Delve into the world of built-in app and system services available to developers. Discuss leveraging these services to enhance your app's functionality and user experience.

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SMJobSubmit works in user domain, but cannot be submitted in system domain
Hi, I'm in the process of creating an App + Helper Tool combo application, and depending on the necessity of root privileges, I'm setting up two paths in the app: If root privileges are not necessary, I'm using SMJobSubmit rather directly: var submissionError: Unmanaged<CFError>? let submissionResult = SMJobSubmit(kSMDomainUserLaunchd, plist, nil, &submissionError) where plist contains these items: Label=com.***.redactedApp.redacted, ProgramArguments=[path/to/helper-tool, commandName, commandArg1, commandArg2] RunAtLoad=1, KeepAlive=0 and it works as necessary, and performs the operations. Now, in the case of privilege escalation being necessary, this call becomes a bit more complex: let authorization = SFAuthorization() var authRef: AuthorizationRef? do { try authorization?.obtain(withRight: kSMRightModifySystemDaemons, flags: [.extendRights, .interactionAllowed]) authRef = authorization?.authorizationRef() } catch let error { // Logging error } var submissionError: Unmanaged<CFError>? let submissionResult = SMJobSubmit(kSMDomainSystemLaunchd, plist, authRef, &submissionError) while using the same plist, same executable at the same path, same Label. However, when using the second path, suddenly SMJobSubmit fails: Error Domain=CFErrorDomainLaunchd Code=2 "(null)" Now, naturally I headed over to system logs in Console.app, and this is the weirdest - there is nothing suspicious near the log item I submit with the above error from the main application. The tool is embedded in the Contents/MacOS folder. However, my problem is that anything that I can think of seems to lead to the same thought: it should be a problem in both cases, not just the privileged one. Is there something extra that must be taken care of when using SMJobSubmit with privileged helper tools?
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707
Jan ’25
Siri Shortcuts Response Templates No work on iOS18.1.1
I have shortcuts up and running and I have my custom response added to my completion handler since day1. Recently I upgraded to iOS18, and found out the app I develop can not display the custom response. I test the app on iOS17.6, the display of custom response is no problem. The situation is exactly like the problem posted on 2018: https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/109324 Can anyone help me or have the same bugs? Thank you so much! Happy 2025
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443
Jan ’25
Issue with Live CallerID URL Caching
I've been testing the Live CallerID feature using the Apple-provided local server example - live-caller-id-lookup-example. I've been running a local server with tunneling using ngrok for the initial setup. Everything was working perfectly with the following setup: @main final class CallerID: LiveCallerIDLookupProtocol { var context: LiveCallerIDLookupExtensionContext { LiveCallerIDLookupExtensionContext( serviceURL: URL(string: "https://example-tunnel.ngrok.io")!, tokenIssuerURL: URL(string: "https://example-tunnel.ngrok.io")!, userTierToken: Data(base64Encoded: "BBBB")! ) } } However, after I updated the URLs to the production ones, I encountered an issue: @main struct CallerID: LiveCallerIDLookupProtocol { var context: LiveCallerIDLookupExtensionContext { LiveCallerIDLookupExtensionContext( serviceURL: URL(string: "https://example.net/")!, tokenIssuerURL: URL(string: "https://example/issue")!, userTierToken: Data(base64Encoded: "BBBB")! ) } } The problem is that during calls or when updating PIR parameters, the application still attempts to connect to the initial ngrok tunnel URLs instead of using the new production URLs. I can confirm this because the logs on my local server show incoming requests, indicating that the application is still referencing the old ngrok tunnel URLs. Steps I’ve taken to resolve the issue include: Deleting and reinstalling the application. Using reset(forExtensionWithIdentifier:) Unfortunately, these attempts have not been successful. I even extracted the binary of the app and extension to inspect the strings, confirming that the correct production URLs are present. The server was started with the following command: PIRService --hostname 127.0.0.1 service-config.json Could this be some sort of caching bug on the iOS side, or am I missing something?
