Profiles

Manage provisioning profiles

Create, download, and manage provisioning profiles for app development and distribution.

Overview

Provisioning profiles bind your app’s bundle ID, certificates, and (for development) devices together, allowing your app to run on devices or be distributed through various channels.

List Profiles

List all provisioning profiles or filter by type:

# List all profiles
asc profiles list

# Filter by profile type
asc profiles list --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE

# List multiple types
asc profiles list --profile-type IOS_APP_DEVELOPMENT,IOS_APP_STORE

# Fetch all pages automatically
asc profiles list --paginate

Pagination Options

--limit - Results per page (1-200)
--next - Fetch next page using a links.next URL
--paginate - Automatically fetch all pages

Get Profile Details

Retrieve a specific profile by ID:

asc profiles view --id "PROFILE_ID"

# Include related resources
asc profiles view --id "PROFILE_ID" \
  --include bundleId,certificates,devices

Available includes:

bundleId - Bundle identifier details
certificates - Signing certificates in the profile
devices - Registered devices (development/ad hoc profiles only)

Profile Types

iOS Profile Types

App Store:

asc profiles list --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE

Used for: App Store submission
Requires: iOS Distribution certificate
Devices: Not required

Development:

asc profiles list --profile-type IOS_APP_DEVELOPMENT

Used for: Running apps on development devices
Requires: iOS Development certificate
Devices: Required (up to 100 devices)

Ad Hoc:

asc profiles list --profile-type IOS_APP_ADHOC

Used for: Testing outside TestFlight
Requires: iOS Distribution certificate
Devices: Required (up to 100 devices)

In-House (Enterprise):

asc profiles list --profile-type IOS_APP_INHOUSE

Used for: Enterprise internal distribution
Requires: iOS Distribution certificate
Devices: Not required
Requires: Apple Developer Enterprise Program

tvOS Profile Types

TVOS_APP_STORE - tvOS App Store
TVOS_APP_DEVELOPMENT - tvOS development
TVOS_APP_ADHOC - tvOS Ad Hoc
TVOS_APP_INHOUSE - tvOS Enterprise

macOS Profile Types

MAC_APP_STORE - Mac App Store
MAC_APP_DEVELOPMENT - macOS development
MAC_APP_DIRECT - Direct distribution (Developer ID)
MAC_CATALYST_APP_STORE - Mac Catalyst App Store
MAC_CATALYST_APP_DEVELOPMENT - Mac Catalyst development
MAC_CATALYST_APP_DIRECT - Mac Catalyst direct

Create Profile

Create a new provisioning profile:

# App Store profile (no devices needed)
asc profiles create --name "My App Store Profile" \
  --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE \
  --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" \
  --certificate "CERT_ID"

# Development profile (devices required)
asc profiles create --name "My Dev Profile" \
  --profile-type IOS_APP_DEVELOPMENT \
  --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" \
  --certificate "CERT_ID_1,CERT_ID_2" \
  --device "DEVICE_ID_1,DEVICE_ID_2"

Required Parameters

--name - Profile name (descriptive, for your reference)
--profile-type - Profile type (see Profile Types)
--bundle - Bundle ID resource ID
--certificate - Certificate ID(s), comma-separated

Optional Parameters

--device - Device ID(s), comma-separated (required for development/ad hoc)

Finding Resource IDs

Bundle ID:

asc bundle-ids list --output json | grep -A2 "com.example.app"

Certificate IDs:

asc certificates list --certificate-type IOS_DISTRIBUTION --output json

Device IDs:

asc devices list --platform IOS --output json

Download Profile

Download a provisioning profile:

asc profiles download --id "PROFILE_ID" \
  --output "./profile.mobileprovision"

The downloaded .mobileprovision file can be:

Installed in Xcode (drag and drop)
Copied to ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles/
Used in CI/CD pipelines

Install Profile

# Copy to standard location
mkdir -p ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles
cp profile.mobileprovision ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles/

# Or open with Xcode
open profile.mobileprovision

Delete Profile

Delete a provisioning profile:

asc profiles delete --id "PROFILE_ID" --confirm

Note: Deleted profiles cannot be recovered. Apps signed with deleted profiles will continue to work until the profile expires.

