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iOS and macOS applications

You can build and test iOS and macOS applications using a macOS platform on Harness Cloud, a self-hosted macOS VM, or a local runner build infrastructure.

The examples in this guide use Xcode. You can also use Fastlane to build and test your iOS and macOS apps.

This guide assumes you've created a Harness CI pipeline. For more information about creating pipelines, go to:

tip

If you don't have a Harness account yet, you can create one for free at app.harness.io.

Specify architecture​

To use M1 machines with Harness Cloud, use the Arm64 architecture.

 stages:
    - stage:
        name: build
        identifier: build
        type: CI
        spec:
          cloneCodebase: true
          platform:
            os: MacOS ## selects macOS operating system
            arch: Arm64 ## selects M1 architecture
          runtime:
            type: Cloud
            spec: {}

If you need to use Intel-based architecture, Rosetta is pre-installed on Harness Cloud's M1 machines. If you need to use it, add the prefix arch -x86_64 to commands in your scripts. Keep in mind that running apps through Rosetta can impact performance. Use native Apple Silicon apps whenever possible to ensure optimal performance.

Install dependencies​

Use Run steps to install dependencies in the build environment.

Homebrew and Xcode are already installed on Harness Cloud macOS machines. For more information about preinstalled tools and libraries, go to the Harness Cloud image specifications.

              - step:
                  type: Run
                  identifier: dependencies_ruby_gems
                  name: dependencies-ruby-gems
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: |-
                      brew install fastlane

You can add package dependencies in your Xcode project and then run Xcode commands in Run steps to interact with your project's dependencies.

              - step:
                  type: Run
                  identifier: dependencies
                  name: Dependencies
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: |-
                      xcodebuild -resolvePackageDependencies

Cache dependencies​

Add caching to your stage.

Use Cache Intelligence by adding caching to your stage.spec.

    - stage:
        spec:
          caching:
            enabled: true
            paths:
              - /Users/anka/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData
          sharedPaths:
            - /Users/anka/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData

Build and run tests​

Add Run steps to run tests in Harness CI.

              - step:
                  type: Run
                  name: Test
                  identifier: test
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: |-
                      xcodebuild
                      xcodebuild test -scheme SampleApp

If you want to view test results in Harness, make sure your test commands produce reports in JUnit XML format and that your steps include the reports specification. The following example uses xcpretty to produce reports in JUnit XML format.

              - step:
                  type: Run
                  name: Test
                  identifier: test
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: |-
                      brew install xcpretty
              - step:
                  type: Run
                  name: Test
                  identifier: test
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: |-
                      xcodebuild
                      xcodebuild test -scheme SampleApp | xcpretty -r junit
                    reports:
                      type: JUnit
                      spec:
                        paths:
                          - "build/reports/junit.xml"

Specify version​

Xcode is pre-installed on Harness Cloud machines. For details about all available tools and versions, go to Platforms and image specifications.

Use xcode-select in a Run step to switch between pre-installed versions of Xcode.

              - step:
                  type: Run
                  name: set_xcode_version
                  identifier: set_xcode_version
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: |-
                      sudo xcode-select -switch /Applications/Xcode_13.4.1.app
                      xcodebuild -version

Deploy to the App Store​

The following examples use Fastlane in a Continuous Integration setup to deploy an app to the Apple App Store. The environment variables in these examples use secrets and expressions to store and recall sensitive values, such as FASTLANE_PASSWORD=<+secrets.getValue('fastlanepassword')>.

To learn more about app distribution, go to the Apple Developer documentation on Distribution.