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411
Dec ’24
Spotlight results | AppShortcut with AppEntity parameter vs CSSearchableItem.associateAppEntity
I've been exploring the Trails Sample App from this session at WWDC24. The app has a TrailEntity of type AppEntity which is leveraged in multiple places throughout the app, including: The GetTrailInfo App Intent with a trail parameter of type TrailEntity. A parameterized App Shortcut which calls the GetTrailInfo intent. The TrailDataManager's init calls updateSpotlightIndex(), which creates a CSSearchableItem for each Trail in the app, along with an associateAppEntity call linking the corresponding TrailEntity to each item that gets added to the CSSearchableIndex. If you build the app and search "trails" in Spotlight, the Trails Sample App section includes instances of TrailEntity as search results. But if you comment out the App Shortcut that takes a TrailEntity as a parameter and rebuild, there are no instances of TrailEntity in the search results. In both cases, the console prints [Spotlight] Trails indexed by Spotlight. Is this expected behavior? Why are the TrailEntity instances only appearing in Spotlight via the App Shortcut? Shouldn't the CSSearchableItem instances show up in Spotlight on their own regardless? If not, then what is the purpose of adopting Core Spotlight with App Entities? Does this add the app entities to the semantic index for "new Siri", even though they're not user facing in the Spotlight UI?
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546
Jan ’25
CallKit Keeps Terminating
Hello, I am currently developing a call service using CallKit and VoIP push. Recently, I have encountered a very challenging issue. During testing, when a VoIP push is received, the incomingCall gets triggered continuously, but then it automatically terminates after about 1-2 seconds. I am checking this issue under the debug scheme, and even when switching to different commits, the same problem persists. I suspect it might be an issue with the device, but I would like to confirm the cause and find a solution. Below are some characteristics I have noticed: On this device, when a VoIP push is received, CallKit automatically terminates, but this does not occur when debugging. The issue always occurs when not debugging. Looking at the device console logs related to callservicesd, there are many logs with 'invalidate' appended. For example: Invalidating process assertion for bundle ID from timeout All calls ended. Clearing system uplink muted cache Invalidate callDurationUpdateTimer InCallService has changed process state to 2 InCallService has been suspended; invalidating its XPC client connections. [0x565544180] invalidated because the current process cancelled the connection by calling xpc_connection_cancel() XPC connection invalidated from client These logs appear although our server did not receive any incoming call request, so we did not terminate it on our end. I also checked if there was a crash, but there were no reports left on the device. Could you please share any insights into the cause or solutions for this situation? Thank you.
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366
Jan ’25
DeviceActivityMonitor extension does not call back at the set time
Hello Apple development team, I have developed an App for screen time management, which mainly uses ScreenTimeAPI. Users can set certain Apps to be disabled during a certain period of time. After the App is released, users often report that the settings do not take effect as expected. I have seen many developers on the forum reporting that the DeviceActivityMonitor extension sometimes does not trigger callbacks. Based on this background, I have the following questions: Is it a known problem that the DeviceActivityMonitor extension sometimes does not trigger callbacks? If so, are there any means to avoid or reduce the probability of occurrence? In addition to being killed by the system when the running memory exceeds (I just called some ScreenTimeAPI and accessed UserDefaults in the extension, which should not exceed the running memory), under what other circumstances will the DeviceActivityMonitor extension be killed by the system? Will it automatically recover after being killed? Will some callbacks be called when killing? Does ManagedSettingsStore have a life cycle? How do you avoid conflicts when configuring the underlying operating mechanism of multiple stores? This is a random problem. I have never encountered it during development and debugging, but users often report it. thanks
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505
Feb ’25
ScreenCaptureKit crashes on Mac Catalyst apps
I'm trying to use ScreenCaptureKit on a Mac Catalyst app, on macOS 12.5.1. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, but it crashes as soon as I try to request SCShareableContent. It crashes on internal code, calling a method it can't find, which makes me think this is a bug in the framework rather than incorrect configuration. Any hints on how to work around this problem? The crash is: ** Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInvalidArgumentException', reason: '-[RPDaemonProxy fetchShareableContentWithOption:windowID:withCompletionHandler:]: unrecognized selector sent to instance 0x6000037d5dc0' terminating with uncaught exception of type NSException ScreenCaptureKit-Crash.txt
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2.4k
Feb ’25
Embedding automation command line tool into an AppStore app
I am developing a macOS word-processing app that should be distributed via the Apple App Store. Some of the app's functions like generating HTML and PDF exports should be automatable via Shortcuts and via shell scripts. To support the latter, I plan to include a command line tool inside the app that can be called from the Terminal or a shell script. The tool should be able to instruct the main app to then perform the desired commands. A well-known AppStore app that uses this design is BBEdit which also contains multiple command line tools that offer functionality from the main app to users of the Terminal. My technical questions now are: Should the command line tool executable be sandboxed and if yes, how? Even after many trials, I have not found a way to make a working sandboxed command line tool. If a sandboxed tool is started from the Terminal, it is immediately terminated with an exception in _libsecinit_appsandbox.cold.12. I am aware of the Apple developer documentation article Embedding A Helper Tool In A Sandboxed App, but it addresses a different architecture in which the helper tool is started from the main app and therefore is able to inherit its sandbox. BBEdit is only sandboxing the main app, but not its embedded command line tools and is still allowed in the App Store. Is this the way to go for me as well or does BBEdit get some special treatment in the App Store? How can the command line tool pass the permission to access files to the main app? As my main app is sandboxed, it needs explicit permission from the user to be able to access files. Users of a command line tool give this permission by providing file paths as arguments. How can I pass these permissions along to the main app? BBEdit is able to do this even when the user has not given it full-disk access. I know that it is using Apple Events for the communication between the command line tool and the main app, but I am not sure how this allows to pass permissions. Can anyone shed light on how to implement a solution here? Thanks!
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386
Dec ’24
Universal Links not working even though all debug steps succeed
I am trying to get universal links to work in our app Firefox iOS The Problem: I am not able to get universal links to work for our release app or beta app scheme locally or with a TestFlight build. I am able to get it working on our development scheme with a locally hosted app site association file. I also was able to get it working using our development scheme but setting the bundle id to the release app bundle id. I also built a demo app with the release app id and the release app development certificate. It succeeded there as well. Implementation Steps: Added associated domains entitlement to the production and beta schemes for our main app target (No associated domains entitlements or capabilities added for any extensions) Confirmed that the bundle ids associated with these schemes have the associated domains capability Added applinks:blog.mozilla.org to associated domains list Confirmed in code that user activities are being handled via SceneDelegate.swift Steps to Debug: I have gone through and validated every step in the provided Universal Link Debugging. All were successful: Associated Domains Development -> Diagnostics: Opens Installed App Validate AASA host and applinks match curl -v https://blog.mozilla.org/.well-known/apple-app-site-association returns the expected json file swcutil dl correctly downloads the AASA blob swcutil verify succeeds I have inspected the IPA of our beta build and confirmed the App ID and the associated domains is an entitlement. I have looked at the console logs filtering by swcd. I am not seeing any errors and I see the download for the AASA file kick off: Beginning data task AASA-4BABF039-3C69-4E36-AA4E-ECCDF3D14878 { domain: bl….mo….org, bytes: 0, route: cdn } There is only one error that appears in the console but our app is not enterprise-managed so I assume this is normal. Error getting enterprise-managed associated domains data. If this device is not enterprise-managed, this is normal: Error Domain=SWCErrorDomain Code=1701 "Failed to get associated domain data from ManagedConfiguration framework." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=Failed to get associated domain data from ManagedConfiguration framework., Line=298, Function=<private>} I have run Sysdiagnos and identified for our App ID: Site/Fmwk Approval: approved I am at a loss as to what is preventing universal links from working even though all validation steps pass.
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851
Jan ’25
weatherkit: failed to generate jwt token
Hey, I'm trying to update my old app that used DarkSky to WeatherKit, and struggling. I always get: ailed to generate jwt token for: com.apple.weatherkit.authservice with error: Error Domain=WeatherDaemon.WDSJWTAuthenticatorServiceListener.Errors Code=2 "(null)" This is regardless if I do it on my iPad, or in the simulator. I have done the following: Selected WeatherKit on the Capabilities and App Services tabs of the Identifier section on developer. Put it under signing and capabilities in XCode I've tried making a new provisioning profile, cleaning build folder, etc. Not sure what to do here. I suspect part of this problem is that I developed this app in 2018 and now I'm trying to update it. I am able to run the app on TestFlight, but not as an internal tester. Apple won't let me, so I have to add myself as an external tester. Thanks for any help you can provide!
