How it works
- Export your app from Xcode with Ad Hoc or Development (Product → Archive → Distribute App).
- Drop the .ipa above. In a few seconds you get an install link and a QR code.
- Send the link. Testers open it in Safari on their iPhone and tap Install.
Only iPhones in the profile can install it
An Ad Hoc or Development build carries a list of the iPhones it was signed for. Quick share hosts the file and makes the install link; it can't add anyone to that list. For a new tester you still collect their UDID (they can use the free UDID finder), add it in Apple Developer and export again. More on installing an IPA.
Keep your links with a free account
Without an account a link lasts 24 hours and lives only in your browser tab. Sign up free and your links last a week, all in one place.
| Link lasts | Kept | Uploads | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No account | 24 hours | Not kept | 10 a day per network |
| Free account | 7 days | 10 live links | 25 a day |
| Solo | 30 days | 50 live links | 100 a day |
| Pro | 90 days | 200 live links | 300 a day |
- Every link on your Quick shares page, so a refresh or a closed tab loses nothing.
- How many times each build was installed, and how long each link has left.
- Copy, QR code and delete for each link, and bigger builds on paid plans.
- When you need testers who aren’t in the profile yet: connect Apple and BuildFerry adds their iPhone and re-signs the build.
Skip the UDID step with an account
With BuildFerry, one link per app stays live. A new tester opens it, you approve their iPhone, and it's registered with your Apple account and the build is re-signed in the cloud. No UDIDs, no rebuilding, no expiry.
Send your first buildQuestions
Is it free?
Yes. Without an account, builds up to 200 MB and each link lasts 24 hours. Sign up free and links last 7 days, all listed on your Quick shares page with how often each was installed.
Who can install the app?
Only the iPhones in the build's provisioning profile. That's how Apple's ad hoc and development signing works: anyone else sees “Unable to Install”, even with the link.
A tester can’t install it. What now?
Their iPhone isn't in the profile. Ask for their UDID (they can get it at buildferry.app/udid), add it in Apple Developer, regenerate the profile and export again. Or sign up: BuildFerry adds each tester's iPhone and re-signs the build for you.
Which builds work?
Ad Hoc and Development builds install straight from the link. App Store or TestFlight builds, and builds whose profile has expired, still get a link, but iPhones refuse them until they're re-signed, which a BuildFerry account does for you. Enterprise builds need an account, and simulator builds never run on an iPhone.
What happens to my file?
It is stored privately and deleted when the link expires (24 hours without an account, 7 days or more with one), or straight away when you tap Delete link. Files that aren’t iOS builds are deleted at once.
What does a free account add?
Your links last 7 days instead of 24 hours and stay listed on your Quick shares page, with how many times each was installed, a QR code and delete. Solo and Pro keep links for 30 and 90 days and allow more at once.
How many builds can I share?
Without an account, 10 a day from one network. A free account keeps up to 10 links live and shares up to 25 a day; Solo and Pro allow far more. Delete old links any time to make room.
How is this different from a BuildFerry account?
Quick share hosts a build that's already signed. With an account, one link per app stays live, each new tester's iPhone is registered with your Apple account, and the build is re-signed for them, so nobody sends UDIDs.