Can the file name have spaces? the file name is “My New Plugin.vst3.zip”. When dragging it into terminal it comes up as “My\ New\ Plugin.vst3.zip”
Still nothing, no error messages, so I guess that’s good…
I didn’t receive any submission id? I put in this, and nothing hapened except for a new line:
xcrun notarytool submit --apple-id “name@domain.net" --password “xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx” --team-id “0Z0Z0Z0Z0Z” --wait /Users/Amanda/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/My\ New\ Plugin.vst3.zip
The spaces are automatically escaped by backslashes. Sometimes the notarizing process can take a while, although usually not more than a few minutes.
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I redid the submission. This time I received an error message about the app specific password:
"Conducting pre-submission checks for My New Plugin.vst3.zip and initiating connection to the Apple notary service…
Error: HTTP status code: 401. Invalid credentials. Username or password is incorrect. Use the app-specific password generated at appleid.apple.com. Ensure that all authentication arguments are correct."
I am using an app specific password I created using “My New Plugin” as name.
I don’t fully understand the correct way of creating the app specific password. What’s supposed to go in the window saying “E.g. Bill Pay”? The full name of the plugin “My New Plugin.vst3” or “My New Plugin.vst3”, or “My New Plugin.vst3.zip”, or anything “Plugin”?
To be able to notarize a file with Apple, you need an “app specific password”. There is no information as to what ID, or file name, app ID etc, this password must be corresponding to. When I put in the “app specific Password” what entry is this password supposed to correspond with? Bill Pay?
This is so uninformative.There are no on screen instructions:
“1. Select Generate an app-specific password, then follow the steps on your screen.”
I guess you can put anything inside this form, its just your internal id, to remind you for what reason you use the app specific password.
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I was at NAMM over the weekend and got busy after. I am still trying to resolve why I can’t notarize the VST3 plugin. When I try to notarize my VST3 plugin in terminal I receive this error message:
xcrun notarytool submit --apple-id “myname@mydomain" --password “abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop” --team-id “1w2e3r4t56” --wait /Users/Amanda/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Art\ Vista\ Intonator.vst3.zip
Conducting pre-submission checks for Art Vista Intonator.vst3.zip and initiating connection to the Apple notary service…
Error: HTTP status code: 401. Invalid credentials. Username or password is incorrect. Use the app-specific password generated at appleid.apple.com. Ensure that all authentication arguments are correct.
How to fix this?
what I notice are the quotation marks, but they could also automatically changed by the forum. You need straight ones, instead the curvy ones.
also, I never used the password on command line.
First add the password to the macOS keychain tool
xcrun notarytool submit "$FILE" --keychain-profile "NotaryToolProfile" --keychain /Users/yourhomedirectory/Library/Keychains/login.keychain-db --wait
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Thanks Christian,
It was indeed the curly quotation marks that caused the error. But now I get Status: Invalid - see below. Any idea what this indicates?
"Conducting pre-submission checks for Art Vista Intonator.vst3.zip and initiating connection to the Apple notary service…
Submission ID received
id: 66956716-e554-44a4-9bfb-d23c37c3855c
Upload progress: 100.00% (13.9 MB of 13.9 MB)
Successfully uploaded file
id: 66956716-e554-44a4-9bfb-d23c37c3855c
path: /Users/Amanda/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Art Vista Intonator.vst3.zip
Waiting for processing to complete.
Current status: Invalid…
Processing complete
id: 66956716-e554-44a4-9bfb-d23c37c3855c
status: Invalid"
You can do the following to check the reason:
xcrun notarytool log 66956716-e554-44a4-9bfb-d23c37c3855c --apple-id "xxx" --password "xxx" --team-id "xxx" developer_log.json
This will write the results to a file named developer_log.json that you can inspect in a text editor.
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In the notarytool log I see two errors: “the binary is not signed”, “the signature does not include a secure timestamp”. I have followed the instructions above in this thread to sign the plugin. There was no confirmation, so I did the signage procedure again and then received the message that the plugin is already signed.