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894
Jan ’25
WeatherKit Swift API -metadata reportedTime
Hi there, I am using WeatherKit to display weather forecast information in an app. I would like to include some information about when the weather forecast was issued for my users to see. This information is included in the response Metadata as documented in the WeatherKit REST API docs: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/weatherkitrestapi/metadata Specifically there is a “reportedTime” property which I would like to use here. However I am consuming WeatherKit via the Swift API, I don’t see this property available via the Swift APIs. How can I access the reportedTime property via the WeatherKit Swift APIs? Or is it not exposed via the Swift APIs?
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346
Jan ’25
iOS Action and Share Extensions disappear for users
Several users have reported that my iOS Action and Share Extensions is not visible. Now one of the TestFlight users has reported the same. Notice this user has been using the app for one year, so they know how to use it. Doing FaceTime and them sharing the screen, we have tried: Deleting app and downloading from App Store Deleting app, turning device off (call was off) and turning it on, downloading from App Store Deleting app, turning device off (call was off) and turning it on, downloading from TestFlight They can open the app, they just do not see the extensions. I would have thought it was the activation rules inside of the InfoPlist, but they are the same for all users and my other testers are not facing the issue. Device is iPhone 16 Pro, iOS 18.1 What other steps could I follow? What other information could I gather to fix this?
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318
Jan ’25
identitylookup needed for ILMessageFilterQueryHandling?
My iOS app uses a Message Filter extension (via ILMessageFilterQueryHandling) and works only when run directly as the extension target. When installed normally (via TestFlight), the filter does not trigger at all — which I now believe is because iOS enforces the com.apple.developer.identitylookup entitlement at runtime. Anyone know anything about this? I put in a request for the entitlement last week but heard nothing back. Called Apple "technical" support and they had no idea what I was talking about. The documentation around this is EXTREMELY lacking in my opinion...
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79
Apr ’25
Watch Ultra 2: How Do I list my app on Auto-Launch Settings
I'm developing a watchOS app for Watch Ultra 2 that implements water detection using CMSubmersionManager. I would like to make it appear in the Auto-Launch settings menu, but my app is not appearing in the settings (Settings &gt; General &gt; Auto-Launch &gt; When Submerged &gt; Selected App).... What additional steps should I take to make this work? Environment Device: Watch Ultra 2 watchOS: 11.2 Xcode: 16.0 Implementation I have implemented the following as per documentation: Added the Shallow Depth and Pressure capability and Entitlement. Added the "Shallow Depth and Pressure" capability Confirmed entitlement "com.apple.developer.submerged-shallow-depth-and-pressure" was automatically added Note: I initially thought I should use "com.apple.developer.submerged-depth-and-pressure" (without "-shallow") since I'm targeting a maximum depth of 6 meters, but this resulted in compilation errors. ref: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/740083 ref: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/735296 Added NSMotionUsageDescription and WKBackgroundModes &lt;key&gt;NSMotionUsageDescription&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;Required for water detection&lt;/string&gt; &lt;key&gt;WKBackgroundModes&lt;/key&gt; &lt;array&gt; &lt;string&gt;underwater-depth&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/array&gt; According to the documentation: "It also adds your app to the list of apps that the system can autolaunch when the wearer submerges the watch." What additional steps are needed to make the app appear in Auto-Launch settings? Has anyone successfully implemented this feature?
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920
Feb ’25
CarPlay Not Working Properly
I just purchased a new 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid sedan with the highest trim package. The staff at the dealership set CarPlay up to my iPhone 16 Pro, and all was operating perfectly. Then, last week, I started noticing random connectivity problems with it (ie: no sound from my audio apps, “not connected” being displayed on the dashboard displa, etc.) I tried to think of what had changed with my setup, and the only change was that I updated to the latest iOS update 18.2 I scheduled a service appointment with the Honda dealer in hopes that Apple and Honda can confirm a fix for this issue. I’ll try to attach an image from my car’s dashboard display as an example of an error message that isn’t resolved.
