Manage Certificates and Profiles in macOS 13

Managing certificates and provisioning profiles in macOS 13 (Ventura) is essential for signing, testing, and distributing Apple applications. This guide explains how to locate, install, inspect, and remove digital certificates using Keychain Access, how to handle development and distribution provisioning profiles through Xcode, and how to manage system-level configuration profiles within the redesigned macOS 13 System Settings.

Managing Certificates in Keychain Access

Certificates and their associated private keys authenticate your developer identity and encrypt data. In macOS 13, you manage them primarily through the native Keychain Access application.

  1. Open Keychain Access: Press Cmd + Space, type Keychain Access, and press Enter.
  2. View Your Certificates: Select login under the Default Keychains sidebar, then click the My Certificates tab. Here, you will see your Apple Development, Apple Distribution, and other code-signing certificates.
  3. Inspect Certificate Status: Double-click any certificate to verify its expiration date, issuing authority, and trust policy. A green checkmark indicates that the certificate is valid and linked to a matching private key.
  4. Import New Certificates: Double-click any .cer or .p12 file provided by Apple or exported from another machine. Keychain Access automatically imports it into the login keychain.
  5. Delete Certificates: Right-click an expired or invalid certificate, select Delete, and enter your macOS administrator password when prompted.

Managing Provisioning Profiles in Xcode

Provisioning profiles link your developer certificates, App IDs, and authorized test devices. In macOS 13, profile management is handled natively inside Xcode.

Automatic Profile Management

  1. Open Xcode.
  2. Go to Xcode > Settings (or press Cmd + ,).
  3. Click the Accounts tab and select your Apple ID.
  4. Select your team and click Manage Certificates to view, create, or renew development and distribution certificates.
  5. In your project settings, navigate to Signing & Capabilities and check Automatically manage signing. Xcode will create, update, and renew the necessary profiles automatically.

Manual Profile Management and Cleanup

If you need to view or manually remove local provisioning profile files:

  1. Open Finder.
  2. Press Cmd + Shift + G to open the "Go to Folder" prompt.
  3. Enter ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles/ and press Return.
  4. To inspect a profile, select a .mobileprovision file and press the Spacebar for a Quick Look preview, which displays the associated App ID, team, and expiration date.
  5. Delete any unneeded or expired .mobileprovision files by moving them to the Trash.

Managing Device Profiles in System Settings

For configuration profiles, Mobile Device Management (MDM) payloads, and root certificates installed at the operating system level, macOS 13 uses the updated System Settings app.

  1. Open the Apple menu and select System Settings.
  2. In the sidebar, click Privacy & Security.
  3. Scroll to the bottom and click Profiles (this menu only appears if at least one profile is installed).
  4. Select a profile to view its permissions, payload details, and expiration status.
  5. To remove a profile, select it and click the minus (–) button, then enter your administrator credentials.