How to manually add existing certificates to the Fastlane match

The Problem

You want to use Fastlane match using an existing certificate. You might want to do this if you don't have permission to manage the certificate, e.g., working on a client project or a project that doesn't fully integrate with Fastlane match.

You have a certificate (.cer) and a private key (.p12), but you still want to benefit from other match features like provisioning profile creation, codesign synchronization, CI, etc.

If you are in this situation, don't lose hope. You can still enjoy the Fastlane match using your old certificate.

Fastlane match import

Fastlane match has an import function where you can import a certificate (.cer), the private key (.p12), and the provisioning profiles (.mobileprovision or .provisionprofile) into the match repository. In this article, I will only import a certificate and a private key.

Prerequisite

We need three things before starting the import process.

1. Certificate (.cer) which download from Apple Developer website.
2. Private key (.p12), which getting from your team (Read more on how to do it in How to manually add existing certificates to the Fastlane match).
3. And a project with Fastlane match.

Steps

We start by running the import command.

fastlane match import --readonly true --type appstore

I supply --readonly true to ensure we don't create or update existing certificates. I also specify --type appstore because I use a distribution certificate in this case.

Be mindful on --type because, by default, Fastlane match will import the certificate as development type, which might not be the type you want for this kind of job.

You will get the prompt asking for certificate path, private key path, and optional provisioning profile path.

Certificate (.cer) path:
# Enter path to your .cer

Private key (.p12) path:
# Enter path to your .p12

Provisioning profile (.mobileprovision or .provisionprofile) path
or leave empty to skip this file:
# We leave it blank in this example

Based on your Matchfile setting, you might get an additional prompt asking for git certificate URL, Apple developer account, and team if you are under multiple teams.

That's all you need to do to import an existing certificate. Now you can generate a provisioning profile and enjoy other match features like you usually do.

fastlane match appstore

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