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Why App Attest doesn’t work in Simulator

Apple’s App Attest service requires a physical Secure Enclave — a hardware chip present in real iPhones and iPads, but not in the iOS Simulator. There is no workaround for this; it’s a deliberate hardware requirement. This means:
  • Real device required for production attestation flows
  • Simulator / development can use API key fallback — a lower-trust path that skips the cryptographic attestation but lets you build and test everything else

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Configure API key fallback

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1. Get a development API key

In the Grantiva dashboard, go to Settings → API Keys and create a key with the development role. Copy the key — it starts with gpat_.

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2. Initialize with the API key

Pass the key when initializing the SDK. The SDK detects that App Attest is unavailable and switches to API key auth automatically: 
import Grantiva

// Simulator / development: pass apiKey for fallback
let grantiva = Grantiva(teamId: "YOUR_TEAM_ID", apiKey: "gpat_your_dev_key")
You can gate this on #if targetEnvironment(simulator) to keep production builds clean: 
#if targetEnvironment(simulator)
let grantiva = Grantiva(teamId: "YOUR_TEAM_ID", apiKey: ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["GRANTIVA_DEV_KEY"] ?? "")
#else
let grantiva = Grantiva(teamId: "YOUR_TEAM_ID")
#endif

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3. Call validateAttestation() normally

The API is identical — the SDK handles the fallback transparently: 
do {
    let result = try await grantiva.validateAttestation()
    print("Device verified: \(result.isValid)")
} catch GrantivaError.deviceNotSupported {
    // No API key configured — catch this in Simulator builds
    print("Set an API key for Simulator builds")
} catch {
    print("Attestation failed: \(error)")
}

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Trust differences

Requests made via API key fallback are treated as unattested on the server:
PropertyReal device (App Attest)Simulator (API key)
Cryptographic proofYes — hardware-backedNo
Risk scoringFull (0–100)Limited
JWT attest claimhardwareapi_key
Accepted in productionYesDev environments only
Use this path only for development and CI. Never ship API key fallback to the App Store.

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Next steps

Quick Start (physical device)

Set up full hardware attestation when you have a device available.

Error handling

Handle GrantivaError.deviceNotSupported and other errors.