Once your developer account is completed and approved by Apple, you'll need to pass management to VTS by inviting VTS to your app and assigning them a management role. You'll still be the Account Holder, but VTS needs administrative access to push updates and enhancements. Otherwise, your app won't be up to date for your users.
Use the links below to jump to your specific setup:
- This is our first time setting up an Activate white-label app with VTS
- We have set up an app with VTS before
|
❗️**** IMPORTANT ****❗️ If you have not already set up your Apple Developer account, go to this article. Please note that you are responsible for setting up and maintaining your Apple Developer account, as VTS cannot do that for you. |
First Time App Deployment
Follow the steps below if this is your first time setting up an Activate white-label app with VTS.
- Add VTS to your Apple Developer account
- Enable API Keys (this step depends on whether you have enabled VTS as an Admin or App Manager)
Pre-Setup Process: Inviting VTS as Admin vs. App Manager
Before you begin, you need to decide which level of access to grant VTS: Account Holder, Admin, or App Manager.
As the original owner of the app, you are the account holder. When adding VTS to your app, we strongly recommend you choose "Admin," however, "App Manager" will also grant VTS the necessary access. The chart below details each access type.
Developer Role |
Role Description |
VTS Permission |
Admin |
Users with the Admin role serve as a secondary contact for teams and have many of the same responsibilities as Account Holders. They have access to all apps and can edit user roles, except for the Account Holder role. | This is our recommended option, as it allows us to handle more during the initial setup and ongoing app maintenance. This is a good option if you want to be more hands-off during the process, or if your organization only has one application in the app store. |
App Manager |
The App Manager role lets users edit all aspects of the apps to which they have access and give other users access to those apps. Their access can be limited to certain apps. They can also add team members, except for the Account Holder or Admins.
|
Choose this option if your organization has strict security requirements, or if your organization has multiple apps and only wants VTS to have access to the Activate white-label. Note that this means you will need to do more during initial app setup, and transfer additional information such as API keys to VTS. |
| Note: VTS cannot work with Developer access. We will need either Admin or App Manager access. |
1) Add VTS to your Apple Developer account
Follow the steps below to invite VTS (mobiledeveloper@vts.com) to your application.
1. To Navigate to access management in your developer account, select Program Resources. Then select Users and Access, located under Additional Resources.
2. To add a new user, click or tap the blue add + button.
Enter the information below for the new user and assign them either Admin or App Manager permissions under the Roles section.
- First name: VTS
- Last name: Apps
- Email: mobiledeveloper@vts.com
- Roles: Admin or App Manager
- Under Additional Resources > Create Apps is selected by default. If not, please enable.
Click Next.
On the next screen, you will see a list of apps that you can invite the new user to. Use the checkboxes to select your application, and then click Invite.
3. Select Invite. Anyone you invite to join your team receives an email prompting them to accept the invitation. The invitation link will expire after three days. If they miss the acceptance period, you'll need to invite them again.
2) Enable VTS with API keys
Now that you have added VTS to your app as either an Admin or App Manager, you will need to set us up with key authorizations, data items, and certificates. This step is critical to let VTS directly push app upgrades and improvements, and must be completed before any further keys can be generated. Learn more about the App store connect API from Apple Developer documentation.
Your next steps will vary depending on the level of access you granted to VTS. Jump to the correct section below:
Option 1) Enabling the App Store Connect API with VTS as Admin
| Note: Apple Developer Admin access cannot be restricted to just VTS apps. If app access is to be restricted, the customer needs to provide App Manager access with Create new apps enabled and restrict VTS to the subset of apps in the store. |
- Log into the App Store Connect.
- On the App Store Connect Homepage, select Users and Access.
- Select the Integrations tab.
- You'll see the message Permission is required to access the App Store Connect API. Click the Request Access button.
- Review the terms, and if acceptable, select the checkbox and Submit.
Once the account holder has completed this step, VTS will have the ability to create the other necessary keys and certifications. Review these checklists to make sure you have completed all action items and provided all necessary data items.
| Actions to complete |
| Confirm that VTS has the correct Apple Developer Account names. You can find this in your Apple Developer account and confirm with VTS. |
| Invite mobiledeveloper@vts.com as an Admin |
| Enable access to App Store connect API |
| Data Items to provide to VTS | |
| AppStore Connect API Key (.p8 file) |
|
| Apple Push Notification Key |
|
| Apple Distribution Certificate check |
|
| Key ID & Issuer ID | VTS can look up this information |
Option 2) Enabling the App Store Connect API with VTS as App Manager
- Log into the App Store Connect.
- On the App Store Connect Homepage, select Users and Access.
- Select the Integrations tab.
- You'll see the message Permission is required to access the App Store Connect API. Click the Request Access button.
- Review the terms, and if acceptable, select the checkbox and Submit
Continue to the next step of generating an app store key for automatic app delivery. You will provide this key to VTS via secure transfer so that VTS can automatically update the app when new features are released.
1. Begin by logging in to your Apple developer account and navigating to the Users and Access panel → Integrations tab → App Store Connect API.
| If you see the following message (Permission is required to access the App Store Connect API. Only the Account holder can request access), return to step one, Enabling the App Store Connect API and complete the steps to request access) |
2. In this step you will actually generate the App Store Connect API Key:
- If you have never created an API key before: In the Team Keys tab, you will see a message stating your request to access the app was approved. Click the bar for Generate API Key.
- If you have previously created an API key for another app: In the Team Keys tab you will see a list of your keys, and an option to create a new key by clicking the blue plus (+) icon next to the Active API key list.
First time |
Previously created API keys |
3. A pop-up window will appear at this step. You will want to name the key ‘VTS Activate’ and under Access, assign the role as App Manager. Click Generate.
❗️Once you return to the App Store Connect API screen, be sure to note the Issuer ID and Key ID as you will need it for the configuration steps below. ❗️ |
4. Download the newly created API Key file (.p8) using the download link to the right of the file.
Note this file cannot be downloaded again after the page has been refreshed. ❗️MAKE SURE YOU REMEMBER WHERE YOU SAVE IT ❗️ |
5. Provide VTS with the following using your organization’s preferred method for securely transferring sensitive information:
- The API Key file downloaded in the previous step.
- The Issuer ID.
- The Key ID of the key.
Once the account holder has completed this step, VTS will have the ability to create the other necessary keys and certifications. Review these checklists to make sure you have completed all action items and provided all necessary data items.
| Actions to complete |
| Confirm Apple Developer Account name with VTS. You can find this in your Apple Developer account and confirm with VTS. |
| Invite mobiledeveloper@vts.com as an App Manager |
| Enable access to App Store connect API |
| Request the AppStore Connect API Key (.p8 file) and generate Store Keys. |
| Securely provide VTS with the requested data items |
| Data Items to provide to VTS | |
| AppStore Connect API Key (.p8 file) |
|
| Apple Push Notification Key |
|
| Apple Distribution Certificate check |
|
| Key ID & Issuer ID |
|
Subsequent App Deployment
Refer to the below steps if you have previously set up a white-label with VTS (for example, at another property in your portfolio with a different white-label).
VTS has been added to your account as an Admin
- Confirm the existing Apple Developer Account name with VTS
- Check to make sure VTS has the AppStore Connect API Key (.p8 file)
VTS has been added to your account as an App Manager
- Confirm the existing Apple Developer Account name with VTS
- Confirm VTS is enabled as an App Manager with “Create Apps” permission enabled
- Check to make sure VTS has the AppStore Connect API Key (.p8 file)
- If hotswapping, VTS will need to be added to the existing app as an App Manager.