Apple Push Notification Service

To send Mobile Push to iOS devices, you need to set up Apple Push Notification Service in advance.

caution

All actions are performed on a macOS device. An Apple Developer account is required for setup.

APNs supports two types of authentication: authentication key (recommended) and certificate.

Option 1: authentication key

Step 1. Creating an Auth Key

Go to the Apple Developer website to the Account section. Navigate to Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles — Keys and create a new Key.

Select Apple Push Notification service.

Configure APNs. Click Configure and select the Environment depending on your environment.

Apple Developer allows you to save the created key only once. Make sure to save it in a secure location — it cannot be retrieved again after download.

Step 2. Configuring in the Altcraft platform

In the Altcraft platform, open the resource settings. Add the Push channel and activate the Apple Push Notification service toggle.

Activate the Use APNs token toggle and specify:

apns-topic — app Bundle ID
kid — key ID (stored in Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles — Keys)
iss — Team ID from Apple Developer
Signing key — contents of the downloaded p8 file (open in a text editor and copy)

Save the resource using the buttons in the upper right corner of the screen.

Option 2: certificate

Step 1. Creating a certificate

Open the Keychain Access app on macOS. Navigate to Keychain Access — Certificate Assistant — Request a Certificate from a Certificate Authority.

Fill in the required information and make sure to select the Save to disk option.

The saved .certSigningRequest file will be needed in the next step.

Go to the Apple Developer website to the Account section. Navigate to Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles — Certificates and create a new certificate.

For Services, specify Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox) or (Sandbox and Production) depending on your environment. Select your app from the list.

Upload the created Certificate Signing Request (.certSigningRequest file).

Download the created certificate. Open it in Keychain Access, double-click the certificate, and set the trust level to Always Trust.

Right-click the certificate and select Export to save it in .p12 format. Set a password if needed.

Step 2. Creating pem files

Navigate to the folder with the exported certificate via terminal.

Create the pem key:

openssl pkcs12 -legacy -in filename.p12 -out filename.key.pem -nocerts -nodes

Create the pem certificate:

openssl pkcs12 -legacy -in filename.p12 -out filename.crt.pem -clcerts -nokeys

Open both files in a text editor — you will need to paste their contents into the platform fields:

Step 3. Configuring in the Altcraft platform

In the Altcraft platform, open the resource settings. Add the Push channel and activate the Apple Push Notification service toggle.

Activate the Use APNs certificate toggle and specify:

Certificate — contents of the pem certificate
Private key — contents of the pem key

Save the resource using the buttons in the upper right corner of the screen.

Option 1: authentication key​

Step 1. Creating an Auth Key​

Step 2. Configuring in the Altcraft platform​

Option 2: certificate​

Step 1. Creating a certificate​

Step 2. Creating pem files​

Step 3. Configuring in the Altcraft platform​

What's next​