# No signing certificate "iOS Distribution" found

> Getting the error “No signing certificate iOS Distribution found”? Here is how to fix it. Install a distribution certificate and its private key.

**No signing certificate "iOS Distribution" found.** Xcode needs an Apple Distribution certificate, with its private key, in the keychain of the machine that builds. On a CI runner the keychain starts empty, so the certificate has to be installed during the job.

- iOS build. No distribution certificate to sign with.
- Interactive page: https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer/no-signing-certificate
- Build error explainer: https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer
- Last updated: 2026-10-03

## What this error means

Xcode needs an Apple Distribution certificate, with its private key, in the keychain of the machine that builds. On a CI runner the keychain starts empty, so the certificate has to be installed during the job.

## Why it happens

The archive step signs with an Apple Distribution certificate. On a fresh CI runner the keychain is empty, and a certificate without its private key cannot sign.

## The message tools print

```
error: No signing certificate "iOS Distribution" found: No "iOS Distribution" signing certificate matching team ID "ABCDE12345" with a private key was found. (in target 'App' from project 'App')
```

## How to fix it

1. Create an Apple Distribution certificate in your Apple Developer account, or reuse yours together with its private key (.p12).
2. Import it into the build keychain before archiving — fastlane match or a keychain step in the workflow.
3. With CapWrapp, the certificate is created from your App Store Connect API key and installed for every build.

## Check a log that shows this

Paste the failing step into the [build error explainer](https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer). It matches this message, and any others in the same log, in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

## Other iOS build errors

- [No profiles for your bundle ID were found](https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer/no-provisioning-profile)
- [Xcode: signing requires a development team](https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer/requires-a-development-team)
- [Provisioning profile doesn't support the capability](https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer/provisioning-profile-missing-capability)
- [Podfile.lock is not in sync with the sandbox](https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer/podfile-lock-out-of-sync)
- [CocoaPods could not find compatible versions](https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer/cocoapods-could-not-find-compatible-versions)
- [PhaseScriptExecution failed with a nonzero exit code](https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer/phasescriptexecution-failed)
- [Undefined symbols for architecture arm64](https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer/undefined-symbols-for-architecture)

## Stop signing this on a Mac

CapWrapp creates the Apple Distribution certificate from your App Store Connect API key and installs it, with the provisioning profile, on every GitHub Actions build.

[Get started free](https://capwr.app/login).

## About CapWrapp

CapWrapp turns a web app on GitHub — built with Lovable, Bolt, Base44, Cursor or by hand — into iPhone and Android apps. It adds Capacitor if the repo needs it, signs the builds, and ships them to TestFlight and Google Play from GitHub Actions, with no Mac or Xcode on your side. [Get started free](https://capwr.app/login) · [Lovable to App Store guide](https://capwr.app/guides/lovable-to-app-store)