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264
Jan ’25
CNContact poster
Hi all, From what I’ve seen on forums and other sources, it appears that nothing can be done to set the contact poster programmatically. Setting the imageData property affects only the thumbnail image. Does anyone know if this is explicitly documented somewhere? I need this information for a POC document. I watched the iOS 17 keynote (where it was introduced), the Platform State of Union, and other WWDC videos, but I couldn’t find any mention of it. The Contacts framework documentation only explains what can be retrieved from this property and doesn’t mention any way to set the contact poster. If anyone has any information on this, please help! Thanks in advance!
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67
Mar ’25
DeviceActivityMonitor.intervalDidEnd never getting called
I'm trying to build an app with a DeviceActivityMonitor extension that executes some code after 15 minutes. I can confirm that the extension is set up correctly and that intervalDidStart is executed, but for some reason the intervalDidEnd method never gets called. What I'm doing in both is just registering a local notification. class DeviceActivityMonitorExtension: DeviceActivityMonitor { let store = ManagedSettingsStore() override func intervalDidStart(for activity: DeviceActivityName) { createPushNotification( title: "Session activated!", body: "" ) super.intervalDidStart(for: activity) } override func intervalDidEnd(for activity: DeviceActivityName) { createPushNotification( title: "Session ended", body: "" ) super.intervalDidEnd(for: activity) } private func createPushNotification(title: String, body: String) { let content = UNMutableNotificationContent() content.title = title content.body = body // Configure the recurring date. var dateComponents = Calendar.current.dateComponents([.era, .year, .month, .day, .hour, .minute, .second], from: Date().addingTimeInterval(1.0)) dateComponents.calendar = Calendar.current dateComponents.timeZone = TimeZone.current // Create the trigger as a repeating event. let trigger = UNCalendarNotificationTrigger(dateMatching: dateComponents, repeats: false) let uuidString = UUID().uuidString let request = UNNotificationRequest(identifier: uuidString, content: content, trigger: trigger) // Schedule the request with the system. let notificationCenter = UNUserNotificationCenter.current() notificationCenter.add(request) } } And this is the method that is starting the monitoring session: @objc public static func startSession() -> String? { // Calculate start and end times let center = DeviceActivityCenter() let minutes = 15 let startDate = Date().addingTimeInterval(1) guard let endDate = Calendar.current.date(byAdding: .minute, value: minutes, to: startDate) else { return "Failed to create end date?" } // Create date components and explicitly set the calendar and timeZone let startComponents = Calendar.current.dateComponents([.era, .year, .month, .day, .hour, .minute, .second], from: startDate) let endComponents = Calendar.current.dateComponents([.era, .year, .month, .day, .hour, .minute, .second], from: endDate) // Create schedule let schedule = DeviceActivitySchedule( intervalStart: startComponents, intervalEnd: endComponents, repeats: false ) print("Now", Date()) print("Start", startDate, startComponents) print("End", endDate, endComponents) print(schedule.nextInterval) do { // Use a consistent activity name for our simple implementation let activity = DeviceActivityName("SimpleSession") try center.startMonitoring(activity, during: schedule) return nil } catch { return "Failed to start monitoring: \(error)" } } I can confirm my dates & date components make sense with the 4 print statements. Here is the output: Now 2025-02-12 04:21:32 +0000 Start 2025-02-12 04:21:33 +0000 era: 1 year: 2025 month: 2 day: 11 hour: 20 minute: 21 second: 33 isLeapMonth: false End 2025-02-12 04:36:33 +0000 era: 1 year: 2025 month: 2 day: 11 hour: 20 minute: 36 second: 33 isLeapMonth: false Optional(2025-02-12 04:21:33 +0000 to 2025-02-12 04:36:33 +0000) I get the Session activated! notification but never get the Session ended notification. Half an hour later, I've tried debugging the DeviceActivityCenter by printing out the activities property and can see that it is still there. When I try to print out the nextInterval property on the schedule object i get from calling center.schedule(for:), it returns nil. I'm running this on an iPhone 8 testing device with developer mode enabled. It has iOS 16.7.10. I'm totally lost as to how to get this to work.
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379
Feb ’25