Profile Relationships

View related resources for a profile:

# Get bundle ID relationship
asc profiles links bundle-id --id "PROFILE_ID"

# Get certificates relationship
asc profiles links certificates --id "PROFILE_ID"

# Get devices relationship (development/ad hoc only)
asc profiles links devices --id "PROFILE_ID"

Local Profile Management

Manage profiles on your local machine:

# List locally installed profiles
asc profiles local list

# Remove expired profiles
asc profiles local clean

# Get UUID of a profile file
asc profiles local install --path ./profile.mobileprovision

Complete Example Workflows

Create App Store Profile

# 1. Find bundle ID
asc bundle-ids list --output json | grep "com.example.app"
# Note: BUNDLE_ID from response

# 2. Find distribution certificate
asc certificates list --certificate-type IOS_DISTRIBUTION --output json
# Note: CERT_ID from response

# 3. Create profile
asc profiles create --name "Example App Store" \
  --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE \
  --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" \
  --certificate "CERT_ID"

# 4. Download profile (from creation response)
asc profiles download --id "PROFILE_ID" \
  --output "./signing/appstore.mobileprovision"

# 5. Install profile
cp ./signing/appstore.mobileprovision \
  ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles/

Create Development Profile

# 1. Register your device (if not already registered)
asc devices register --name "My iPhone" \
  --platform IOS \
  --udid "00008030-001234567890ABCD"

# 2. Find resource IDs
asc bundle-ids list --output json | grep "com.example.app"
asc certificates list --certificate-type IOS_DEVELOPMENT --output json
asc devices list --platform IOS --output json

# 3. Create development profile
asc profiles create --name "Example Development" \
  --profile-type IOS_APP_DEVELOPMENT \
  --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" \
  --certificate "DEV_CERT_ID" \
  --device "DEVICE_ID_1,DEVICE_ID_2"

# 4. Download and install
asc profiles download --id "PROFILE_ID" \
  --output "./dev.mobileprovision"
cp ./dev.mobileprovision \
  ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles/

Update Profile with New Device

Profiles cannot be updated directly. Create a new profile:

# 1. Register new device
asc devices register --name "New iPad" \
  --platform IOS \
  --udid "00008103-001234567890ABCD"

# 2. Get existing profile details
asc profiles view --id "OLD_PROFILE_ID" \
  --include bundleId,certificates,devices \
  --output json

# 3. Create new profile with all devices (old + new)
asc profiles create --name "Example Development v2" \
  --profile-type IOS_APP_DEVELOPMENT \
  --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" \
  --certificate "CERT_ID" \
  --device "OLD_DEVICE_1,OLD_DEVICE_2,NEW_DEVICE_ID"

# 4. Delete old profile
asc profiles delete --id "OLD_PROFILE_ID" --confirm

Rotate Certificates in Profile

# 1. Create new certificate
asc certificates csr generate --key-out ./new.key --csr-out ./new.csr
asc certificates create --certificate-type IOS_DISTRIBUTION \
  --csr ./new.csr

# 2. Get profile details
asc profiles view --id "PROFILE_ID" \
  --include bundleId,devices \
  --output json

# 3. Create new profile with new certificate
asc profiles create --name "Example App Store v2" \
  --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE \
  --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" \
  --certificate "NEW_CERT_ID"

# 4. Download new profile
asc profiles download --id "NEW_PROFILE_ID" \
  --output "./appstore-v2.mobileprovision"

# 5. Revoke old certificate and delete old profile
asc certificates revoke --id "OLD_CERT_ID" --confirm
asc profiles delete --id "OLD_PROFILE_ID" --confirm

CI/CD Profile Management

# GitHub Actions / CI script
#!/bin/bash
set -e

# Download profile
asc profiles download --id "$PROFILE_ID" \
  --output "./build.mobileprovision"

# Create provisioning profiles directory
mkdir -p ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles

# Install profile
cp ./build.mobileprovision \
  ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles/

# Get profile UUID for Xcode
PROFILE_UUID=$(asc profiles local install --path ./build.mobileprovision)
echo "PROFILE_UUID=$PROFILE_UUID" >> $GITHUB_ENV

Profile States

Profiles can be in different states:

ACTIVE - Valid and ready to use
INVALID - Profile has issues (expired, revoked certificate, etc.)

