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Why? •
Usage •
How does it work? •
Tips
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cert is part of fastlane: The easiest way to automate beta deployments and releases for your iOS and Android apps.
In the gif we used `cert && sigh`, which will first create an iOS code signing certificate and then a provisioning profile for your app if _cert_ succeeded.
# Usage
**Note**: It is recommended to use [_match_](/actions/match/) according to the [codesigning.guide](https://codesigning.guide) for generating and maintaining your certificates. Use _cert_ directly only if you want full control over what's going on and know more about codesigning.
```no-highlight
fastlane cert
```
This will check if any of the available signing certificates is installed on your local machine.
Only if a new certificate needs to be created, _cert_ will
- Create a new private key
- Create a new signing request
- Generate, downloads and installs the certificate
- Import all the generated files into your Keychain
_cert_ will never revoke your existing certificates. If you can't create any more certificates, _cert_ will raise an exception, which means, you have to revoke one of the existing certificates to make room for a new one.
You can pass your Apple ID:
```no-highlight
fastlane cert -u cert@krausefx.com
```
For a list of available commands run
```no-highlight
fastlane action cert
```
Keep in mind, there is no way for _cert_ to download existing certificates + private keys from the Apple Developer Portal, as the private key never leaves your computer.
## Environment Variables
Run `fastlane action cert` to get a list of all available environment variables.
## Use with [_sigh_](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/sigh/)
_cert_ becomes really interesting when used in [_fastlane_](https://fastlane.tools) in combination with [_sigh_](https://docs.fastlane.tools/actions/sigh/).
Update your `Fastfile` to contain the following code:
```ruby
lane :beta do
cert
sigh(force: true)
end
```
`force: true` will make sure to re-generate the provisioning profile on each run.
This will result in _sigh_ always using the correct signing certificate, which is installed on the local machine.
## How is my password stored?
_cert_ uses the [password manager](https://github.com/fastlane/fastlane/tree/master/credentials_manager) from _fastlane_. Take a look the [CredentialsManager README](https://github.com/fastlane/fastlane/blob/master/credentials_manager/README.md) for more information.
# Tips
## Use 'ProvisionQL' for advanced Quick Look in Finder
Install [ProvisionQL](https://github.com/ealeksandrov/ProvisionQL).
It will show you `mobileprovision` files like this:
