Build fat static library device simulator using Xcode and SDK 4

Question

It appears that we can - theoretically - build a single static library that includes both simulator and iPhone and iPad.

However, Apple has no documentation on this that I can find, and Xcode's default templates are NOT configured to do this.

I'm looking for a simple, portable, re-usable technique that can be done inside Xcode.

Some history:

In 2008, we used to be able to make single static-libs that included both sim and device. Apple disabled that.
Throughout 2009, we made pairs of static libs - one for sim, one for device. Apple has now disabled that too.

References:

This is a great idea, it's an excellent approach, but it doesn't work: http://www.drobnik.com/touch/2010/04/universal-static-libraries/
- There's some bugs in his script that means it only works on his machine - he should be using BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR and/or BUILD_DIR instead of "guesstimating" them)
- Apple's latest Xcode prevents you from doing what he's done - it simply will not work, due to the (Documented) change in how Xcode processes targets)
Another SO questioner asked how to do it WITHOUT xcode, and with responses that focussed on the arm6 vs arm7 part - but ignored the i386 part: How do i compile a static library (fat) for armv6, armv7 and i386
- Since Apple's latest changes, the Simulator part isn't the same as the arm6/arm7 difference any more - it's a different problem, see above)

User · Answer

Great job  I hacked together something similar  but had to run it separately  Having it just be part of the build process makes it so much simpler   One item of note  I noticed that it doesn t copy over any of the include files that you mark as public  I ve adapted what I had in my script to yours and it works fairly well  Paste the following to the end of your script   if   -d    CURRENTCONFIG DEVICE DIR  usr local include    then   mkdir -p    CURRENTCONFIG UNIVERSAL DIR  usr local include    cp    CURRENTCONFIG DEVICE DIR   usr local include      CURRENTCONFIG UNIVERSAL DIR  usr local include  fi

User · Answer

XCode 12 update  If you run xcodebuild without -arch param  XCode 12 will build simulator library with architecture  quot arm64 x86 64 quot  as default  Then run xcrun -sdk iphoneos lipo -create -output will conflict  because arm64 architecture exist in simulator and also device library  I fork script from Adam git and fix it

User · Answer

I needed a fat static lib for JsonKit so created a static lib project in Xcode and then ran this bash script in the project directory   So long as you ve configured the xcode project with  Build active configuration only  turned off  you should get all architectures in one lib      bin bash xcodebuild -sdk iphoneos xcodebuild -sdk iphonesimulator lipo -create -output libJsonKit a build Release-iphoneos libJsonKit a build Release-iphonesimulator libJsonKit a

User · Answer

I ve made an XCode 4 project template that lets you make a universal framework as easily as making a regular library

User · Answer

IOS 10 Update   I had a problem with building the fatlib with iphoneos10 0 because the regular expression in the script only expects 9 x and lower and returns 0 0 for ios 10 0  to fix this just replace  SDK VERSION   echo   SDK NAME    grep -o     3        with   SDK VERSION   echo   SDK NAME    grep -o      0-9   3 4

User · Answer

I actually just wrote my own script for this purpose. It doesn't use Xcode. (It's based off a similar script in the Gambit Scheme project.)

Basically, it runs ./configure and make three times (for i386, armv7, and armv7s), and combines each of the resulting libraries into a fat lib.

User · Answer

I ve made this into an Xcode 4 template  in the same vein as Karl s static framework template   I found that building static frameworks  instead of plain static libraries  was causing random crashes with LLVM  due to an apparent linker bug - so  I guess static libraries are still useful

User · Answer

I have spent many hours trying to build a fat static library that will work on armv7, armv7s, and the simulator. Finally found a solution.

The gist is to build the two libraries (one for the device and then one for the simulator) separately, rename them to distinguish from each other, and then lipo -create them into one library.

lipo -create libPhone.a libSimulator.a -output libUniversal.a

I tried it and it works!

