P8 Key or P12 Cert Setup
Instructions for creating the required credentials to enable iOS notifications
Prerequisites
In order to begin subscribing users to notifications you must have either a P8 Key (recommended) or a P12 Certificate; Either of these can be generated via the Apple Developers portal.
An Apple Developer Account that has Admin privileges
Your application's App Bundle ID (e.g.,
com.pushly.example
)An iOS application or XCode project with the Push Notifications capability added
P8 Key Setup (Recommended)
Step 1: Generate the Key
If you are not renewing an existing P12 certificate we recommend using the newer P8 Key to provide authorization to send notifications. The P8 key will work across all of your applications and environments. You do not need a separate P8 file for developer vs production or for each of your applications.
To create a new P8 key navigate to your Apple Developer Account and click the Keys
link.
On the next page click the +
button next to the Keys
header
Enter a name for your P8 key; This can be your company name, the name of your application, or any text that will help you identify it later.
Check the Apple Push Notification service (APNs)
box and click the Continue
button.
On the next page, copy the value provided for Key ID
and then click the Download
button to download the P8 Key.
The last piece of information we need is the Team ID
associated to your membership and can be found in the top right of the screen underneath your name.
Step 2: Enable Integration in Pushly
Now that you have the Team ID
, Key ID
, and the P8 Key you can log into the Pushly platform, navigate to the Settings
page, and locate the Send Integrations
section.
For here, click the Edit
button in the Send Integration
header, enable the Native
switch under the Apple
heading and:
Choose
P8 Cert
from the pill selectionClick the certificate area to upload your P8 Key
Enter the
Team ID
Enter the
Key ID
Click the
Submit
button
If everything was entered correctly you should now see a section underneath Send Integrations
that shows an active Apple Native integration.
P12 Certificate Setup
We do not recommend creating new P12 Certificates in favor of using P8 Keys. If you have an existing P12 Certificate follow the steps below to renew it and add it to the platform.
Step 1: Create a Certificate Request (CSR)
On a Mac computer Open the
Keychain Access
applicationWithin the
Keychain Access
primary application menu, selectKeychain Access
>Certificate Assistant
>Request a Certificate from a Certificate Authority
In the Certificate Information window, enter the following information:
In the
User Email Address
field, enter your email address.In the
Common Name
field, create a name for your private key (e.g. Company Name Web Push).The
CA Email Address
field should be left empty.In the
Request
group, select theSaved to disk
option.
Click
Continue
within Keychain Access and save the CSR to disk to complete this step.
Step 2: Create an Identifier for Your App
If you are renewing an existing certificate you can skip this step and move to Step 3 since the App Identifier should already exist within your Apple developer account.
Login to your company's Apple Developer Console account.
Click on the
Identifiers
link underCertificates, Identifiers & Profiles
In the top-right dropdown ensure
App IDs
is selected and click the+
button next to theIdentifiers
header.Choose
App IDs
from the list of options and press theContinue
button.Choose
App
as the identifier type and click theContinue
buttonEnter a description. Eg:
YOUR_APP_NAME Push Notifications
Enter the Bundle ID for your app. Eg:
com.YOUR_APP_NAME.app-push
Under the
Capabilities
tab scroll down and check thePush Notifications
capabilityClick the
Continue
and thenRegister
button.
Step 3: Generate a Web Push Certificate
Click on
Certificates
in the left nav and press the+
sign next to theCertificates
headerChoose
Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox & Production)
from the list of Services and then clickContinue
.Select the App Identifier that corresponds to the application for which you are generating the certificate and click the
Continue
button.Click the
Choose File
button, browse for the CSR file that we created in the first step, and clickContinue
.The next screen informs you that your certificate is ready. Click
Download
to store the certificate on your computer.
Step 4: Generate the .p12 Certificate
Navigate to the certificate you saved on your computer and double click it to install it to the
Keychain Access
application.Open the
Keychain Access
application and click onMy Certificates
tab with theLogin
keychain selected in the left navigation section.Right click on the installed Apple Push Services certificate and choose
Export
.In the save dialog, choose a filename (or leave the default), choose the
.p12
file format, and click theSave
button.You will be prompted to enter a password - leave both boxes empty and click
OK
.Click
Allow
to save the p12 certificate to your computer.
Step 5: Upload the Certificate via the Platform
Now that you have the Bundle ID
and the P12 Certificate you can log into the Pushly platform, navigate to the Settings
page, and locate the Send Integrations
section.
For here, click the Edit
button in the Send Integration
header, enable the Native
switch under the Apple
heading and:
Enter the application's
Bundle ID
Choose
P12 Cert
from the pill selectionClick the area to upload your P12 Certificate
If you entered a passphrase when generating the certificate enable the switch and add it
Click the
Submit
button
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