Building an iOS app and signing it

Without an Apple account

Choose iOS Simulator in Mobile app → Build. It compiles your app and produces a .app you can drag onto an iOS Simulator on a Mac. This proves the app builds and runs — no Apple Developer account, no cost.

For a real device, TestFlight or the App Store

You need the Apple Developer Program — $99 per year. Then add four repository secrets:

• APPLE_CERT_BASE64 — your distribution certificate (.p12), base64 encoded
• APPLE_CERT_PASSWORD — the password protecting that .p12
• APPLE_PROVISION_BASE64 — your provisioning profile, base64 encoded
• APPLE_TEAM_ID — from your Apple Developer account

Export the certificate from Keychain Access on a Mac as a .p12, then:

base64 -i cert.p12 | pbcopy

With those set, the build also produces a signed .ipa ready for TestFlight.

App Store review — read this before paying

Apple's guideline 4.2 (Minimum Functionality) allows them to reject apps that are just a website in a wrapper. To pass, give the app something native:

• Push notifications
• Haptic feedback on key actions
• Offline access to recent content
• A home-screen widget

Google Play is far more permissive. Ship Android first — it is cheaper, faster and lower risk.