Clarification regarding "You must launch the app through Xcode for iOS"

[adityasaxena]

Hi. This line in the documentation You must launch the app through Xcode for iOS - does it mean that I cannot give the app to my users on an enterprise account and expect the universal links to work? If so, how do I test the functionality where all my beta test users are located in different countries. Please advise. Cheers!

[ethanneff]

Hello @adityasaxena,

The reason for You must launch the app through Xcode for iOS is because Xcode will throw out an error for not having a Development Team. This is needed for deep linking to work.

The Development Team gets removed whenever you rebuild your cordova platform. I've tried using techniques such as cordova build ios --developmentTeam="PW4Q8885U7"; without luck. For this reason, we recommend building with Xcode to set your Development Team.

As long as your App has the Development Team set, you can freely share it out.

Regards,

[adityasaxena]

Hi @ethanneff

My developmentTeam parameter in Cordova works fine in Xcode8. Infact, I get something in the Team dropdown. However, I still cannot get the deeplink to open my App.

When I run from the command line, the universal link does not open the app. In validator, what I see is this -

When I open the same project in XCode, and then run the app on my device, everything works fine -

The only difference between the two you may ask? - well, nothing except the second one I ran from Xcode. And, I don't see the Team dropdown empty like you mentioned in your screenshot.

I am not sure what am I doing wrong.

[ethanneff]

Hello @adityasaxena,

To clarify: The Development Team gets removed whenever you rebuild your cordova build. I've tried using techniques such as cordova build ios --developmentTeam="PW4Q8885U7"; without luck. For this reason, we recommend building with Xcode to set your Development Team.

As long your app has a Development Team, deep linking will work.

You will need to make sure whenever you are creating your .ipa file for your enterprise app, that your have Development Team set through Xcode and all your provisioning profiles properly configured.

Best,

[adityasaxena]

Hi @ethanneff

For me: The Development Team does not get removed when I rebuild my cordova build. That is what I meant. The technique which you mentioned cordova build ios --developmentTeam="PW4Q8885U7" works perfectly for me.

How do I say that? I say that because after running cordova build, when I open the project inside XCode, I see the development team is already selected unlike what you show in your screenshot.

[jstoup111]

I'm noticing the same thing. The buttons all update as though the app is installed, but clicking on the link fails. Are there anything I can look at to resolve? Thanks!

[ethanneff]

The latest version of the Branch SDK no longer needs xcode to build your development team and provisioning profiles.