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Introduction

This documentation will guide you through the process of creating and downloading a .p12 certificate, which is required for sending push notifications to your iOS application. The .p12 certificate establishes a secure connection with Apple’s Push Notification service (APNs) and enables your server to send push notifications.
Prerequisites: Before proceeding with the steps below, ensure that you have access to the Apple Developer Program, as you’ll need an active Apple Developer account to perform these actions.

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Step 1: Accessing the Apple Developer Portal

  1. Open your web browser and navigate to the Apple Developer Portal (https://developer.apple.com).
  2. Sign in to your Apple Developer account using your credentials.

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Step 2: Creating an App ID and Enabling Push Notifications

  1. In the Developer Portal, select “Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles” from the main menu.
  2. Choose “Identifiers” under the “iOS, iPadOS, tvOS” section.
  3. Click the ”+” button to create a new App ID.
  4. Provide a unique name for your App ID and select your app’s Bundle ID.
  5. Scroll down to the “Capabilities” section and enable “Push Notifications” by toggling the switch to the ON position.
  6. Save the changes to create the App ID.

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Step 3: Creating a Push Notification Certificate

  1. In the Developer Portal, select “Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles” from the main menu.
  2. Choose “Certificates” under the “Identifiers” section.
  3. Click the ”+” button to create a new certificate.
  4. Select “Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox & Production)” and click “Continue”.
  5. Choose the App ID you created in Step 2 from the dropdown list and click “Continue”.
  6. Follow the instructions to generate a certificate signing request (CSR) using Keychain Access on your Mac.
  7. Upload the CSR to the Developer Portal and click “Continue”.
  8. Download the generated .cer file, which represents your push notification certificate.

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Step 4: Exporting the Certificate as .p12

  1. Open Keychain Access on your Mac.
  2. Locate the push notification certificate in the “Certificates” category.
  3. Select both the certificate and its associated private key.
  4. Right-click and choose “Export 2 items”.
  5. Choose a secure location to save the exported .p12 file and set a strong password.
  6. Click “Save” to export the .p12 certificate.
Remember to securely store the .p12 certificate and its associated password, as they are essential for authenticating with APNs. Be cautious not to share this sensitive information with unauthorized individuals.
To generate the certificate and the private key you can follow the instructions provided in the apple docs If you encounter any issues during this process, refer to Apple’s official documentation or seek assistance from the Apple Developer Support team.