[xcode] Xcode : Adding a project as a build dependency

Im playing around with the soundcloud api, in its instructions it says to

  • drag SoundCloudAPI.xcodeproj into your project
  • add it as a build dependency

I can drag the project in pretty easily, but how does one accomplish the next step?

This question is related to xcode xcodebuild build-dependencies

The answer is


Just close the Project you want to add , then drag and drop the file .


Under TARGETS in your project, right-click on your project target (should be the same name as your project) and choose GET INFO, then on GENERAL tab you will see DIRECT DEPENDENCIES, simply click the [+] and select SoundCloudAPI.


Today I faced with the same problem. As the result of the first run I got next error:

Lexical or Preprocessor Issue: 'SDKProjectName*/*SDKProjectName.h' file not found.

But before running, I, obviously, added my SDK into the demo project, just drag&drop .xcodeproj file into my test project's source tree. After that, I moved into Build Phases tab in setting of the main xcodeproj file (of the demo) and added my SDK as target dependency and embed framework into corresponding tabs.

But at the result, I got an error above!

So, the problem was into empty line on the Header Search Paths option. I just wrote "../**" as value for this key and project compiled successfully. So, after that, you can add #include <SDKName/SDKName.h> into any project, which includes this SDK.

ps. My test app was created into root SDK folder.


  1. Select your project in the navigator on left.
  2. Open up the drawer in the middle pane and select your target.
  3. Select Build Phases
  4. Target Dependencies is an option at that point.

Tough one for a newbie like me - here is a screenshot that describes it.
Xcode 10.2.1

enter image description here


Xcode 10

  1. drag-n-drop a project into another project - is called cross-project references[About]
  2. add the added project as a build dependency - is called Explicit dependency[About]
//Xcode 10
Build Phases -> Target Dependencies -> + Add items 

//Xcode 11
Build Phases -> Dependencies -> + Add items 

In Choose items to add: dialog you will see only targets from your project and the sub-project

enter image description here