How do I find why Xcode no longer notarizes my app?

Question

I have a MacOS app that I last notarized about a year ago with no issues. This time, however, when I created the initial Archive, the Organizer put it into a section called 'Other Items' instead of in the 'macOS Apps' section with all of the previous Archives. In addition, and more distressingly, when the Archive is selected, the button says 'Distribute Content' instead of the expected 'Distribute App', and pressing it simple exports the Archive or its contents, without running through the automatic notarizing process.

I suspect I have done something in the last year that somehow invalidates my app such that Xcode no longer recognizes that it is an app. I have followed the suggestions at https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution/resolving_common_notarization_issues, but that did not provide any relevant clues.

I am using Xcode Version 13.4.1. How do I figure out what is preventing Xcode from offering to notarize the app?

Answer 1

To track this down, I created a new project, and then tried to notarize it. (I didn't actually notarize it, I just made sure that I could Archive it and it showed up in the correct section in the Organizer.) The new project archived as expected, so I knew that I could still notarize somethings; I was just having an issue with my app.

My plan was to copy items from my app into the new project in small chunks, and after each copy, attempt to Archive it. I figured that I would either find the item that was causing the failure (and fix it), or I would eventually copy the entire app without a failure. Either way, I would be able to notarize the app.

The first chunk I copied was all of the build settings. And right there, the new project would not notarize, so I removed and added build settings to binary search which setting was causing the failure. It came down to the RUN_DOCUMENTATION_COMPILER = YES build setting.

In the last year I have been more conscientious about documenting the code, and to actually see that documentation, I had added that build setting.

Comparing the archives created with and without running the documentation compiler, the MyApp.doccarchive file appears in the archive in the Application folder along side MyApp.app, so it appears that Xcode is confused by the "extra" file in the Application folder.