beta-testing an app with PUSH APNS - ios

I'm developing an app which uses APNS and I would like to distribute it for betatesting to some close friends. This is the first app I build and will be the first time distributing an app.
Well. To test it in my iPhone I had to make a provisioning profile and install a certificate in my iPhone. How can I send my app by email (or smth) and then install it easily without have to put manually the certificate in their iPhones? Which steps should I follow?
Thanks!

This kind of question gets asked often here (and here is another question with answers you might find useful).
I've heard good things about TestFlight. Here is an article describing the service. I hope my answer helps you out!

Related

How to distribute app for testing without dev account?

I have recently developed an iOS app. I don't have an Apple dev account(the one which needs $99). I have been testing my app on my iPhone. Now one sponsor wants to test the app. He lives in a far away place. How can I install the app on his device?
I have heard about TestFlight and Diwai.
Please give me insight if I can distribute my app for testing to a device beyond my reach. And How?
I know this question is off topic but please help me. Once I understand the process, I will also delete the question if commenters ask for it.
-- A newbie in need of help :)
I don't believe something like this is currently possible. In order to distribute an app, you need to generate an archive (.ipa file) for it, and doing so requires a paid developer account. The closest you can currently get is send your sponsor your source code and instruct them on how to get a free developer account and use Xcode to run it on their own device

How do I get the p12 key for iOS so i can install my app on my Iphone to test it?

This is not exactly a programming question and please move this to the right place or refer me right but this community has always been able to help me and I am sure someone else will have some use of the hopefully good answers this can deliver so I'll give it a shot.
How can I make an .p12 certificate which Phonegap needs to make my web app to an iOS app? I followed the Phoneapp documentation but that didn't get me anywhere and all the material on this question goes from 2012-2014 and no one knows how to make this p12 key and register it or associate it to your developer account with Apple. Do I really need to pay 100$ a year just to get this certificate?! This is madness... Am I the only one who thinks this way? I found no one who stood against this. I tolerate these costs in case I got a finished product to distribute, but I want to make this key just to see how my app looks on my iPhone and paying this is insane. Google's APK are free, how can hobby programmers be still so dominant on the app store?
Can I install an app on my iPhone without this certificate?
If you follow the steps outlined in https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/206123/xcode-7-develop-for-ios-without-developer-account
Once you generate your Certificate it should show up in Keychain. From keychain you can export a p12.
More info at https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/IDEs/Conceptual/AppDistributionGuide/MaintainingCertificates/MaintainingCertificates.html
No, you can't. If you want to use Push Notification services than you must to enroll Apple Developer Program. (or You can try local notification.)

Script creation of iOS Push Notification Certificates

Is there any such thing, or is the only option to do the clicking about in the Apple Developer site like I have been? To be clear, I mean a programmatic or API-sort of method for generating certificates without manually doing it for each app on the website. The use case, naturally, is doing this for a lot of apps as a batch instead of doing each app one at a time. I know how to work with the certs once I have them. I suspect the answer is no, but just because I don't know of one, doesn't make the question a bad one! Thanks!
You can use Felix Krause ruby gems. They work like a charm, and you can also use the rest of his tools to automate provisioning profiles, screenshots and itunes connect metadate and binary upload.
https://github.com/fastlane/PEM

iOS - AdHoc Build Confirmation

I am using XCode 6 and building the IPA. I have been following many posts in Stackoverflow and have gather information and the steps as to how to create the provisioning profiles and build the IPA.
I have been able to build the AdHoc IPA and have been successful in deploying it in my device. The application gets launched and is running fine. Now my query is that, as I am able to install the application on my device without any issues, does it mean that the IPA when uploaded to Apple will also get approved. (I am not using any private APIs. I am building my application using Appcelerator).
No, it doesn't mean that at all.
You've proven only the following:
That you have an app that compiles.
That you have an appropriate provisioning profile to load to your device.
Apple cares about a lot more than just that. For instance, you say it's "running fine", but Apple will test it fairly thoroughly to see if they can get it to crash. From personal experience, they might even find a crash that you can't replicate on your end (which is terribly frustrating!).
Also, Apple has gotten more picky about their approval process. I submitted an app that had an extra feature that linked to another app that was related but distinct. Apple ruled that my app was incomplete as it required another app to be fully-functional. What did I do? I removed the extra feature, and then Apple approved the app. Yes, I took away a feature and my app went from "incomplete" to "complete". My point? Apple's review process is fairly subjective and it can depend on who looks at your app and what kind of day they're having.
On your first app submission, be prepared for several back-and-forth sessions where they reject your app and you have something to fix. On the plus side, they're generally pretty specific about the problem they found, so it makes it easier to fix it!
You may get approved the first time out, but it's a higher bar you have to pass than just the items you mentioned in your post.
EDIT
Also, you need to make sure that you have an appropriate Distribution profile. For loading to your device, you are most likely using a Development profile. Make sure you've gone through the steps to create an App Store Distribution Profile (which also required a Distribution Certificate, by the way).

iOS/Apple App Store Release Process

I've been trying to find some guidelines on the overall process for releasing an iOS app. The documentation on Apple's iOS Dev Center doesn't seem clear. I've found some sites that try to explain aspects of the process, but I haven't been able to find a clear, conscise guide that explains some of my questions, such as:
What do I have to do within my project (ie info.plist file changes, target/build settings, etc.)
I am using In-App Purchases. It is working in my sandbox, but what do I need to do (if anything else) to make sure this works when my app is released? As far as I can tell from what I've read, there is no way to test this in live environment until after the app appears on the app store.
Is there any other provisioning/certificates needed beyond what I have used when developing my app?
Anything else that I am overlooking?
If you know of a site (or sites) that explains this in more detail, it would be much appreciated. After searching for hours I can't seem to find answers to these questions.
Thank you.
Have you seen this document from Apple on "preparing for app store submission"? It's pretty clear on the steps you have to take to get onto the app store.
In short:
No specific changes, but you have to archive for a device rather than building for testing.
In App Purchasing will work on the app store without any more configuration
You need a distribution certificate for when you build an archive for the app store, make it in your iOS Provisioning Portal, under Provisioning page and Distribution tab.

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