macOS apps can be configured to launch outside Xcode on designated Mac computers using a development provisioning profile. The development provisioning profile uses the same pool of Mac computers that you register for development which is limited.
Register the Mac computers you want to use for testing in your developer account before exporting your app using Xcode. Xcode automatically registers a Mac when you launch an app through Xcode. To register additional Mac computers, collect device IDs from testers and register multiple devices using your developer account. Users can locate a Mac device ID using System Information (macOS).
Prepare your app for distribution and then create an archive of your app.
For a Mac app built with Mac Catalyst, create separate archives for the iPad and Mac app. When creating the archive for the Mac app, choose My Mac as the run destination.
To use a development provisioning profile, export a macOS app and select Development as the distribution method. This option embeds the development provisioning profile in the bundle and code signs the app with your development certificate. This allows the exported app to launch on the registered Mac computers contained in the provisioning profile. If you select “Automatically manage signing”, Xcode creates and manages the signing certificates and provisioning profiles for you.
Before you distribute your app to testers, test the app on another registered Mac that you don’t use for development. The app will launch only on Mac computers specified in the development provisioning profile.
Note: If you can’t launch the app because it’s from an unidentified developer, bypass the security settings to launch the app. In the Finder, Control-click the app, choose Open from the menu, and in the dialog that appears, click Open.