Scott Willsey, a software developer, explained a method to build and ship macOS and iOS applications without ever opening Xcode.
Scott Willsey, a software developer, explained a method to build and ship macOS and iOS applications without ever opening Xcode. He published a blog post describing a Bash script named release.sh that orchestrates archiving, Developer ID signing, notarization, stapling and installation. The script relies on command‑line tools bundled with Xcode, including xcodebuild, notarytool, stapler and devicectl, and requires only a one‑time setup of an Apple Developer account and notarization credentials. After installing Xcode and the XcodeGen utility, the user creates a project.yml file, runs the script, and obtains a notarized .app placed in /Applications. The approach enables headless builds for CI pipelines and direct device installation via devicectl, removing the need for manual GUI interaction after initial configuration.
- Publisher
- Hacker News
- Reliability
- high
- Published
- 7/14/2026, 10:00:26 AM
- Retrieved
- 7/14/2026, 10:00:26 AM
- Relevance
- 80%
- Confidence
- 85%

