Set up the environment to work with CocoaPods

1. Install the CocoaPods dependency manager:

   $ sudo gem install cocoapods
   

2. Install the cocoapods-generate plugin:

   $ sudo gem install cocoapods-generate
   

Add and configure Kotlin CocoaPods Gradle plugin

1. In build.gradle(.kts) of your project, apply the CocoaPods plugin as well as the Kotlin Multiplatform plugin:

   plugins {
      kotlin("multiplatform") version "1.6.20"
      kotlin("native.cocoapods") version "1.6.20"
   }
   

2. Configure version, summary, homepage, and baseName of the Podspec file in the cocoapods block:

   plugins {
       kotlin("multiplatform") version "1.6.20"
       kotlin("native.cocoapods") version "1.6.20"
   }
   
   kotlin {
       cocoapods {
           // Required properties
           // Specify the required Pod version here. Otherwise, the Gradle project version is used.
           version = "1.0"
           summary = "Some description for a Kotlin/Native module"
           homepage = "Link to a Kotlin/Native module homepage"
   
           // Optional properties
           // Configure the Pod name here instead of changing the Gradle project name
           name = "MyCocoaPod"
   
           framework {
               // Required properties              
               // Framework name configuration. Use this property instead of deprecated 'frameworkName'
               baseName = "MyFramework"
   
               // Optional properties
               // Dynamic framework support
               isStatic = false
               // Dependency export
               export(project(":anotherKMMModule"))
               transitiveExport = false // This is default.
               // Bitcode embedding
               embedBitcode(BITCODE)
           }
   
           // Maps custom Xcode configuration to NativeBuildType
           xcodeConfigurationToNativeBuildType["CUSTOM_DEBUG"] = NativeBuildType.DEBUG
           xcodeConfigurationToNativeBuildType["CUSTOM_RELEASE"] = NativeBuildType.RELEASE
       }
   }
   

3. Re-import the project.

4. Generate the Gradle wrapper to avoid compatibility issues during an Xcode build.

When applied, the CocoaPods plugin does the following:

• Adds both debug and release frameworks as output binaries for all macOS, iOS, tvOS, and watchOS targets.

• Creates a podspec task which generates a Podspec file for the project.

The Podspec file includes a path to an output framework and script phases that automate building this framework during the build process of an Xcode project.

Update Podfile for Xcode

If you want to import your Kotlin project in an Xcode project, you need to make some changes to your Podfile:

• If your project has any Git, HTTP, or custom Podspec repository dependencies, you should also specify the path to the Podspec in the Podfile.

  For example, if you add a dependency on podspecWithFilesExample, declare the path to the Podspec in the Podfile:

  target 'ios-app' do
      # ... other depedencies ...
      pod 'podspecWithFilesExample', :path => 'cocoapods/externalSources/url/podspecWithFilesExample'
  end
  

  The :path should contain the filepath to the Pod.

• When you add a library from the custom Podspec repository, you should also specify the location of specs at the beginning of your Podfile:

  source 'https://github.com/Kotlin/kotlin-cocoapods-spec.git'
  
  target 'kotlin-cocoapods-xcproj' do
      # ... other depedencies ...
      pod 'example'
  end
  

If you don't make these changes to the Podfile, the podInstall task will fail, and the CocoaPods plugin will show an error message in the log.

Check out the withXcproject branch of the sample project, which contains an example of Xcode integration with an existing Xcode project named kotlin-cocoapods-xcproj.