              - step:
                  type: Run
                  name: Fastlane Build
                  identifier: Fastlane_Build
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: |-
                      export LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8
                      export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

                      export APP_ID="osx.hello-harness"
                      export APP_STORE_CONNECT_KEY_ID="FW...CV3"
                      export APP_STORE_CONNECT_ISSUER_ID="80...e54"
                      export APP_STORE_CONNECT_KEY_FILEPATH="/tmp/build_certificate.p12"

                      export FASTLANE_USER=sample@mail.com
                      export FASTLANE_PASSWORD=<+secrets.getValue('fastlanepassword')>
                      export BUILD_CERTIFICATE_BASE64=<+secrets.getValue('BUILD_CERTIFICATE_BASE64')>
                      export BUILD_PROVISION_PROFILE_BASE64=<+secrets.getValue('BUILD_PROVISION_PROFILE_BASE64')>
                      export P12_PASSWORD=<+secrets.getValue('certpassword')>
                      export KEYCHAIN_PASSWORD=admin
                      export FASTLANE_APPLE_APPLICATION_SPECIFIC_PASSWORD=<+secrets.getValue('fastlaneapppassword')>
                      export FASTLANE_SESSION='-..._at: *1\n'
                      export APP_STORE_CONNECT_KEY_BASE64=<+secrets.getValue('appstoreapikey')>

                      sudo xcode-select -switch /Applications/Xcode_14.1.0.app
                      cd hello-harness

                      CERTIFICATE_PATH=/tmp/build_certificate.p12
                      PP_PATH=/tmp/profile.mobileprovision
                      KEYCHAIN_PATH=/tmp/app-signing.keychain-db
                      KEY_FILE_PATH="/tmp/app_store_connect_key.p8"

                      echo "$BUILD_CERTIFICATE_BASE64" >> ce
                      base64 -i ce --decode > $CERTIFICATE_PATH

                      echo "$BUILD_PROVISION_PROFILE_BASE64" >> prof
                      base64 -i prof --decode > $PP_PATH

                      echo "$APP_STORE_CONNECT_KEY_BASE64" >> key_base64
                      base64 -i key_base64 --decode > $KEY_FILE_PATH
                      export APP_STORE_CONNECT_KEY_FILEPATH="$KEY_FILE_PATH"

                      security create-keychain -p "$KEYCHAIN_PASSWORD" $KEYCHAIN_PATH
                      security set-keychain-settings -lut 21600 $KEYCHAIN_PATH
                      security unlock-keychain -p "$KEYCHAIN_PASSWORD" $KEYCHAIN_PATH

                      security import $CERTIFICATE_PATH -P "$P12_PASSWORD" -A -t cert -f pkcs12 -k $KEYCHAIN_PATH
                      security list-keychain -d user -s $KEYCHAIN_PATH
                      mkdir -p ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles
                      cp $PP_PATH ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning\ Profiles

                      gem install bundler
                      bundle install

                      bundle exec fastlane beta
                      echo $ABC
                    envVariables:
                      ABC: samples
              - step:
                  type: Run
                  name: Run_2
                  identifier: Run_2
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: echo $ABC

Full pipeline examples​

The following pipeline examples install dependencies, cache dependencies, and build and test an Xcode project.

This pipeline uses Harness Cloud build infrastructure and Cache Intelligence.

If you copy this example, replace the placeholder values with appropriate values for your code repo connector, repository name, and other applicable values. Depending on your project and organization, you may also need to replace projectIdentifier and orgIdentifier.

pipeline:
  name: macostest
  identifier: macostest
  projectIdentifier: default
  orgIdentifier: default
  tags: {}
  stages:
    - stage:
        name: build
        identifier: build
        description: ""
        type: CI
        spec:
          cloneCodebase: true
          caching:
            enabled: true
            paths:
              - /Users/anka/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData
          sharedPaths:
            - /Users/anka/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData
          platform:
            os: MacOS
            arch: Arm64
          runtime:
            type: Cloud
            spec: {}
          execution:
            steps:
              - step:
                  type: Run
                  identifier: dependencies
                  name: dependencies
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: xcodebuild -resolvePackageDependencies
              - step:
                  type: Run
                  name: Run xcode
                  identifier: Run_xcode
                  spec:
                    shell: Sh
                    command: |-
                      xcodebuild
                      xcodebuild test -scheme SampleApp
  properties:
    ci:
      codebase:
        connectorRef: YOUR_CODE_REPO_CONNECTOR_ID
        repoName: YOUR_REPO_NAME
        build: <+input>

Next steps​

Now that you have created a pipeline that builds and tests an iOS/macOS app, you could: