Get to know Developer Mode

Description: Meet Developer Mode — required on iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and watchOS 9 to install, run, and debug your apps during development. We'll show you how you to opt in to Developer Mode on your devices, and how to enable Developer Mode in your automation workflows.

What is Developer Mode

  • new mode in iOS 16 and watchOS 9 that enables common developer workflows
  • disabled by default, requires you to explicitly enroll the device into Developer Mode
  • enrollment persists across reboots and system updates
  • setup can be automated
  • only required for local development
  • Most common distribution and testing flows do not require Developer Mode:
    • Test Flight
    • Enterprise (In-House) distribution
    • App Store

Why Developer Mode?

  • Developer features are being abused in targeted attacks
  • Most people do not need to use developer feature by default

Using Developer Mode (when and how to use)

When to turn on Developer Mode

Turn on developer mode if you need to:

  • Run and install Development signed applications
    • Includes applications signed using a Personal Team
  • Debug and instrument your applications
  • Automate testing

How to turn on Developer Mode

  • Requires to connect your device to Xcode for the Developer Mode menu item to appear on the iPhone
    • iOS 16 beta releases will have the menu item always visible for the time being
  • Developer Mode controls are in Settings.app/Privacy & Security

Turning on Developer Mode requires that you reboot your device

Once the reboot is completed, you can run your app onto your device

Automation flows

  • Only devices without passcodes can be automatically enrolled into Developer Mode
  • macOS Ventura ships with devmodectl that can enable Developer mode for:
    • a single device that you have already connected (Single device one-off mode)
    • all devices that you plug in (Streaming mode)

To change/enable devmodectl mode, run devmodectl in your cli:


$ devmodectl streaming

Missing anything? Corrections? Contributions are welcome 😃

Written by

Federico Zanetello

Federico Zanetello

Software engineer with a strong passion for well-written code, thought-out composable architectures, automation, tests, and more.