Missing support for XCODE_EMBED_APPCLIP and XCODE_EMBED_WATCHAPP in CMake for iOS projects

Code
1

We’re building a complex iOS app that includes:

  • a main app
  • an App Clip
  • a watchOS app
  • a widget extension
  • a notification service extension

We’re using CMake to generate our Xcode project, and we’ve noticed:

  • XCODE_EMBED_PLUGINS works fine for embedding the Watch App
  • XCODE_EMBED_EXTENSIONKIT_EXTENSIONS works for embedding the App Clip
  • The widget and notification service embed correctly without issues

However, Xcode expects specific PBXCopyFilesBuildPhase sections for embedding App Clips and Watch apps that are currently not generated by CMake:

xcodeproj

/* Embed Watch Content */ = {
    isa = PBXCopyFilesBuildPhase;
    dstPath = "$(CONTENTS_FOLDER_PATH)/Watch";
    dstSubfolderSpec = 16;
    ...
    name = "Embed Watch Content";
};

 /* Embed App Clips */ = {
    isa = PBXCopyFilesBuildPhase;
    dstPath = "$(CONTENTS_FOLDER_PATH)/AppClips";
    dstSubfolderSpec = 16;
    ...
    name = "Embed App Clips";
};

Currently, we workaround this by:

  • Using XCODE_EMBED_PLUGINS and XCODE_EMBED_EXTENSIONKIT_EXTENSIONS
  • Then post-processing the .pbxproj file with a Python script to patch the dstPath, dstSubfolderSpec, and name fields.

:wrench: Example CMake:

cmake

CopierModifier

set_target_properties(${PROJECT_NAME} PROPERTIES
    XCODE_EMBED_APP_EXTENSIONS "${ALL_APP_EXTENSIONS}"
    XCODE_EMBED_APP_EXTENSION_CODE_SIGN_ON_COPY "YES"
)

set_target_properties(${PROJECT_NAME} PROPERTIES
    XCODE_EMBED_PLUGINS "${WATCH_APP_NAME}"
)

set_target_properties(${PROJECT_NAME} PROPERTIES
    XCODE_EMBED_EXTENSIONKIT_EXTENSIONS "${APPCLIP_NAME}"
)

:folded_hands: Request:

Please consider adding official support for:

  • XCODE_EMBED_APPCLIP
  • XCODE_EMBED_WATCHAPP

That would generate the correct PBXCopyFilesBuildPhase blocks directly, without requiring post-processing. It would bring the generated project in line with what Xcode produces when setting up these targets manually.

Thanks!