Sign and notarize the Mac Catalyst app into a DMG in CI by hahn-kev-bot · Pull Request #2675 · sillsdev/languageforge-lexbox · GitHub

AI summary

Makes the Mac Catalyst build a Gatekeeper-clean, directly downloadable universal app. When the SIL Developer ID signing secret is present (upstream runs; GitHub withholds secrets from fork PRs, which keep the existing unsigned compile check), the build-apple job now:

imports the Developer ID Application certificate into a temporary keychain, signing with the cert's SHA-1 hash (the SIL identity name contains a comma, which MSBuild's -p:CodesignKey= splits on);
builds Mac Catalyst Release as a universal (x86_64 + arm64) binary signed with that identity and the hardened runtime (required for notarization), using a new Platforms/MacCatalyst/Entitlements.DeveloperId.plist that grants the executable-memory and library-validation exceptions the .NET/Mono interpreter needs to launch under the hardened runtime;
lipo-verifies the bundle really is universal (fails the job otherwise), then packages a drag-to-install DMG, notarizes it with notarytool via the App Store Connect API key, and staples the ticket.

create-release (runs on main) attaches the notarized DMG to the GitHub release. When the secret is absent (fork PRs) the job falls back to the unsigned arm64 compile check, so nothing regresses for contributors. Docs in .github/AGENTS.md updated.

This branch lives in the upstream repo (it supersedes fork PR #2674) so CI can see the signing secrets.

Test plan

Notarization confirmed end to end on a real upstream run: the signed build → DMG → notarytool submit --wait → stapler staple steps all pass, the fw-lite-apple artifact contains FieldWorksLite.dmg, and the downloaded DMG installs and launches on Apple Silicon under the hardened runtime (only the normal first-launch quarantine prompt, no Gatekeeper block).
Universal build is enforced in CI by a lipo -archs gate that fails the job unless the packaged bundle contains both x86_64 and arm64. Intel launch still wants a real-machine smoke test.
Locally verified earlier that the hardened-runtime entitlements let the .NET interpreter app launch.

Follow-ups (not in this PR)

iOS App Store / TestFlight (Apple Distribution cert + App Store Connect key) is a separate track.
Moving the mac build to Velopack for an installer + in-app auto-update is scoped in Setup installer for mac with Velopack #1299; this DMG is the interim step and shares all the signing groundwork.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Produces a Gatekeeper-clean, directly downloadable Mac Catalyst build. When the SIL Developer ID signing secret is present (upstream runs; fork PRs get no secrets and keep the existing unsigned compile check), the build-apple job now: - imports the Developer ID Application cert into a temporary keychain; - builds Mac Catalyst Release signed with that identity and the hardened runtime (required for notarization), using a new Entitlements.DeveloperId.plist that grants the executable-memory and library-validation exceptions the .NET/Mono interpreter needs to launch under the hardened runtime; - packages a drag-to-install DMG, notarizes it with notarytool via the App Store Connect API key, and staples the ticket. create-release attaches the notarized DMG to the GitHub release. The hardened- runtime build was verified locally to launch; the notarization path needs one upstream run to validate (fork PRs can't access the secrets). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The Apple CI workflow now conditionally signs and notarizes Mac Catalyst builds, uploads unsigned or notarized artifacts, and includes available DMGs in releases. A Developer ID entitlements file supports hardened-runtime builds.

Changes

Apple build and release

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Conditional Mac Catalyst build .github/workflows/fw-lite.yaml, backend/FwLite/FwLiteMaui/Platforms/MacCatalyst/Entitlements.DeveloperId.plist, .github/AGENTS.md	The Apple job uses unsigned builds when signing secrets are unavailable. When secrets are available, it imports a Developer ID certificate, applies hardened-runtime entitlements, creates and notarizes a DMG, and uploads Apple artifacts. The documentation describes both paths.
Apple release artifact publishing .github/workflows/fw-lite.yaml	The release job downloads Apple artifacts and includes produced DMGs. Missing DMGs do not fail the release.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~30 minutes

Change: Feature

Suggested reviewers: hahn-kev

Merge Risk: 🟡 Moderate · up to 5241f

Incomplete or rotated Apple credentials can break the Mac Catalyst CI job rather than producing the documented unsigned fallback. Gate signing on every required secret before merging.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5 ✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 0 functions across 0…
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely describes the primary change: signing and notarizing the Mac Catalyst app into a DMG in CI.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description is directly related to the changeset. It explains the signing, notarization, universal build, fallback behavior, release artifact handling, and test plan.

✨ Finishing Touches 🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

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A rabbit watched the Mac build run,
Unsigned paths raced beneath the sun.
Developer IDs signed with care,
Notarized DMGs filled the air.
The release carried artifacts bright.

