Developer Documentation
Developer Documentation

Testing your apps

Make final preparations before submission of the first app version.

After you have completed your app integration with Setapp, it’s time to check if your app works correctly within the Setapp environment.

For macOS apps, we provide you with access to the Setapp desktop client.
For iOS / iPadOS apps, you’ll need our QR Code Generator app.

Your Setapp user's account

To test both macOS and iOS, you'll need your Setapp user's account. The access credentials — email and password — are usually the same as your default creds for the developer account unless you have changed them after joining Setapp. You can always check your creds by signing in to your account or restoring password if you can’t remember it. If you still have difficulties remembering your credentials or signing in, please reach out to our support team.

Test your macOS app

Install and sign in to Setapp desktop client

  1. Sign in to your Setapp developer account and click Download Setapp in the upper-right corner of the page. The download starts immediately.

  2. When the download is completed, install Setapp as an ordinary macOS app.

    If you’re looking for alternative download locations or need help with the installation, see the Install Setapp article on our Support Portal.

  3. After installation, open the Setapp desktop app, then click "Sign in to use apps" in the upper-right corner. Use the credentials from your user account.

Testing steps and expected results

  1. Open the Setapp desktop app; make sure you’ve signed in.
  2. Open your macOS app (the local build with the integrated macOS Library or Setapp Framework).

If you integrate the Library or Setapp Framework correctly, the app will start and become ready to use (Setapp doesn't require additional actions and shows no notifications). Then, the app should work in its regular operation mode.

If you haven't signed in to your user's account, the Setapp's sign-in dialog should appear; after logging in, your app should work as usual. Finally, if you don’t have Setapp on your Mac, the Library will display a dialog that informs a user that Setapp is required to work with the app; you don’t need to do anything.

If something goes wrong, review your integration steps or contact our Support Team.

Once the new build of your app is tested successfully, submit it for review. When your app passes the review, it usually appears on Setapp within 30 minutes and becomes available to all Setapp users.

Test your iOS app

While testing, we're trying to verify if the app unlocks its full functionality after receiving the corresponding data from the Setapp system via the Setapp Framework’s public API. For testing purposes, we've developed an app that generates QR codes for your iOS app.

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QR Code Generator

You can download the QR Code Generator app to your Mac from here.
The QR code expires after first usage or in an hour.

Test your iOS app for Setapp

The testing steps are the following:

  1. Open the QR code generator app and choose App Store in the top menu.

  2. Sign in as a Setapp user. Use the credentials from your user account. Note that it will occupy an iOS seat in your Setapp account.

  3. Fill in the form:

    i. Enter your app bundle ID.

    ii. Choose "Activate via Setapp."

    iii. Choose the source you need.
    Note: If you implemented custom activation alerts, you must test all the options before submitting.

  4. Click the round arrow on the right-hand panel. You will see the QR code for your app.

  5. To test the activation process, scan it from your mobile device or drag it to the Simulator. In case of successful activation, you will see the following message:


Test your iOS app for Setapp Mobile

  1. In your Xcode project, open your target build settings and set "Distribution" to 'com.macpaw.marketplace.ios.eu'.

  1. Open your target scheme run options and select com.macpaw.marketplace.ios.eu in 'Distribution' picker. Then, run your app.

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Running on iOS / iPadOS simulator

iOS / iPadOS simulators ignore the Distribution setting. However, you can set Setapp Mobile distributor option in your app's UserDefaults.plist file. Find it in your app container on your host Mac drive and add the following key-value entry:

<key>STP_simulator_app_distributor</key>  
<string>com.macpaw.marketplace.ios.eu</string>


  1. Open the QR Code Generator app and choose Setapp Mobile in the top menu.

  2. Sign in as a Setapp user, but ensure that your user's subscription plan includes Setapp Mobile. Note that it will occupy an iOS seat in your Setapp Mobile account.

  3. Fill in the form:

    i. Enter your app bundle ID.

    ii. Enter your Setapp Mobile ID. Press the '?' button for more details.

    iii. Choose Activate via Setapp.

  4. Click the round arrow on the right-hand panel. You will see the QR code for your app.

  5. To test the activation process, scan it from your mobile device or drag it to the Simulator. In case of successful activation, you must see the following message:

Run the diagnostics menu

We offer some quick solutions to users who encounter technical errors. You can check what your users will see if they encounter those errors in your app.

The diagnostics menu includes:

  • Viewing subscription status
  • Viewing and sharing Setapp logs
  • Resetting Setapp Framework internal state

  1. To run diagnostics, choose "Open Diagnostics" in the Action menu:

  2. Scan the QR code from your iPhone.

  3. Choose an option you want to test:


Additional options

Click the options button to view more options:

  • Choose Reload to generate a new QR code.
  • Choose Copy to copy the activation link. Then, paste it into your mobile device's or simulator web browser to test it.
  • Choose Troubleshooting to find out what error blocks the activation. Just drag and drop the log file to view the reason.

Troubleshooting: the device_limit_reached error

The device_limit_reached error might occur while testing the integration of your app with the Setapp Framework. The full text of the error message might be as follows:

[Setapp.WebService] [Warning] [SessionToken] > An error occurred during 
`Get session token` request: Error Domain=com.setapp.fmwk.webService 
Code=1403 "Backend returned an error." 
UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Backend returned an error., 
NSUnderlyingError=0x012345678 {Error
Domain=com.setapp.fmwk.webService.networkResponse Code=400 "Bad request." 
UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Bad request., 
NSUnderlyingError=0x9abcdef01 {Error 
Domain=com.setapp.fmwk.webService.response Code=1 "device_limit_reached" 
UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=device_limit_reached, 
NSLocalizedRecoverySuggestion=device_limit_reached}}}}}

The error means you're probably trying to install the iOS app on an iOS device (or a Mac if you're using the Simulator app) that is not connected to your Setapp user's account.

To check if that's the case, go to the My devices page of the Setapp user online account and verify if your testing device is mentioned. If not, you can disconnect another device and connect the one you need at the moment; see Connect new devices — Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

See also

Setapp requirements

Updated about 2 months ago