Field guide
Apple Wallet passes, explained from the bytes up.
Practical references for building, signing, validating, and troubleshooting real PKPass files—written from the same rules exercised by PassMaker’s tools.
How to create an Apple Wallet pass
A practical end-to-end guide to designing, packaging, signing, testing, and distributing a real Apple Wallet pass.
pass.json reference with working examples
Understand required keys, pass styles, fields, colors, barcodes, relevance, and common pass.json validation failures.
How to sign a .pkpass file correctly
A focused guide to Pass Type ID certificates, manifest hashing, detached PKCS#7 signatures, WWDR certificates, and final packaging.
Fix “Safari cannot download this file” for PKPass
Diagnose the common packaging, signature, MIME type, redirect, and certificate problems that prevent Apple Wallet passes from installing.
WWDR G4 certificate troubleshooting for PKPass
Understand the Apple WWDR intermediate, identify stale chains, and fix PKPass verification failures involving certificate dates or identity.
Apple Wallet barcode formats and compatibility
Choose between QR, PDF417, Aztec, and Code 128, set message encodings, and design barcodes that scan reliably from an iPhone display.
PKPass manifest and package structure explained
Learn exactly what belongs inside a .pkpass archive, how manifest hashes work, and why wrapper folders and stale assets break validation.
Apple Wallet semantic tags for boarding passes and events
Use structured semantic information while preserving compatible visible fields across Wallet versions and pass layouts.
Or let the app do it
Every step here, handled on iPhone.
Fields, artwork, manifest digests, PKCS#7 signing and Add to Wallet — without a signing environment or a build script.