My signage in Terminal:
" codesign -s “Developer ID Application: Hans Adamson (6C26N27C3Z)” “/Users/Amanda/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Art Vista Intonator.vst3” --timestamp
Amandas-Air:~ Amanda$ codesign -s “Developer ID Application: Hans Adamson (6C26N27C3Z)” “/Users/Amanda/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Art Vista Intonator.vst3” --timestamp
/Users/Amanda/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Art Vista Intonator.vst3: is already signed"
The notarytool log:
“logFormatVersion”: 1,
“jobId”: “c98395bd-9b82-40a4-a70a-4923fea874f2”,
“status”: “Invalid”,
“statusSummary”: “Archive contains critical validation errors”,
“statusCode”: 4000,
“archiveFilename”: “Art Vista Intonator.vst3.zip”,
“uploadDate”: “2025-01-31T20:26:15.713Z”,
“sha256”: “ca244c37704523cc1f3b33e9fcfbaba330c0f496558312f20e61f979f789e590”,
“ticketContents”: null,
“issues”: [
{
“severity”: “error”,
“code”: null,
“path”: “Art Vista Intonator.vst3.zip/Art Vista Intonator.vst3/Contents/MacOS/Art Vista Intonator”,
“message”: “The binary is not signed.”,
“docUrl”: “Resolving common notarization issues | Apple Developer Documentation”,
“architecture”: “x86_64”
},
{
“severity”: “error”,
“code”: null,
“path”: “Art Vista Intonator.vst3.zip/Art Vista Intonator.vst3/Contents/MacOS/Art Vista Intonator”,
“message”: “The signature does not include a secure timestamp.”,
“docUrl”: “Resolving common notarization issues | Apple Developer Documentation”,
“architecture”: “x86_64”
Just to make sure, you made a new zip after signing the binary?
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You are a genious! I guess I had re-signed, or tried to re-sign the vst3 after the zip was created. So, I created a new Zip file and ran it through the notarytool, and I received: “Accepted!” Hurray! 
I guess I now have to wait for an email confirmation?
Once it’s accepted, you’re ready to go.
I read this above:
“5. Just seconds after that I got an success email. I’m not sure if you can wait or do the next step even before the success email. EDIT: You have to wait until you get the success email and then continue.
6. Use “Stapler” so that the file also makes no trouble for offline users… command:
xcrun stapler staple "Plugin.vst3"
7. You can now share the VST3 file.”
Is it enough for me to just run this now:
"xcrun stapler staple “Plugin.vst3"”
UPDATE:
I managed to staple the vst3 successfully. I just had to add the correct file path after my first attempt.
Also, I am looking at the vst3 file now and the last modification date is not today. I guess the stapling doesn’t count as a modification of the file?
When notarizing the AU file (*.component) I had the same problem as described above for the VST3 file where I got an “invalid” response. Looking at the log showed the same error messages that “the binary is not signed”, and “the signature does not include a secure timestamp”. I re-checked that the file was signed, and made a new ZIP file.
Now when submitting for notarization, the process is stuck at Current status: In Progress… It was sitting all night, and in the morning it had been interrupted with a message that there appeared to be no internet copnnection. I test the connection and it is fine. I re-submit and it is received then it gets stuck in “Current status: In Progress…”
My submitted code:
“xcrun notarytool submit --apple-id “name@domain” --password “abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop” --team-id “6H25N57A1s” --wait /Users/Amanda/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Art\ Vista\ Intonator.component.zip
Conducting pre-submission checks for Art Vista Intonator.component.zip and initiating connection to the Apple notary service…
Submission ID received
id: 415j3236-8117-41d6-8b85-aa43f87e8901
Upload progress: 100.00% (7.05 MB of 7.05 MB)
Successfully uploaded file
id: 415j3236-8117-41d6-8b85-aa43f87e8901
path: /Users/Amanda/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Art Vista Intonator.component.zip
Waiting for processing to complete.
Current status: In Progress…”
Notarization can sometimes take a few minutes, it can also sometimes take a few days. Best is to do your notarization on a machine that doesn’t lose Internet connection, or at the very least record the Notarization ID so you can disconnect and come back and check it later.
Signing and notarization worked out with the plugin. Now I have found that I need to also make a version of the plugin in “Instrument” format (“the plugin is a synth”). This is because Digital Performer can not provide the necessary routing to a MIDI plugin.
So, I built another version of the plugin where I changed the name slightly by adding an “i”, just to indicate that this was in “instrument” format.
When I signed the new plugin, I receive the message that “This plugin has already been signed”. How could that be? Will I mess up my notarization for the original plugin by notarizing the “instrument” version of it? I don’t want to suddenly be notified that the user cannot see or open the original plugin because it is not notarized, or no longer conforms to what’s notarized at Apple.
I guess I don’t have any deeper understanding of this process, I just want to make sure I don’t create a problem by notarizing this second “instrument” version if Apple sees the two of them as the same plugin.
Hey,
You’ll likely need to provide a different bundle ID/four-character plugin ID for your instrument variant.
Check the docs on PLUGIN_CODE and BUNDLE_ID here:
I hope this helps.
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Thanks,
I will change the Plugin Code and re-build. The Bundle identifier is already different from the original plugin, as it has an added i. Then I will try signing again, and see what happens. Also, I noticed the “Plugin Manufacturer Code” that was still set to the default “Manu”. Maybe I need to change this for both versions of the plugin? Hmmm, maybe not, it seems to have been abandoned and can cause problems if used?
Update: I re-built the new “instrument” plugin with a new plugin code, and I still get the message that the plugin is already signed. Weird.