iOS 5 Programming Cookbook

17.1. Setting Up Your App for iCloud

Problem

You want to start using iCloud in your apps and you would like to know how you should set up your Xcode project.

Solution

Follow these steps to enable iCloud storage in your app:

1. Create an app in Xcode and set its bundle identifier using a reverse-domain style. For instance, com.pixolity.Setting-Up Your-App-For-iCloud.

2. Using the iOS Provisioning Portal, create a new App ID for your app. Enable iCloud for that App ID by selecting it in the portal, enabling the checkbox for iCloud, and saving your changes.

3. In iOS Provisioning Portal, create new Ad Hoc App Store and Development provisioning profiles, and make sure they are linked to your new App ID.

4. Select your target in Xcode and set the appropriate provisioning profiles for different schemes, such as Debug, Release, etc.

5. In Xcode, select your target and in the Summary tab, scroll down to the Entitlements section and enable entitlements for your target. This will prepopulate the relevant iCloud storage entitlements for you.

Discussion

To enable iCloud for an app, you need to do a bit of setting up. The high level requirement was described in the Solution section, but let’s now go into details about what we really need to do:

1. Open Xcode and from the File menu select New→New Project...

1. On the lefthand side of the New Project dialog, make sure iOS is the main category and Application is the subcategory. From the list that now appears on the righthand side of the New Project dialog, choose Empty Application ...