Xcode 4: create IPA file instead of .xcarchive

Question

In Xcode 3.2.5 I use "Build And Archive" to create an IPA file. In Xcode 4 you can use "Product -> Archive" to archive an application in an .xcarchive bundle.

How can I create an .ipa file with Xcode 4?

Answer 1

In the organizer you can click Share and save as iOS App Store Package(.ipa). You may also have to select 'Archive' from the 'Product' menu to generate the archive in the Organizer. Lastly, I think you have to have a properly signed archived build to do this.

Answer 2

If it is a game(may be app also) and you have some static libraries like cocos2d or other third party library ... then you just have to select *ONLY THE* static library (NOT THE APP) and in its build settings under Deployment , set Skip Install flag to YES and Archive it dats it...!!

Answer 3

For Xcode 4.6 (and Xcode 5) archives

• In Organizer, right-click an archive, select Show in Finder
• In Finder, right-click an archive, select Show Package Contents
• Open the folder Products > Applications
• The application is there

• Drag the application into iTunes Apps folder

  

• Right-click on the application in iTunes Apps, select Show in Finder

• The .ipa is there!

Answer 4

Assuming you've done a successful Product > Archive then, from Organizer (Shift Apple 2) click Archives.

Select your Archive. Select Share. In the "Select the content and options for sharing:" pane set Contents to "iOS App Store Package (.ipa) and Identity to iPhone Distribution.

Click Next, enter an App name and click Save.

Full gory details with screenshots are here: Xcode4UserGuide

Answer 5

Creating an IPA is done along the same way as creating an .xcarchive: Product -> Archive. After the Archive operation completes, go to the Organizer, select your archive, select Share and in the "Select the content and options for sharing:" pane set Contents to "iOS App Store Package (.ipa) and Identity to iPhone Distribution (which should match your ad hoc/app store provisioning profile for the project).

Chances are the "iOS App Store Package (.ipa)" option may be disabled. This happens when your build produces more than a single target: say, an app and a library. All of them end up in the build products folder and Xcode gets naïvely confused about how to package them both into an .ipa file, so it merely disables the option.

A way to solve this is as follows: go through build settings for each of the targets, except the application target, and set Skip Install flag to YES. Then do the Product -> Archive tango once again and go to the Organizer to select your new archive. Now, when clicking on the Share button, the .ipa option should be enabled.

I hope this helps.

Answer 6

Same issue. I solved setting the "skip install" flag to YES for each external projects, leaving the other targets of the main project unchanged.

I also had to go to "Edit scheme…", choose the "Archiving" panel and set the correct build setting for my ad-hoc purpose.

Then a simple Product -> Archive -> Share made the expected job.