#dotnet-passbook
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A .Net Library for generating Passbook packages for iOS 6 and iOS7
(I'm not working on dotnet-passbook at this time, but will be returning to it soon to update to iOS 9)
##Why
Creating passes for Apple's Passbook is pretty simple, but requires the use of PKI for signing manifest files, which isn't so simple! During the course of building the PassVerse, I created a library that performs all the steps in C#. I decided to open source this library to other .Net developers. It allows you to generate, sign and zip Passbook files for use with Apple's Passbook (Available in iOS 6 and iOS 7).
Handling Passbook requires not only generating the passes, but handing registration, serial numbers and push notifications.
Instead of developing your own solution, I have created PassVerse, which is a complete application that handles all aspects of Passbook for you, freeing you to focus on your own application. You install it on your own servers and use your existing database. It offers a powerful REST based API that makes it simple to integrate with your own application. It's free to use with up-to 20 active passes. You can download it now from PassVerse.com and it only takes five minutes to setup.
The solution requires .Net 4.5 and Visual Studio 2012 or higher.
##Certificates
Before you run the PassGenerator, you need to ensure you have all the necessary certificates installed. There are two required.
Firstly, you need to install the Apple WWDR (WorldWide Developer Relations) certificate. You can download that from here http://www.apple.com/certificateauthority/ . You must install it in the Local Machine's Intermediate Certificate store. I've hardcoded that location
Secondly, you need to installed your Passbook certificate, which you get from the Developer Portal. You must have a full iPhone developer account. There are instructions on my blog for generating a certificate if you're using a Windows Machine.
You can place this certificate in any of the stores, but it must be placed into the "personal" folder. When constructing the request for the pass, you specify the location and thumbprint for the certificate. If running this code in IIS for example, installing the certificate in the Local Machine area might make access easier. Alternatively, you could place the certificate into the AppPool's user's certification repository. When you install the certificate, be sure to note the certificate's Thumbprint.
##Technical Stuff
To generate a pass, start by declaring a PassGenerator.
PassGenerator generator = new PassGenerator();
Next, create a PassGeneratorRequest. This is a raw request that gives you the full power to add all the fields necessary for the pass you wish to create. Each pass is broken down into several sections. Each section is rendered in a different way, based on the style of the pass you are trying to produce. For more information on this, please consult Apple's Passbook Programming Guide. The example below here will show how to create a very basic boarding pass.
Since each pass has a set of mandatory data, fill that in first.
PassGeneratorRequest request = new PassGeneratorRequest();
request.Identifier = "pass.tomsamcguinness.events";
request.TeamIdentifier = "RW121242";
request.SerialNumber = "121212";
request.Description = "My first pass";
request.OrganizationName = "Tomas McGuinness";
request.LogoText = "My Pass";
Colours can be specified in HTML format or in RGB format.
request.BackgroundColor = "#FFFFFF";
request.LabelColor = "#000000";
request.ForegroundColor = "#000000";
request.BackgroundColor = "rgb(255,255,255)";
request.LabelColor = "rgb(0,0,0)";
request.ForegroundColor = "rgb(0,0,0)";
To select the certificate there are two options. Firstly, you can use the Windows Certificate store to hold the certificates. You choose the location of your Passbook certificate by specifying the thumbprint of the certificates. The Apple WWDRC is also loaded in this way, so you don't need to specify anything.
request.CertThumbprint = "22C5FADDFBF935E26E2DDB8656010C7D4103E02E";
request.CertLocation = System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.StoreLocation.CurrentUser;
An alternative way to pass the certificates into the PassGenerator is to load them as byte[] and add them to the request.
request.Certificate = certData; // Loaded from a database or other mechanism for example.
request.CertificatePassword = "abc123"; // The password for the certificate's private key.
string appleCertPath = (HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath("~/Certificates
AppleWWDRCA.cer");
request.AppleWWDRCACertificate = File.ReadAllBytes(appleCertPath);
Next, define the images you with to use. You must always include both standard and retina sized images. Images are supplied as byte[].