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Build	Status	Details	Updated (UTC)
default (Inspect)	✅ No changes detected	-	Sep 23, 2026, 2:17 AM
e2e (Inspect)	✅ No changes detected	-	Sep 23, 2026, 2:25 AM

The SIL Developer ID Application identity name contains a comma ("...Linguistics, Inc..."). MSBuild splits -p:CodesignKey=<value> on commas, so passing the display name failed the signed build with "error MSB1006: Property is not valid. Switch: Inc (SIL) (...)". Extract the certificate's SHA-1 hash from `security find-identity` instead; it has no spaces or commas, and both codesign -s and MSBuild's CodesignKey accept it. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Actionable comments posted: 1

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Inline comments:
In @.github/workflows/fw-lite.yaml:
- Line 301: Update the HAS_APPLE_SIGNING expression in the workflow environment
to require the certificate URL, certificate password, and all three App Store
Connect credentials to be non-empty before enabling the signed path; otherwise
preserve the existing unsigned path.

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Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between ef5e3ba and 5241fdf.

📒 Files selected for processing (3)

.github/AGENTS.md
.github/workflows/fw-lite.yaml
backend/FwLite/FwLiteMaui/Platforms/MacCatalyst/Entitlements.DeveloperId.plist

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Release already defaults to a universal maccatalyst-x64;maccatalyst-arm64 build (per the csproj); CI had narrowed it to arm64-only. Switch the signed build to RuntimeIdentifiers=maccatalyst-x64;maccatalyst-arm64 so the notarized DMG runs on Intel Macs too. A universal bundle lands directly under the TFM dir (no per-RID subfolder), so resolve the .app path robustly, and lipo-check that the packaged bundle really contains both slices — failing the job otherwise, since Intel support is the whole point. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Quoting "maccatalyst-x64;maccatalyst-arm64" only protects the semicolon from the shell. MSBuild then treats the literal ';' as its own property separator, parsing "maccatalyst-arm64" as a bare property and failing with "error MSB1006: Property is not valid. Switch: maccatalyst-arm64". Escape it as %3B so MSBuild un-escapes it to ';' after splitting switches, giving RuntimeIdentifiers the intended two-RID value. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Passing -p:RuntimeIdentifiers=maccatalyst-x64;maccatalyst-arm64 on the command line makes it a global property that flows into every referenced class library (MiniLcm, LcmCrdt, LexCore, ...), which reject the multi-RID value with NETSDK1083. Instead set RuntimeIdentifiers on the app project (Release + maccatalyst, only when no explicit single RuntimeIdentifier is passed), mirroring the existing android multi-RID line, and drop the CLI RID from the signed build. The unsigned fork compile check still passes an explicit maccatalyst-arm64, so it stays single-arch and fast. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

dotnet build with two RIDs emits a separate .app per arch but never lipo-merges them (only dotnet publish does, which we can't use — it trips EF's runtime model build under Mac Catalyst, see #1603). So lipo the two per-arch bundles into one universal bundle and re-seal it with the hardened runtime + entitlements before packaging the DMG. The existing lipo-archs gate then confirms both slices are present. Also trim two verbose workflow comments per review. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

The merge loop iterated the source arm64 bundle and wrote lipo output back into it, leaving the universal copy ($APP) with its original arm64-only binaries — so the lipo-archs gate correctly rejected the result as arm64. Iterate and write into the copy instead. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

The merge now produces a real universal bundle (lipo gate passes: "x86_64 arm64"), but notarization returned Invalid. --deep re-signing is unreliable for notarization, so sign inside-out instead: each nested Mach-O with the hardened runtime (deepest first), then seal the app with entitlements, then codesign --verify --strict. Also capture the notarytool submission id and always print `notarytool log` (submit --wait exits 0 even on Invalid), and gate explicitly on status == Accepted, so any remaining rejection shows its actual reasons. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

github-actions Bot added the 💻 FW Lite issues related to the fw lite application, not miniLcm or crdt related label Sep 22, 2026

hahn-kev-bot mentioned this pull request Sep 22, 2026

Sign and notarize the Mac Catalyst app into a DMG in CI #2674

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coderabbitai Bot reviewed Sep 22, 2026

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hahn-kev-bot mentioned this pull request Sep 22, 2026

Setup installer for mac with Velopack #1299

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hahn-kev and others added 3 commits September 22, 2026 16:06

myieye reviewed Sep 22, 2026

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hahn-kev and others added 3 commits September 22, 2026 22:17

Sign and notarize the Mac Catalyst app into a DMG in CI by hahn-kev-bot · Pull Request #2675 · sillsdev/languageforge-lexbox · GitHub

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Sign and notarize the Mac Catalyst app into a DMG in CI - #2675

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Sign and notarize the Mac Catalyst app into a DMG in CI by hahn-kev-bot · Pull Request #2675 · sillsdev/languageforge-lexbox · GitHub

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Sign and notarize the Mac Catalyst app into a DMG in CI - #2675

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