Go developer building a Claude Code profile manager hit Apple’s $99/yr signing requirement, a broken ID verification webcam flow, and Gatekeeper quarantine just to ship a small pay-what-you-want utility.
Key Takeaways
Apple Developer Program costs $99/yr; for a hobbyist utility sold pay-what-you-want on Itch.io, projected net revenue after VAT and Itch cut is roughly $25 total.
Gatekeeper quarantines unsigned binaries even when shared via Nextcloud to yourself; the user-facing workaround requires a terminal xattr command.
Apple’s ID verification rejects MacBook Air M1 webcam photos repeatedly and forces users to own an iPhone or expensive external webcam to complete enrollment.
After payment clears, the developer portal and desktop app show conflicting states with no confirmation, requiring manual follow-up.
Homebrew is a viable unsigned distribution path but eliminates any ability to charge even a nominal fee, pushing small utilities toward pure open-source or awkward hybrid release notes.
Hacker News Comment Review
There is genuine split on Gatekeeper: power users argue sudo spctl --master-disable fully solves the problem on the user side, while others say the friction is deliberately weighted toward forcing developer account fees rather than improving safety.
Windows code signing via Certum and similar CAs has comparable costs; the author updated the post to note Azure Artifact Signing is available at roughly 8.54 EUR/month, making Apple not uniquely expensive but still part of a broader code-signing paywall for indie devs.
A reverse-engineered guide for distributing unsigned command-line binaries on macOS exists and was linked in comments, filling a gap Apple’s own documentation leaves open.
Notable Comments
@ofek: Published a detailed guide on distributing macOS command-line binaries after finding Apple docs poor and no existing blog posts, built via trial and error and OSS project inspection.
@Zetaphor: “The dialog is about keeping normal non-technical users… away from the App Store where they can collect 30%” – frames Gatekeeper as revenue protection, not security.
