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Skillscocoapods-to-spm

cocoapods-to-spm

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Updated 10-15 16:40

About this skill

CocoaPods to Swift Package Manager Migration

Move a Capacitor iOS app from CocoaPods to SPM without losing native project customizations.

When to Use

TRIGGER when:

  • ios/App/Podfile, Pods/, Podfile.lock, or App.xcworkspace exists and the user wants SPM.
  • User asks about npx cap spm-migration-assistant, CapApp-SPM, debug.xcconfig, or --packagemanager SPM.
  • User worries about CocoaPods Trunk becoming read-only (expected December 2, 2026), or about pods that can no longer be published/updated.
  • npx cap sync warns Some installed Capacitor plugins are not compatible with SPM or <plugin id> does not have a Package.swift.
  • Upgrading to Capacitor 9 and wanting to drop CocoaPods at the same time.

Do not use:

  • Adding Package.swift / CAPBridgedPlugin to a plugin you maintain -> capacitor-plugin-spm-support.
  • SceneDelegate / UIScene adoption (Capacitor 8.5+, required by Xcode 27) -> capacitor-uiscene-migration.
  • The Capacitor major upgrade itself -> capacitor-app-upgrades, capacitor-app-upgrade-v8-to-v9.
  • Build or runtime failures unrelated to dependency management -> debugging-capacitor.

Why Now

  • CocoaPods Trunk is expected to become read-only on December 2, 2026. Existing pods keep resolving, but no new pod versions get published, so plugin fixes will increasingly ship SPM-only.
  • Capacitor 8+ scaffolds new iOS projects with SPM by default. Upgrading Capacitor does not convert an existing CocoaPods app.
  • Capacitor 9 (currently next / alpha) only adds the Cordova product / CapacitorCordova pod when a Cordova plugin is installed. Native code that imports Cordova without a Cordova plugin breaks in either setup.

How the CLI Decides

  • The CLI treats the project as SPM if and only if ios/App/CapApp-SPM/ exists. Deleting or renaming it silently flips npx cap sync back to CocoaPods behavior.
  • ios/App/CapApp-SPM/Package.swift is regenerated on every npx cap sync ios (// DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE - managed by Capacitor CLI commands). Put customizations in capacitor.config.*, never in that file.
  • A plugin is included only if its npm package root has a Package.swift. Others are skipped with a warning; their native code is silently missing at runtime ("X" plugin is not implemented on ios).
  • During sync, if a plugin's Package.swift pins capacitor-swift-pm to a different major, the CLI rewrites that file inside node_modules and warns <id> is built for Capacitor <N>, it might cause issues. Treat this as "upgrade the plugin", not as success.
  • Cordova plugins get a generated package under ios/capacitor-cordova-ios-plugins/sources/<Name>. Plain .framework files are not supported as SPM binary targets (warning: custom .framework files are not supported as binaryTarget in SPM); they need an .xcframework.

Command Policy

  • Use the repo's package manager for installs and scripts; keep Capacitor CLI calls as npx cap ... so the project-local CLI runs.
  • Run commands from the directory containing capacitor.config.*.

Live Project Snapshot

Detected Capacitor, iOS, Cordova, and plugin dependencies: !node -e "const fs=require('fs');if(!fs.existsSync('package.json'))process.exit(0);const pkg=JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('package.json','utf8'));const out=[];for(const section of ['dependencies','devDependencies']){for(const [name,version] of Object.entries(pkg[section]||{})){if(name.startsWith('@capacitor/')||name.startsWith('@capgo/')||name.startsWith('@capacitor-community/')||name.startsWith('@awesome-cordova-plugins/')||name.startsWith('cordova-')||name.includes('capacitor'))out.push(section+'.'+name+'='+version)}}console.log(out.sort().join('\n'))"

Relevant iOS dependency files: !find ios -maxdepth 5 \( -name 'Podfile' -o -name 'Podfile.lock' -o -name 'Pods' -o -name 'App.xcworkspace' -o -name 'Package.swift' -o -name 'Package.resolved' -o -name 'CapApp-SPM' -o -name 'debug.xcconfig' -o -name 'project.pbxproj' -o -name 'Info.plist' -o -name '*.entitlements' -o -name 'GoogleService-Info.plist' \) 2>/dev/null

Procedure

1. Inspect (read-only)

  1. Capacitor version in package.json (@capacitor/ios). 8.x and 9.x are supported; on 6.x/7.x, prefer upgrading first.
  2. ios/App/Podfile and Podfile.lock: list every pod, and which ones are not Capacitor plugins (Firebase, analytics SDKs, custom pods added by hand).
  3. For each Capacitor/Cordova plugin: does node_modules/<pkg>/Package.swift exist? Cordova plugins get a generated package, so only NO entries block: 
    node -e "const fs=require('fs');const p=require('./package.json');for(const n of Object.keys({...p.dependencies,...p.devDependencies})){const d='node_modules/'+n;if(!fs.existsSync(d+'/ios')&&!fs.existsSync(d+'/plugin.xml'))continue;console.log((fs.existsSync(d+'/Package.swift')?'SPM     ':fs.existsSync(d+'/plugin.xml')?'CORDOVA ':'NO      ')+n)}"
  4. ios/App/App.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj: signing, custom build settings, extra targets (widgets, notification service extensions), build phases, schemes.
  5. ios/App/App/: AppDelegate.swift, SceneDelegate.swift, Info.plist, entitlements, GoogleService-Info.plist, custom Swift/ObjC files.

