Question on free developer account

Older internet entries say there were free accounts we could use. I'm trying to create my .ipa apple installation file without using a payable developer account. In my case, I wisht to create the file for my own personal use. Is there a way to get a free developer account? I have tried by going to https://developer.apple.com/ and for individuals, payment is required. It's been many days since I sent questions to apple and no reply has been received. What can I do?

Replies

Any Apple ID can be used to build and run apps on your personal devices. To make this work in Xcode:

  1. Log in with your Apple ID to Xcode > Settings > Accounts. This will show up as a Personal Team.

  2. Select that team in the Signing & Capabilities editor.

IMPORTANT The Personal Team feature has significant limitations. For the details, see Developer > Support > Choosing a Membership.

You wrote:

I'm trying to create my .ipa apple installation file

You might be able to get that to work but it’s not what the Personal Team feature is intended for. A more typical use case is running your app directly from Xcode (or Swift Playgrounds).

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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"