Apple Platform Deployment
- Welcome
- Intro to Apple Platform Deployment
- What’s new
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- Declarative status reports
- Declarative app configuration
- Accessibility declarative configuration
- Apple Intelligence declarative configuration
- App settings configuration
- Audio accessory declarative configuration
- Authentication credentials and identity asset declaration
- Background task management declarative
- Calendar declarative configuration
- Certificates declarative configuration
- Contacts declarative configuration
- Content caching declarative configuration
- DNS settings declarative configuration
- DNS proxy declarative configuration
- Exchange declarative configuration
- Extensible SSO declarative configuration
- External intelligence declarative configuration
- Google Accounts declarative configuration
- Keyboard declarative configuration
- LDAP declarative configuration
- Legacy interactive profile declarative configuration
- Legacy profile declarative configuration
- Mail declarative configuration
- Math and Calculator app declarative configuration
- Managed Migration Assistant declarative configuration
- Network relay declarative configuration
- Packages declarative configuration
- Passcode declarative configuration
- Passkey Attestation declarative configuration
- Safari bookmarks declarative configuration
- Safari browsing management declarative configuration
- Safari extensions management declarative configuration
- Screen Sharing declarative configuration
- Service configuration files declarative configuration
- Siri declarative configuration
- Software Update declarative configuration
- Software Update settings declarative configuration
- Storage management declarative configuration
- Subscribed Calendars declarative configuration
- Web content filter plugin declarative configuration
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- Accessibility payload settings
- Active Directory Certificate payload settings
- AirPlay payload settings
- AirPlay Security payload settings
- AirPrint payload settings
- App Lock payload settings
- Associated Domains payload settings
- Automated Certificate Management Environment (ACME) payload settings
- Autonomous Single App Mode payload settings
- Calendar payload settings
- Cellular payload settings
- Cellular Private Network payload settings
- Certificate Preference payload settings
- Certificate Revocation payload settings
- Certificate Transparency payload settings
- Certificates payload settings
- Conference Room Display payload settings
- Contacts payload settings
- Content Caching payload settings
- Directory Service payload settings
- DNS Proxy payload settings
- DNS Settings payload settings
- Dock payload settings
- Domains payload settings
- Energy Saver payload settings
- Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) payload settings
- Exchange Web Services (EWS) payload settings
- Extensible Single Sign-on payload settings
- Extensible Single Sign-on Kerberos payload settings
- Extensions payload settings
- FileVault payload settings
- Finder payload settings
- Firewall payload settings
- Fonts payload settings
- Global HTTP Proxy payload settings
- Google Accounts payload settings
- Home Screen Layout payload settings
- Identification payload settings
- Identity Preference payload settings
- Kernel Extension Policy payload settings
- LDAP payload settings
- Lights Out Management payload settings
- Lock Screen Message payload settings
- Login Window payload settings
- Managed Login Items payload settings
- Mail payload settings
- Network Usage Rules payload settings
- Notifications payload settings
- Parental Controls payload settings
- Passcode payload settings
- Printing payload settings
- Privacy Preferences Policy Control payload settings
- Relay payload settings
- SCEP payload settings
- Security payload settings
- Setup Assistant payload settings
- Single Sign-on payload settings
- Smart Card payload settings
- Subscribed Calendars payload settings
- System Extensions payload settings
- System Migration payload settings
- Time Machine payload settings
- TV Remote payload settings
- Web Clips payload settings
- Web Content Filter payload settings
- Xsan payload settings
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- Glossary
- Document revision history
- Copyright and trademarks
Plan your configurations for Apple devices
Configuration basics
Planning your configurations helps reduce complexity. To make your work easier, follow these device management best practices before you begin deploying configurations:
Multiple configurations and assets can be part of one declarative activation.
A device can have more than one activation.
An activation can have a predicate rule to define when it gets applied.
On a Mac and Shared iPad, you can combine user with device configurations.
If you have multiple configurations of the same type, the resulting behavior depends on the specific configuration. For more information whether duplicates are supported and the merging behavior, see the Declarations list on the Apple Developer documentation website.
Configuration support
Supported installation method: Most configurations require installation by a device management service.
Supported operating systems and channels: Some configurations support all Apple operating systems and some support only specific ones.
Important: Installing a configuration on an incompatible platform or operating system version isn’t recommended and may fail. Use activation predicates to apply the configuration automatically when the device is updated to the required operating system version.
Supported enrollment methods: Configurations may support one or more of the enrollment methods: User Enrollment, Device Enrollment, and Automated Device Enrollment. See Enrollment methods for Apple devices.
Duplicates allowed: Some configurations can have duplicates. For example, Mail account configurations can be applied multiple times to configure multiple different accounts.
How to optimize configuration management
Here are some examples of optimized configuration management:
If you want to manage iPhone, iPad, and Mac, use the same configuration for all the devices.
If you want to manage only iPhone and iPad (or users of those devices), focus on iPhone and iPad configurations.
If you want to manage only Mac computers or users of Mac computers, focus on Mac configurations, then decide if your management should be at the device or user level.
You can create a single activation that contains all configurations and assets you need—for example, for different apps and settings, such as Mail, Safari, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.
Although you can create a single activation that contains everything for your organization, consider grouping related configurations and assets and evaluate whether they should be applied based on the same activation predicate.
Users generally can’t change settings that are defined in a configuration. Accounts configured by a configuration can be removed only by deleting the configuration. Doing so may prevent the device from being used in your organization until the configuration is reinstalled. For example, removing a configuration may prevent the user from accessing the network, receiving mail, and creating events using their Calendar app.