// override icon and icon retina
request.Images.Add(PassbookImage.Icon, System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes(Server.MapPath("~/Icons/icon.png")));
request.Images.Add(PassbookImage.IconRetina, System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes(Server.MapPath("~/Icons/[email protected]")));
You can now provide more pass specific information. The Style must be set and then all information is then added to fields to the required sections. For a baording pass, the fields are add to three sections; primary, secondary and auxiliary.
request.Style = PassStyle.BoardingPass;
request.AddPrimaryField(new StandardField("origin", "San Francisco", "SFO"));
request.AddPrimaryField(new StandardField("destination", "London", "LDN"));
request.AddSecondaryField(new StandardField("boarding-gate", "Gate", "A55"));
request.AddAuxiliaryField(new StandardField("seat", "Seat", "G5" ));
request.AddAuxiliaryField(new StandardField("passenger-name", "Passenger", "Thomas Anderson"));
request.TransitType = TransitType.PKTransitTypeAir;
You can add a BarCode.
request.AddBarCode("01927847623423234234", BarcodeType.PKBarcodeFormatPDF417, "UTF-8", "01927847623423234234");
To link the pass to an existing app, you can add the app's Apple ID to the AssociatedStoreIdentifiers array.
request.AssociatedStoreIdentifiers.Add(551768478);
Finally, generate the pass by passing the request into the instance of the Generator. This will create the signed manifest and package all the the image files into zip.
byte[] generatedPass = generator.Generate(request);
If you are using ASP.NET MVC for example, you can return this byte[] as a Passbook package
return new FileContentResult(generatedPass, "application/vnd.apple.pkpass");
##Updating passes
To be able to update your pass, you must provide it with a callback. When generating your request, you must provide it with an AuthenticationToken and a WebServiceUrl.
request.AuthenticationToken = "vxwxd7J8AlNNFPS8k0a0FfUFtq0ewzFdc";
request.WebServiceUrl = "http://192.168.1.59:82/api";
There are several methods that the Pass will invoke when it's installed and updated. To see a reference implementation of this, look at the PassRegistrationController class in the Passbook.Sample.Web project.
The method that is of most interest in the beginning is the Post method as this actually captures the PushToken for the passes. The UpdateController has a very simple mechanism for sending an update. At present, the device ID is hard-coded, but this should provide a working reference.
If you need a complete implementation of the WebService, do take a look at my PassVerse management system as it contains everything you need.
Included as part of the solution, the Passbook.Sample.Web project allows you to create some sample passes. You can run this and access the pages from your iPhone to see how the passes are installed and to see the registration and update mechanism in operation.
The project also includes some dummy requests, so illustrate how you can create wrappers around the basic PassGenerationRequest. The above BoardPass can be generated using the BoardingPassGeneratorRequest. Instead of adding the fields explicitly, this encapsulates this logic, so you can call
request.Origin = "San Francisco";
request.OriginCode = "SFO";
request.Destination = "London";
request.DestinationCode = "LDN";
request.Seat = "7A";
request.BoardingGate = "F12";
request.PassengerName = "John Appleseed";
request.TransitType = TransitType.PKTransitTypeAir;
/Home/Index will open a simple HTML page where you can choose the card type.
/Pass/EventTicket will generate an event based Pass (not fully functional).
/Pass/BoardingPass will generate simple baording card.
These passes are functional and can be saved in iOS Passbook.
##NuGet
Dotnet-passbook is also available to download from NuGet.
Install-Package dotnet-passbook
##iOS 7
This covers almost all of the new fields that were added for iOS7. I have not included the Companion App Keys yet.
##Contribute
All pull requests are welcomed! If you come across an issue you cannot fix, please raise an issue or drop me an email at [email protected] or follow me on twitter @tomasmcguinness
##Progress
You can request features and see what work is being done by checking out the dotnet-passbook Trello board over at https://trello.com/board/dotnet-passbook/500b31ef655e242e590fda62
##License
Dotnet-passbook is distributed under the MIT license: http://tomasmcguinness.mit-license.org/