Generate push certificate

Info
In order to send a notification to users of your app, it’s required to create an SSL certificate. It’s a security measure created with the purpose of avoiding third-party apps being able to send push notification to your application.

The Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) allows only your backend to send notifications through Apple’s servers to your application.


Required for setup

  • Ocamba account, if you don’t have create one here.
  • OcambaHood framework, download here.
  • An iOS Push Certificate
  • An iOS Push Service Extension.
  • An App groups enabled.
  • An iOS device (iPhone, iPad) to test on. Real device needed.
  • A Mac with a new version of Xcode.

1. Generate an iOS Push Certificate

In order to generate push certificate you need a Paid Apple Developer Account with Admin Role and an application for which you are generating that push certificate.


2. Provisioning

Open Keychain Access on your Mac OS X system. It may be located in “Applications” -> “Utilities” -> “Keychain Access”.

Select “Keychain Access” -> “Certificate Assistant” -> “Request a Certificate From a Certificate Authority”.

Select the Save to disk option and enter your information in the required fields. This creates a certification request file that will be used later.


3. Enable Push Notifications and create Push Certificate

Select your Identifier in your Apple Developer Account -> Certificates, IDs & Profiles -> Identifiers.

Scroll down to the bottom and enable Push Notifications, but do not click Configure.

Instead, go to Create a New Certificate by clicking the blue + button on Certificates and under Services select Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox & Production) and click Continue.

This certificate will be applicable to both Sandbox and Production environments, so you do not need a separate key for each one.

Choose an App ID from the shown pop-up menu, and click Continue.

Press “Choose File..”, select the “CertSigningRequest” file, press Open, then press Continue.

Press Download to save your certificate.


4. Creating a private key

Open the .cer file previously downloaded by double clicking on it in Finder.

Wait for the “Keychain Access” program to pop up. Select Login -> My Certificates then right click on your key in the list and select Export.

Give the file a unique name using the .p12 extension, and press save. You can protect the file with a password. If you add a password, you need to enter this same password on Ocamba portal.


5. Configure your App’s settings

Enter Private Key Password and Upload .p12 file to Ocamba.

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