User · Answer

There is a command-line utility xcodebuild and you can run shell command within xcode  So  if you don t mind using custom script  this script may help you    Configurations   This script designed for Mac OS X command-line  so does not use Xcode build variables   But you can use it freely if you want   TARGET sns ACTION  clean build  FILE NAME libsns a  DEVICE iphoneos3 2 SIMULATOR iphonesimulator3 2        Build for all platforms configurations   xcodebuild -configuration Debug -target   TARGET  -sdk   DEVICE    ACTION  RUN CLANG STATIC ANALYZER NO xcodebuild -configuration Debug -target   TARGET  -sdk   SIMULATOR    ACTION  RUN CLANG STATIC ANALYZER NO xcodebuild -configuration Release -target   TARGET  -sdk   DEVICE    ACTION  RUN CLANG STATIC ANALYZER NO xcodebuild -configuration Release -target   TARGET  -sdk   SIMULATOR    ACTION  RUN CLANG STATIC ANALYZER NO         Merge all platform binaries as a fat binary for each configurations   DEBUG DEVICE DIR   SYMROOT  Debug-iphoneos DEBUG SIMULATOR DIR   SYMROOT  Debug-iphonesimulator DEBUG UNIVERSAL DIR   SYMROOT  Debug-universal  RELEASE DEVICE DIR   SYMROOT  Release-iphoneos RELEASE SIMULATOR DIR   SYMROOT  Release-iphonesimulator RELEASE UNIVERSAL DIR   SYMROOT  Release-universal  rm -rf    DEBUG UNIVERSAL DIR   rm -rf    RELEASE UNIVERSAL DIR   mkdir    DEBUG UNIVERSAL DIR   mkdir    RELEASE UNIVERSAL DIR    lipo -create -output    DEBUG UNIVERSAL DIR    FILE NAME      DEBUG DEVICE DIR    FILE NAME      DEBUG SIMULATOR DIR    FILE NAME   lipo -create -output    RELEASE UNIVERSAL DIR    FILE NAME      RELEASE DEVICE DIR    FILE NAME      RELEASE SIMULATOR DIR    FILE NAME     Maybe looks inefficient I m not good at shell script   but easy to understand  I configured a new target running only this script  The script is designed for command-line but not tested in     The core concept is xcodebuild and lipo   I tried many configurations within Xcode UI  but nothing worked  Because this is a kind of batch processing  so command-line design is more suitable  so Apple removed batch build feature from Xcode gradually  So I don t expect they offer UI based batch build feature in future

