROVISIONING_PROFILE_SPECIFIER[TargetName]=ProfileName'
        # The profile name should match the name from your Apple Developer Portal
        args: >-
          -target 'Runner'
          PROVISIONING_PROFILE_SPECIFIER[$(MAIN_APP_BUNDLE_ID)]=$(MAIN_APP_PROFILE_NAME)
          -target 'HomeWidget'
          PROVISIONING_PROFILE_SPECIFIER[$(WIDGET_EXTENSION_BUNDLE_ID)]=$(WIDGET_PROFILE_NAME)
          
    - task: CopyFiles@2
      displayName: 'Copy Archive to Artifact Staging'
      inputs:
        contents: '**/*.ipa'
        targetFolder: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'

    - task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
      displayName: 'Publish Build Artifacts'
      inputs:
        pathToPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
        artifactName: 'drop'

Important Notes

1. Xcode Project Configuration: Before running this pipeline, ensure your Xcode project is also configured for Manual Signing in the "Signing & Capabilities" section of both the main app target and the widget extension target. The Provisioning Profile field should be set to the exact name or UUID of the profile.
2. Profile Names vs. UUIDs: The value for PROVISIONING_PROFILE_SPECIFIER can be either the full name of the profile (e.g., "MainAppDistributionProfile") or its UUID. Using the name is often more human-readable.
3. Target Names: The names you pass with -target in the args parameter ('Runner' and 'HomeWidget' in the example) must exactly match the target names in your Xcode project.
4. Bundle Identifiers: Double-check that your bundle IDs in your project settings and in the provisioning profiles are identical. This is a common source of signing errors.
5. Install Apple Provisioning Profile Task: Make sure the provisioning profiles are uploaded to your Azure DevOps project under Pipelines > Library > Secure files. The names in the YAML must match the filenames of the secure files.
6. Signing Identity: Apple Distribution is for App Store/TestFlight builds, and Apple Development is for development builds. Make sure this matches your provisioning profile type.

By explicitly providing the provisioning profile specifier for each of your targets, you give the xcodebuild command the precise instructions it needs to sign both your main app and your widget extension correctly.

[hey24sheep]

Stackoverflow for multiple profiles