To distribute your app over-the-air (OTA, this means without using TestFlight or the official App Store), you may need to create 3 different files, namely:
- The .ipa file (using an ad-hoc provisioning profile)
- index.html
- manifest.plist
You can use Beta Builder to generate these files:
- Archive your build.
- Save the .ipa on the Desktop.
- Download a small utility Beta Builder from here. This does most of the required task.
- Open the tool and select your .ipa file, then provide the path you will be placing the build on
https://myWeb.com/MY_TEST_APP
in the beta builder. - Generate all the files.
- Now upload
index.html
,your_App.ipa
, &manifest.plist
to your server pathhttps://myWeb.com/MY_TEST_APP
- Now share the link of
index.html
. Once you open this file, you will be asked to Tap on install. - It will install
your_App.ipa
on your device.
You can also do this more manually.
index.html
<a href="itms-services://?action=download-manifest&url=https://myWeb.com/MY_TEST_APP/manifest.plist">Install App</a>
manifest.plist
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>items</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>assets</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>kind</key>
<string>software-package</string>
<key>url</key>
<string>http://YOUR_SERVER_URL/YOUR-IPA-FILE.ipa</string>
</dict>
</array>
<key>metadata</key>
<dict>
<key>bundle-identifier</key>
<string>com.yourCompany.productName</string>
<key>bundle-version</key>
<string>1.0.0</string>
<key>kind</key>
<string>software</string>
<key>title</key>
<string>YOUR APP NAME</string>
</dict>
</dict>
</array>
</dict>
</plist>
If the app refuses to install or run, you may need to check the following items:
- The provisioning profile you’ve used when compiling/archiving your app
- The URLs in both
index.html
andmanifest.plist
- The
plist
file may possibly need to be hosted on an HTTPS server. You can use Dropbox for this if necessary. - Your device UUIDs may need to be registered inside Apple Developer Center unless you have an Enterprise licence
- You may need to manually enable access to the app within Settings > Profiles