How to create an App Store Connect API key for Vimeo OTT Apple applications

This feature requires an Enterprise plan on Vimeo OTT.

To generate your Apple (iOS and/or tvOS) application builds, our Branded Apps team will require you to create and associate an Apple API key with your Vimeo OTT CMS (i.e. "Admin"). Your Implementation Manager will inform you when you can add this key to your platform. This article is a comprehensive guide for creating the Apple API key and adding it to your Vimeo OTT account.

⚠️Note: All steps below can only be completed by the Apple Developer Account Owner.

Associate an iPhone to your Apple developer account

To have your Apple API key validated, you need to associate an iPhone's unique device identifier (UDID) with your developer account. 

A UDID is a 40-character-long value containing alpha-numeric symbols (A-Z and 0-9) specific to your device. Apple uses this to validate your iPhone and service when setting up an application.

To complete this task:

1. Go to your Apple developer interface. After logging in, you should be brought to a page showing Devices.
   
2. Select the BLUE (+) sign next to Devices to be brought to the "Register a New Device" page.
   
3. On this page:
   • Platform = iOS
   • Device Name = Whatever you'd like this value to be. Traditionally, putting the model works best (ex: iPhone 16 Pro)
   • Device ID (UDID) = To retrieve your device's UDID, we recommend using udid.tech. There are also alternative methods available. When you have this information, paste it into this field.
4. Select Continue.
5. Select Register.

Create Your Apple API Key

To complete this task:

1. Go to your Apple App Store Connect account (this is different from the Apple developer account linked in the instructions above) and log in.
2. Depending on whether your developer account is new or not, you may see an option to select Request Access. Once permission is granted, you can create your API key.
   • If you do not see this continue to the next step.
3. Navigate to App Store Connect API, then select the Integrations tab. In here, the Team Keys tab should be selected.
4. Select the BLUE plus (+) icon to create a new API Key
   
5. A "Generate API Key" window should appear. Input the following:
   • Name = OTT App
   • Access = Admin
6. Select Generate.
   
7. Select the Download API Key option, which should appear to the right of your newly created key. Save this file to your computer. It will appear as a .p8 file.
   • ⚠️Note: There may be instances where the Download API Key option does not appear right away. You may need to wait a few minutes, then refresh the page for the option to appear
     

Ensure your Apple agreements are up to date

To complete this task:

1. Go to the "Agreements, Tax, and Banking" section of your Apple App Store Connect account.
   
2. Ensure that both the "Free Apps" and "Paid Apps" agreements are listed as Active with a green circle icon. Additionally, there should be no tasks listed under the Action column.
   
3. If you see Expired or Pending, take any action required to resolve the status.
   

Add your Apple API Key to your Vimeo OTT Admin

To complete this task:

1. Open a new tab in your browser and navigate to your OTT CMS "Platforms" page (your_site_name.vhx.tv/admin/platforms).
2. Scroll down to the Apple API Key section.
   

3. Fill in the App Store Connect API Key field:

   • Open the .p8 file you've recently downloaded in a text editor program such as "TextEdit" (default MacOS text editor) or "Notepad" (default Windows text editor) and copy all of the content.
   • Paste all of the content of the .p8 file you copied previously, including the "---BEGIN PRIVATE KEY---" and "---END PRIVATE KEY---" text. Your private key content should look similar to the example below, once pasted:

   --- Begin Private Key---
   8911452jdh3kdnAdFMaGiBBeRiShA43aK110ca0667c96de3b1b531dda99d57aa06699df8f1bee15d609f0bba6b9f6499430376a70a3625da317007a9d14b324a118f6ddacda8a8a787e9795d5c0303137bcc597b3cb8c8d5f93a69c6b4405ae8e09a6b2364ff2
   ---End Private Key---
   

4. Key ID = Within the App Store Connect "Keys" page, where you created your key, select Copy Key ID. Paste that ID into the Key ID field in your Vimeo OTT CMS.
   
5. Issuer ID = Within the App Store Connect "Keys" page, you can find this value towards the top of the page. It refers to your Apple Developer account overall. Paste this ID into the Issuer ID field in your Vimeo OTT CMS.
   
6. Once all three pieces have been copied into their respective fields in the Vimeo OTT Admin, select Save.
   • If your key was created properly, your information will be saved within this section and be validated.
   • If your key was created improperly, or if you did not associate a device properly, your information will NOT save within this section and be invalidated.