Report findings before editing: plugins without SPM, non-plugin pods that need an SPM replacement, and native customizations at risk.

2. Resolve blockers

For every NO plugin or non-plugin pod:

  • Upgrade the plugin (most maintained plugins, including @capacitor/* and @capgo/*, ship Package.swift).
  • Replace it with a maintained SPM-capable alternative.
  • If the project owns the plugin, convert it with capacitor-plugin-spm-support.
  • For third-party SDK pods added directly in the Podfile, add the vendor's SPM package to the App target in Xcode after migration.

Ask the user before proceeding if a critical plugin has no SPM path. Do not keep a hybrid Podfile + CapApp-SPM setup.

3. Choose a path

Path Use when
npx cap spm-migration-assistant Most apps; keeps the existing Xcode project and its customizations.
Fresh scaffold ios/ is close to the template (no extensions, few native edits).
Manual repair The assistant ran partially or the project is heavily customized.

4a. Run the migration assistant

Commit first. Requires CocoaPods (or Bundler) still installed because it runs pod deintegrate.

npx cap spm-migration-assistant

It runs pod deintegrate, deletes Podfile, Podfile.lock, and App.xcworkspace, extracts ios/App/CapApp-SPM/, writes ios/debug.xcconfig (CAPACITOR_DEBUG = true), adds CAPACITOR_DEBUG = $(CAPACITOR_DEBUG) to Info.plist if missing, then runs an iOS update that generates Package.swift. It ends with To complete migration follow the manual steps at https://capacitorjs.com/docs/ios/spm#using-our-migration-tool.

Two manual Xcode steps remain (npx cap open ios, which now opens App.xcodeproj):

  1. Project App -> Package Dependencies -> + -> Add Local... -> select ios/App/CapApp-SPM -> Add Package, and link the CapApp-SPM library to the App target.
  2. Project App -> Info -> Configurations -> Debug -> set the configuration file to debug.xcconfig.

Then npx cap sync ios.

4b. Fresh scaffold

Back up everything listed in step 1.5 first.

rm -rf ios
npx cap add ios --packagemanager SPM
npx cap sync ios

On Capacitor 8.5+ the new template already includes SceneDelegate.swift and UIApplicationSceneManifest. Restore icons, Info.plist keys, entitlements, signing, Firebase plist, custom sources, and extension targets by merging, not overwriting template files.

5. Optional SPM config in capacitor.config.*

Only when needed (all under experimental.ios.spm, verify the installed CLI version supports them):

  • swiftToolsVersion (8.3+, default '5.9'): header of the generated Package.swift.
  • packageTraits (8.3+): { "<plugin id>": ["TraitName", ".defaults"] }; requires swiftToolsVersion >= '6.1'.
  • packageOptions (8.4+): { "<plugin id>": { symlink: true, moduleAliases: { "Target": "Alias" } } } for package name or module collisions.

6. UIScene check

The assistant changes dependency management only. If Info.plist lacks UIApplicationSceneManifest, the app is not on the scene lifecycle that Capacitor 8.5+ and Xcode 27 expect; run npx cap migrate or follow capacitor-uiscene-migration.

Verification

# No CocoaPods leftovers
ls ios/App | grep -E 'Podfile|Pods|xcworkspace' && echo "LEFTOVERS" || echo "clean"
# CLI sees SPM and every plugin is included
npx cap sync ios 2>&1 | grep -Ei 'Package.swift|not compatible|built for Capacitor'
grep -c '.package(name:' ios/App/CapApp-SPM/Package.swift
# Plugin classes registered for runtime
node -e "console.log(require('./ios/App/App/capacitor.config.json').packageClassList)"
# Build without Xcode UI (project, not workspace)
xcodebuild -project ios/App/App.xcodeproj -scheme App -destination 'generic/platform=iOS Simulator' build

Also confirm in Xcode: CapApp-SPM linked to the App target, Debug uses debug.xcconfig, signing/bundle id/capabilities unchanged. On device, exercise each native plugin once (camera, push, purchases, etc.).

Commit ios/App/CapApp-SPM/ and ios/debug.xcconfig. Follow CapApp-SPM/.gitignore for Package.resolved (newer templates ignore it).

Error Handling

Load references/troubleshooting.md for the full table. Most common:

Message / symptom Fix
Capacitor project is already using SPM, exiting. CapApp-SPM/ already exists. Do manual repair, not the assistant.
CocoaPods is not installed. (assistant) Install CocoaPods temporarily or use the fresh scaffold path.
<id> does not have a Package.swift / Some installed Capacitor plugins are not compatible with SPM Upgrade, replace, or convert that plugin (step 2).
"X" plugin is not implemented on ios at runtime Plugin skipped from Package.swift, or packageClassList missing it. Fix the plugin, re-sync, clean build.
No such module 'Capacitor' / Missing package product 'CapApp-SPM' Local package not added/linked; redo manual step 1, then File -> Packages -> Reset Package Caches.
Debug-only features off (no WebView inspection, no debug logs) debug.xcconfig not set on Debug configuration.

Output Format

For planning, return: current state (Capacitor version, pods, plugins without SPM, customizations at risk), chosen path and why, ordered steps, remaining Xcode/device-only checks.