deploying debug app to playbook gives "failure 881 required signatures missing (RDK, AUTHOR)"

blackberry-playbook, code-signing, installation

Solution

To answer my own question:

For deploying a "debug" build to a device, it's critical to have

Application-Development-Mode: true

in the MANIFEST.MF within the .bar file.

A stupid mistake, but I'll leave this up in case it helps anyone...

Problem

I am using Marmalade to build a PlayBook app, but I think my question applies to PlayBook apps in general. I have successfully created a debugtoken.bar file and have installed it on my device. When I go to try to install a built application.bar file on the device, I get: ``` [execute] "blackberry-deploy.bat -device 192.168.1.114 -password ******* -installApp -package deployments\default\playbook\release\Quote Unquote.bar" Info: Sending request: Install Info: Action: Install Info: File size: 6400334 Info: Installing ... Info: Processing 6400334 bytes actual_dname:: actual_id:: actual_version:: result::failure 881 required signatures missing (RDK, AUTHOR) ERROR: error running blackberry-deploy ***ERROR*** ``` Note that this is the Marmalade deploy tool running the standard PlayBook installer. What I don't understand is: I thought the point of using a debugtoken.bar file was that you could install unsigned apps. I have in fact successfully deployed these unsigned apps using the Marmalade deploy tool just like this. But I was having problems signing the app for distribution, so I went back and did everything from scratch, requested new code signing keys from RIM, made a new debugtoken.bar file and installed it, etc. And now I'm worse off than I was before because I can't even install to the device now. So again: My understanding is that the point of debugtoken.bar was to be able to deploy to the device before actually signing the application.bar for distribution. So what does this error message even mean?

Original source