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Show HN: iOS Provisioning profile hell begone (itunes.apple.com)

11 points by pugz ↗ HN
I'm sure I'm not the only iOS developer who has torn out my hair dealing with provisioning profiles.

Manually managing them in the iPhoneOS 2.x, 3.x days or Xcode's "automatic" management have always been painful, especially when doing contract development for multiple clients.

I made this app + quicklook plugin for my own use, but realised it may be of use to the wider community. It allows you to introspect .mobileprovision files to investigate which app they are for, which UDIDs are provisioned and so on.

Does anyone like it / have advice on how I can improve it? This is my first foray into "product" development. (I hope this post abides by the rules of Show HN etiquette, please delete if it does not)

Some redemption codes:

W6WHWAYXEMF6 LL4W9HFMNFNE WJE99T73XTXF TN93RTWLYPJR 4AFRNYFMEP9H

15 comments

[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 35.6 ms ] thread
abyx
What I found most interesting is the price choice. Don't recall ever seeing a "$.49" price before on the app store :)
pugz
I tried to post this as the text, but it seems not to work?

--------------------------------------

I'm sure I'm not the only iOS developer who has torn out my hair dealing with provisioning profiles.

Manually managing them in the iPhoneOS 2.x, 3.x days or Xcode's "automatic" management have always been painful, especially when doing contract development for multiple clients.

I made this app + quicklook plugin for my own use, but realised it may be of use to the wider community. It allows you to introspect .mobileprovision files to investigate which app they are for, which UDIDs are provisioned and so on.

Does anyone like it / have advice on how I can improve it? This is my first foray into "product" development. (I hope this post abides by the rules of Show HN etiquette, please delete if it does not)

Some redemption codes:

W6WHWAYXEMF6

LL4W9HFMNFNE

WJE99T73XTXF

TN93RTWLYPJR

4AFRNYFMEP9H

btown
I don't think text shows if you include a link - it's one or the other.
farski
Aside from not being able to sort profiles alphabetically, or by expiration date, or at all, or delete profiles what's this do that the iPhone Configuration Utility doesn't?
pugz
Good question. As I said elsewhere in the thread, the ability to sort and/or delete have been added to 1.1 and is waiting for Apple's review.

In terms of what it does that the iPCU doesn't, it displays team identifiers, entitlements and provisioned devices that iPCU doesn't recognise. It also supports Mac (desktop) provisioning profiles. 1.2 will also list certificates bundled with the profile.

allenbrunson
I have often thought about writing an app such as this for my own use. Especially now, given Xcode 5, which stupidly FORCES you to have all those unnecessary "team provisioning" profiles, which can't be disabled.

Alas, this is not quite there. I should be able to sort by pressing the column titles, and I should be able to delete profiles from the list. If you're going to charge actual money for this, it's the very least you can do.

pugz
Yeah, it seems Xcode has regressed with respect to provisioning profiles from version 4 to 5.

Great point re: sorting and deleting. I've added support for both to a new build that is now in Apple's hands. Hopefully users will get it in a few days' time.

Is there anything else I could add? It's difficult to extract critical feedback from those closest to me. :)

allenbrunson
playing around with it a little more:

* it doesn't remember its size and position onscreen. it should.

* what the heck did you use to build this, given that it doesn't have any of the standard menu items? at the very least, you want to have "Hide AppName," "Hide Others," and so on.

* make the text in the lower pane selectable. and to make it really useful, you'll need an edit menu, with cut, copy, and paste.

lloeki
What's up with the blacked out shadow in the screenshots? I guess the MAS doesn't support alpha in screenshots. Clean that up, it really does not inspire confidence.

Ironically, having 'iOS' in the title, blacked out shadows on the screenshots, and merely glancing over them made me think this was an iPad app.

pugz
You're right, it looks _awful_. Your guess re: alpha is correct. Unfortunately I cannot change the screenshot until Apple approves the next revision.

They used to be editable, but people were gaming the store with screenshots that in no way reflected the app.

jrnkntl
Am I the only one who doesn't have the slightest problem with provisioning profiles anymore since the Xcode Organizer syncs the profiles with your Apple IDs?