Use case
Code signing for native iOS apps
Native iOS development in Xcode lives or dies by code signing: the right certificate, the right provisioning profile, the right bundle ID, the right devices. Xcode's Automatically Manage Signing option handles small teams well but starts to leak as soon as multiple people, multiple targets, multiple environments, or CI come into play. HexSign sits on top of the App Store Connect API and gives you a single, queryable view of every signing asset across every Apple Developer team you connect, with proactive alerts so xcodebuild and Xcode Cloud never fail mid-release.
TL;DR
- Hexsign manages certificates, provisioning profiles, bundle IDs, and devices for native iOS targets through the App Store Connect API.
- Use it alongside Xcode, xcodebuild, Xcode Cloud, GitHub Actions, Bitrise, Codemagic, or Fastlane — there is no agent to install in the build.
- Expiration alerts for certificates and profiles fire before your CI does, with email and Slack delivery at thresholds you choose.
- The relationship graph shows exactly which target, scheme, and Apple account each profile feeds, so you know the blast radius before you revoke.
Where teams hit friction
Common pain points signing iOS Native (Swift / Objective-C) apps
What HexSign adds
What HexSign adds for iOS Native (Swift / Objective-C) teams
Live relationship graph
An interactive graph linking certificates, provisioning profiles, bundle IDs, and devices. Click any node to see its dependencies and the blast radius of revoking or rotating it.
Expiration alerts before things break
Email and Slack webhook alerts at thresholds you choose (7, 14, 30, 60, 90 days). Send a test alert before enabling delivery, so there are no surprise expirations during a release.
Health score & expiring items
A 0–100% health score across every Apple account you connect, plus an expiring-items panel that surfaces what to act on first. No CLI invocation required.
Guided provisioning profile wizard
A step-by-step wizard picks the right profile type, identifier, signing certificate, and devices, then generates the profile through Apple's API. No portal tab-switching.
Multi-account dashboard
Connect one or many Apple Developer team accounts. Each syncs independently with its own status and error reporting, all visible from a single dashboard.
Audit logs, RBAC & MFA
Owner / Admin / Member roles, per-user auth activity log, and MFA via SMS or TOTP authenticator apps. Every certificate, profile, device, and identifier change is logged.
How it works
How HexSign fits a iOS Native (Swift / Objective-C) workflow
- 1
Connect your Apple Developer team(s)
Create an App Store Connect API key (Issuer ID, Key ID, .p8) with App Manager or Admin scope. Paste it into HexSign — your Apple ID password never leaves Apple. Connect one team or every team you ship for.
- 2
See every signing asset at a glance
HexSign syncs your certificates, provisioning profiles, bundle IDs, and registered devices and renders them as a relationship graph. A health score shows what needs attention; the expiring-items panel ranks what to act on first.
- 3
Generate or rotate signing identities from the dashboard
Need a new iOS Distribution certificate or a fresh App Store profile for a target? Use the guided wizard: pick the type, identifier, certificate, and devices; HexSign creates it through Apple's API and syncs it back. CSR private keys are encrypted with a dedicated AWS KMS key.
- 4
Wire alerts before your release window
Set thresholds (7, 14, 30, 60, 90 days) and receive email or Slack webhook alerts before any certificate or profile expires. Send a test alert first, so you know it actually lands in the right channel.
- 5
Use any CI you like
HexSign is signing-asset infrastructure, not a CI replacement. Keep using Xcode Cloud, GitHub Actions, Bitrise, Codemagic, or Fastlane Match — HexSign reads through the same App Store Connect API they do, so it sits next to them without conflict.
Side-by-side
Signing iOS Native (Swift / Objective-C) apps with HexSign vs without
With HexSign | Without HexSign | |
|---|---|---|
| Day-to-day | ||
| See every cert and profile in one view | ||
| Spot which targets depend on a given certificate | Relationship graph | Read each .pbxproj |
| Switch between Apple Developer accounts | Multi-account dashboard | Sign out / sign in to Apple ID |
| Find every device a profile contains | One click | Open profile, scan UDID list |
| Renewal & alerts | ||
| Distribution certificate expiring in N days | Email + Slack at custom thresholds | Apple's 30-day email |
| Profile expiring per environment | Per-profile alert | Build-time discovery |
| Test that alerts actually land | ||
| Lifecycle operations | ||
| Generate a CSR with a managed private key | KMS-encrypted, downloadable | Keychain Access on a single Mac |
| Regenerate a single profile | Single click | Manual, in Apple's portal |
| Revoke a leaked certificate | From the dashboard, with audit log | Apple's portal, no team-level audit |
| Team | ||
| Role-based access control | Owner / Admin / Member | Apple Developer roles only |
| Audit log of every change | ||
| MFA on the signing dashboard | TOTP / SMS | Apple ID 2FA only |
FAQ
Questions about HexSign for iOS Native (Swift / Objective-C)
Other use cases
HexSign for other frameworks
Comparing HexSign to a specific tool? See HexSign vs Fastlane Match, HexSign vs Apple Developer Portal, HexSign vs Codemagic, and HexSign vs Bitrise.
Ready?
Ship iOS Native (Swift / Objective-C) releases without signing surprises
Connect your App Store Connect API key and get full visibility in minutes. No rip-and-replace required.