fix(ios): support module builds with mac=true on Catalyst

[macCesar]

Summary

This PR fixes iOS module builds when manifest includes mac: true for Mac Catalyst support.

It addresses 3 required areas:

1. Ensure TitaniumKit.xcframework Mac Catalyst slice keeps expected framework symlinks.
2. Ensure new module templates include Catalyst-compatible Xcode build settings.
3. Ensure legacy modules are auto-patched at build time when mac: true is set.

Changes

1) TitaniumKit packaging

• support/iphone/build_titaniumkit.sh
• After xcodebuild -create-xcframework, restore symlinks in:
  • ios-arm64_x86_64-maccatalyst/<Framework>.framework

2) Module templates

• iphone/templates/module/objc/template/ios/{{ModuleName}}.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj.ejs
• iphone/templates/module/swift/template/ios/{{ModuleName}}.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj.ejs

Added in iOS build configurations:

• SUPPORTED_PLATFORMS = "iphoneos iphonesimulator"
• SUPPORTS_MACCATALYST = YES

3) Build-time auto-fix for existing modules

• iphone/cli/commands/_buildModule.js
• Added ensureMacCatalystBuildSettings():
  • Runs only when manifest.mac === 'true'
  • Patches project.pbxproj with:
    • SUPPORTED_PLATFORMS = "iphoneos iphonesimulator"
    • SUPPORTS_MACCATALYST = YES

Also improved module build diagnostics and SDK consistency:

• Logs ti command exit code and full command.
• Propagates --sdk <version> to staged temp app create/build when provided.

Validation

Validated locally by building SDK and module with this branch:

• npm run cleanbuild -- ios
• ti build -p ios --build-only --sdk 13.2.0 on a module with mac: true

Result:

• Module build succeeds.
• Generated xcframework includes iOS device, iOS simulator, and Mac Catalyst slices.

[cb1kenobi]

This is awesome! The code looks good, but I would want it to be tested. I'm not quite able to test it yet.

[m1ga]

when I create a new module with the PR SDK, keep everything as it is and then run the build commandwill fail with

[TRACE] [xcode-macos] /Users/miga/Library/Application Support/Titanium/mobilesdk/osx/13.2.0.v20260207034456/iphone/include/TiModule.h:1:9: error: 'TitaniumKit/TiModule.h' file not found (in target 'test_mac' from project 'test_mac')
[TRACE] [xcode-macos]     /Users/miga/test_mac/ios/Classes/TestMacModule.m:8:9: note: in file included from /Users/miga/test_mac/ios/Classes/TestMacModule.m:8:
[TRACE] [xcode-macos]     /Users/miga/test_mac/ios/Classes/TestMacModule.h:8:9: note: in file included from /Users/miga/test_mac/ios/Classes/TestMacModule.h:8:
[TRACE] [xcode-macos]     note: Did not find header 'TiModule.h' in framework 'TitaniumKit' (loaded from '/Users/miga/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/test_mac-drmjdjycerxklleagbrwkxzhjxks/Build/Intermediates.noindex/ArchiveIntermediates/test_mac/BuildProductsPath/Release-maccatalyst')

setting mac: false in the manifest will build the module

[macCesar]

Hey Michael! Thanks for testing this.

I think the symlinks in the Mac Catalyst slice of TitaniumKit.xcframework might be getting lost during SDK installation. When I build from source locally, the symlinks stay intact and everything works. But depending on how the SDK gets installed (ZIP extraction, etc.), they could break.

Could you check two things?

1. How did you install the PR SDK? (ti sdk install from a CI URL, manual ZIP download, etc.)

2. Can you verify the symlinks in the maccatalyst slice are still there? Run this:

   ls -la "~/Library/Application Support/Titanium/mobilesdk/osx/13.2.0.v20260207034456/iphone/Frameworks/TitaniumKit.xcframework/ios-arm64_x86_64-maccatalyst/TitaniumKit.framework/"
   

   You should see symlinks like Headers -> Versions/Current/Headers. If those show up as regular directories instead of symlinks (no @ symbol), that's the problem.

The maccatalyst slice uses a versioned macOS framework structure (Versions/A/) that depends on symlinks. I added a fix in build_titaniumkit.sh to restore them after xcodebuild -create-xcframework, but they might not survive the packaging and extraction pipeline.

I'm also looking into changing the build destination to produce a flat framework structure that wouldn't need symlinks at all, which would fix the root cause instead of patching it.

[m1ga]

the folder only contains der "Versions" folder, no symlinks. I've took the SDK from the workflow action and ran ti sdk install filename.zip

will test a local build over the weekend

[macCesar]

Hey Michael, thanks for that output, it confirmed the issue. The Versions folder without symlinks is exactly what I suspected.

The problem is that ti sdk install (ZIP extraction via node-appc) doesn't preserve the symlinks in the Mac Catalyst slice of TitaniumKit.xcframework. Built from source they're intact, but after ZIP extraction they're gone.

I pushed a fix in 475a34ec68 that takes the same approach used for app builds in _build.js: restore the symlinks at module build time, right before the Mac Catalyst xcodebuild step. Works regardless of how the SDK was installed.

Also removed the previous build_titaniumkit.sh patch since the fix now happens at the right time.

Can you pull the latest and test again when you get a chance?

[m1ga]

nice!

Command
  /usr/local/bin/node /usr/local/bin/ti build -p ios -b --sdk 13.2.0.v20260212205238

[INFO]  Project directory: /Users/miga/testmod/ios
[INFO]  Module ID: test.mod
[INFO]  Module Type: Static Library (Objective-C)
[WARN]  Please update the LICENSE file with your license text before distributing.
[INFO]  Created 5 Mac Catalyst framework symlinks for TitaniumKit
[INFO]  Creating universal framework/library
[INFO]  Looking for /Users/miga/testmod/ios/build/iphoneos.xcarchive/Products/usr/local/lib/libtest.mod.a
[INFO]  Looking for /Users/miga/testmod/ios/build/iphonesimulator.xcarchive/Products/usr/local/lib/libtest.mod.a
[INFO]  Looking for /Users/miga/testmod/ios/build/macosx.xcarchive/Products/usr/local/lib/libtest.mod.a
[INFO]  Verifying universal framework/library
[INFO]  Simulator has architectures: arm64,x86_64
[INFO]  Mac has architectures: arm64,x86_64
[INFO]  Device has architectures: arm64
[INFO]  Binary framework/library file: /Users/miga/testmod/ios/build/test.mod.xcframework
[INFO]  Creating module zip
[INFO]  Writing module zip: /Users/miga/testmod/ios/dist/test.mod-iphone-1.0.0.zip
[INFO]  Project built successfully in 10s 895ms

That worked!

That's so great that you can finally do a "ti create" (module) and run a build in the ios folder and it works. At the moment you always had to go in and set mac:false in order to build, which was a strange first impression when you start an ios module.

[macCesar]

Thanks for testing, Michael! Glad it worked on your end too.

And yeah, good call on the mac:false workaround — that was a bad first impression for anyone creating a new iOS module. Now it should just work out of the box.

Hopefully this can get merged soon!