User · Answer

ALTERNATIVES   Easy copy paste of latest version  but install instructions may change - see below    Karl s library takes much more effort to setup  but much nicer long-term solution  it converts your library into a Framework    Use this  then tweak it to add support for Archive builds - c f   Frederik s comment below on the changes he s using to make this work nicely with Archive mode     RECENT CHANGES  1  Added support for iOS 10 x  while maintaining support for older platforms    Info on how to use this script with a project-embedded-in-another-project  although I highly recommend NOT doing that  ever - Apple has a couple of show-stopper bugs in Xcode if you embed projects inside each other  from Xcode 3 x through to Xcode 4 6 x  Bonus script to let you auto-include Bundles  i e  include PNG files  PLIST files etc from your library   - see below  scroll to bottom  now supports iPhone5  using Apple s workaround to the bugs in lipo   NOTE  the install instructions have changed  I can probably simplify this by changing the script in future  but don t want to risk it now   copy headers  section now respects the build setting for the location of the public headers  courtesy of Frederik Wallner  Added explicit setting of SYMROOT  maybe need OBJROOT to be set too    thanks to Doug Dickinson     SCRIPT  this is what you have to copy paste   For usage   install instructions  see below                                                 c f  https   stackoverflow com questions 3520977 build-fat-static-library-device-simulator-using-xcode-and-sdk-4     Version 2 82     Latest Change    - MORE tweaks to get the iOS 10  and 9- working   - Support iOS 10    - Corrected typo for iOS 1-10   thanks  stuikomma       Purpose      Automatically create a Universal static library for iPhone   iPad   iPhone Simulator from within XCode     Author  Adam Martin - http   twitter com redglassesapps   Based on  original script from Eonil  main changes  Eonil s script WILL NOT WORK in Xcode GUI - it WILL CRASH YOUR COMPUTER     set -e set -o pipefail                     Tests  helps workaround any future bugs in Xcode             DEBUG THIS SCRIPT  false   if    DEBUG THIS SCRIPT    true    then echo              TESTS                echo  Use the following variables when debugging this script  note that they may change on recursions  echo  BUILD DIR    BUILD DIR  echo  BUILD ROOT    BUILD ROOT  echo  CONFIGURATION BUILD DIR    CONFIGURATION BUILD DIR  echo  BUILT PRODUCTS DIR    BUILT PRODUCTS DIR  echo  CONFIGURATION TEMP DIR    CONFIGURATION TEMP DIR  echo  TARGET BUILD DIR    TARGET BUILD DIR  fi                         part 1                       First  work out the BASESDK version number  NB  Apple ought to report this  but they hide it        incidental  searching for substrings in sh is a nightmare  Sob   SDK VERSION   echo   SDK NAME    grep -o   d  1 2     d  1 2         Next  work out if we re in SIM or DEVICE  if     PLATFORM NAME     iphonesimulator    then OTHER SDK TO BUILD iphoneos  SDK VERSION  else OTHER SDK TO BUILD iphonesimulator  SDK VERSION  fi  echo  XCode has selected SDK    PLATFORM NAME  with version    SDK VERSION   although back-targetting    IPHONEOS DEPLOYMENT TARGET    echo     therefore  OTHER SDK TO BUILD     OTHER SDK TO BUILD                            end of part 1                                             part 2                         IF this is the original invocation  invoke WHATEVER other builds are required     Xcode is already building ONE target           but this is a LIBRARY  so Apple is wrong to set it to build just one       we need to build ALL targets      we MUST NOT re-build the target that is ALREADY being built  Xcode WILL CRASH YOUR COMPUTER if you try this  infinite recursion         So  build ONLY the missing platforms configurations   if    true       ALREADYINVOKED -false    then echo  RECURSION  I am NOT the root invocation  so I m NOT going to recurse  else   CRITICAL    Prevent infinite recursion  Xcode sucks  export ALREADYINVOKED  true   echo  RECURSION  I am the root     recursing all missing build targets NOW     echo  RECURSION     about to invoke  xcodebuild -configuration     CONFIGURATION    -project     PROJECT NAME  xcodeproj   -target     TARGET NAME    -sdk     OTHER SDK TO BUILD      ACTION  RUN CLANG STATIC ANALYZER NO  BUILD DIR     BUILD DIR    BUILD ROOT     BUILD ROOT    SYMROOT     SYMROOT     xcodebuild -configuration    CONFIGURATION   -project    PROJECT NAME  xcodeproj  -target    TARGET NAME   -sdk    OTHER SDK TO BUILD     ACTION  RUN CLANG STATIC ANALYZER NO BUILD DIR    BUILD DIR   BUILD ROOT    BUILD ROOT   SYMROOT    SYMROOT    ACTION  build    Merge all platform binaries as a fat binary for each configurations     Calculate where the  multiple  built files are coming from  CURRENTCONFIG DEVICE DIR   SYMROOT    CONFIGURATION -iphoneos CURRENTCONFIG SIMULATOR DIR   SYMROOT    CONFIGURATION -iphonesimulator  echo  Taking device build from    CURRENTCONFIG DEVICE DIR   echo  Taking simulator build from    CURRENTCONFIG SIMULATOR DIR    CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR   SYMROOT    CONFIGURATION -universal echo     I will output a universal build to    CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR          remove the products of previous runs of this script        NB  this directory is ONLY created by this script - it should be safe to delete   rm -rf    CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR   mkdir    CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR      echo  lipo  for current configuration    CONFIGURATION   creating output file    CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR    EXECUTABLE NAME   xcrun -sdk iphoneos lipo -create -output    CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR    EXECUTABLE NAME      CURRENTCONFIG DEVICE DIR    EXECUTABLE NAME      CURRENTCONFIG SIMULATOR DIR    EXECUTABLE NAME                  Added  StackOverflow suggestion to also copy  include  files       untested  but should work OK    echo  Fetching headers from   PUBLIC HEADERS FOLDER PATH   echo     if you embed your library project in another project  you will need to add  echo     a  User Search Headers  build setting of   NB INCLUDE THE DOUBLE QUOTES BELOW    echo             TARGET BUILD DIR  usr local include    if   -d    CURRENTCONFIG DEVICE DIR   PUBLIC HEADERS FOLDER PATH     then mkdir -p    CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR   PUBLIC HEADERS FOLDER PATH       needs to be outside the double quotes  cp -r    CURRENTCONFIG DEVICE DIR   PUBLIC HEADERS FOLDER PATH       CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR   PUBLIC HEADERS FOLDER PATH   fi fi     INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS   Create a static lib project Select the Target In  Build Settings  tab  set  Build Active Architecture Only  to  NO   for all items  In  Build Phases  tab  select  Add     New Build Phase     New Run Script Build Phase  Copy paste the script  above  into the box      BONUS OPTIONAL usage    OPTIONAL  if you have headers in your library  add them to the  Copy Headers  phase OPTIONAL     and drag drop them from the  Project  section to the  Public  section OPTIONAL     and they will AUTOMATICALLY be exported every time you build the app  into a sub-directory of the  debug-universal  directory  they will be in usr local include  OPTIONAL  NOTE  if you also try to drag drop your project into another Xcode project  this exposes a bug in Xcode 4  where it cannot create an  IPA file if you have Public Headers in your drag dropped project  The workaround  dont  embed xcode projects  too many bugs in Apple s code     If you can t find the output file  here s a workaround    Add the following code to the very end of the script  courtesy of Frederik Wallner   open    CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR   Apple deletes all output after 200 lines  Select your Target  and in the Run Script Phase  you MUST untick   Show environment variables in build log  if you re using a custom  build output  directory for XCode4  then XCode puts all your  unexpected  files in the wrong place    Build the project Click on the last icon on the right  in the top left area of Xcode4  Select the top item  this is your  most recent build   Apple should auto-select it  but they didn t think of that  in the main window  scroll to bottom  The very last line should read  lipo  for current configuration  Debug  creating output file   Users blah Library Developer Xcode DerivedData AppName-ashwnbutvodmoleijzlncudsekyf Build Products Debug-universal libTargetName a      that is the location of your Universal Build      How to include  non sourcecode  files in your project  PNG  PLIST  XML  etc    Do everything above  check it works Create a new Run Script phase that comes AFTER THE FIRST ONE  copy paste the code below  Create a new Target in Xcode  of type  bundle  In your MAIN PROJECT  in  Build Phases   add the new bundle as something it  depends on   top section  hit the plus button  scroll to bottom  find the   bundle  file in your Products  In your NEW BUNDLE TARGET  in  Build Phases   add a  Copy Bundle Resources  section  and drag drop all the PNG files etc into it   Script to auto-copy the built bundle s  into same folder as your FAT static library   echo  RunScript2   echo  Autocopying any bundles into the  universal  output folder created by RunScript1  CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR   SYMROOT    CONFIGURATION -universal cp -r    BUILT PRODUCTS DIR     bundle    CREATING UNIVERSAL DIR

[iphone] Build fat static library (device + simulator) using Xcode and SDK 4+

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