To send push notifications to whitelabelled iOS apps, you need an APNs authentication key (a .p8 file) generated from your Apple Developer account. A single APNs key is reusable across all your apps and environments, doesn't expire, and uses secure token-based authentication — which is why it's the recommended approach over per-app push certificates.
This guide walks you through generating that key with the Push Notifications capability enabled.
Before you start
You must be enrolled in the paid Apple Developer Program.
You need the Account Holder or Admin role to create keys.
Have these ready to record once the key is created: the Key ID, your Team ID, and the downloaded
.p8file.
Step 1 — Open the Keys section
Go to developer.apple.com and sign in with your Apple Developer credentials.
Click Account, then select Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles.
In the sidebar, click Keys.
Step 2 — Create a new key
Click the + (Add) button next to Keys to open the Register a New Key page.
In the Key Name field, enter a descriptive name so it's easy to identify later — for example,
Push Notifications APNs Key.Under Key Services / Capabilities, check the box for Apple Push Notifications service (APNs).
Step 3 — Configure the key
Click Configure to the right of Apple Push Notifications service (APNs).
Set Environment to Sandbox & Production so the same key works for both test and live builds.
Set Key Restriction to Team Scoped (All Topics) so the key covers all of your whitelabelled app bundle IDs.
Click Save.
Step 4 — Register and download
Click Continue, review the configuration, then click Register.
On the confirmation screen, copy the Key ID and save it somewhere secure — you'll need it later.
Click Download to save the
.p8file.
⚠️ You can only download the .p8 file once. Save it securely and keep a backup. If you lose it, you'll have to revoke the key and generate a new one, then re-update every service that uses it. Do not rename the file.
Step 5 — Record the values you'll need
To finish wiring up push notifications, you'll need three things together:
Value | Where to find it |
| Downloaded in Step 4 |
Key ID | Shown next to the key on the Keys page (and on the confirmation screen) |
Next step
Share the .p8 file along with the key id with the Nunify team.