Check profile state:

asc profiles view --id "PROFILE_ID" --output json | grep profileState

Profile Expiration

Profiles expire after 1 year. To renew:

Create a new profile with the same configuration
Download and install the new profile
Delete the old profile

Profiles automatically expire when:

Any certificate in the profile is revoked
Any certificate in the profile expires
The bundle ID is deleted

Troubleshooting

Profile Invalid After Certificate Revocation

# Create new certificate
asc certificates create --certificate-type IOS_DISTRIBUTION \
  --csr ./new.csr

# Create new profile with new certificate
asc profiles create --name "Renewed Profile" \
  --profile-type IOS_APP_STORE \
  --bundle "BUNDLE_ID" \
  --certificate "NEW_CERT_ID"

Device Limit Reached (100 devices)

Development and Ad Hoc profiles are limited to 100 devices. Solution:

Use TestFlight for broader testing (no device limit)
Remove unused devices from your account (once per year)
Split testing across multiple profiles if needed

Profile Content Empty

Error: profile content is empty

The profile may be in an invalid state. Solution:

# Check profile state
asc profiles view --id "PROFILE_ID" --output json

# If invalid, create a new profile

Cannot Find Profile in Xcode

Profiles must be installed in the correct location:

# Check installed profiles
ls -la ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles/

# Re-install profile
asc profiles download --id "PROFILE_ID" --output ./profile.mobileprovision
cp ./profile.mobileprovision ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles/

# Restart Xcode

Signing - High-level signing workflow
Certificates - Manage certificates
Bundle IDs - Manage bundle identifiers
Devices - Register devices

Overview

App Management

TestFlight & Builds

Monetization & Analytics

Signing

Review & Release

Team & Access

Automation & Utilities

Profiles

Profiles

Overview

List Profiles

Get Profile Details

Profile Types

iOS Profile Types

tvOS Profile Types

macOS Profile Types

Create Profile

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

Finding Resource IDs

Download Profile

Install Profile

Delete Profile

Profile Relationships

Local Profile Management

Complete Example Workflows

Create App Store Profile

Create Development Profile

Update Profile with New Device

Rotate Certificates in Profile

CI/CD Profile Management

Profile States

Profile Expiration

Troubleshooting

Profile Invalid After Certificate Revocation

Device Limit Reached (100 devices)

Profile Content Empty

Cannot Find Profile in Xcode

​Profiles

​Overview

​List Profiles

​Pagination Options

​Get Profile Details

​Profile Types

​iOS Profile Types

​tvOS Profile Types

​macOS Profile Types

​Create Profile

​Required Parameters

​Optional Parameters

​Finding Resource IDs

​Download Profile

​Install Profile

​Delete Profile

​Profile Relationships

​Local Profile Management

​Complete Example Workflows

​Create App Store Profile

​Create Development Profile

​Update Profile with New Device

​Rotate Certificates in Profile

​CI/CD Profile Management

​Profile States

​Profile Expiration

​Troubleshooting

​Profile Invalid After Certificate Revocation

​Device Limit Reached (100 devices)

​Profile Content Empty

​Cannot Find Profile in Xcode

​Related Commands

Profiles

Overview

List Profiles

Pagination Options

Get Profile Details

Profile Types

iOS Profile Types

tvOS Profile Types

macOS Profile Types

Create Profile

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

Finding Resource IDs

Download Profile

Install Profile

Delete Profile

Profile Relationships

Local Profile Management

Complete Example Workflows

Create App Store Profile

Create Development Profile

Update Profile with New Device

Rotate Certificates in Profile

CI/CD Profile Management

Profile States

Profile Expiration

Troubleshooting

Profile Invalid After Certificate Revocation

Device Limit Reached (100 devices)

Profile Content Empty

Cannot Find Profile in Xcode

Related Commands