kotlin-tooling-cocoapods-spm-migration

SKILL.md

CocoaPods to SwiftPM Migration for KMP

Migrate Kotlin Multiplatform projects from kotlin("native.cocoapods") to swiftPMDependencies {} DSL.

Requirements

Kotlin: 2.4.0-Beta2 or later (first public release with swiftPMDependencies support, available on Maven Central)

Xcode: 16.4 or 26.0+

iOS Deployment Target: 16.0+ recommended

Migration Overview

IMPORTANT: Keep the cocoapods {} block and plugin active until Phase 6. The migration adds swiftPMDependencies {} alongside the existing CocoaPods setup first, reconfigures Xcode, and only then removes CocoaPods.

Phase
Action

1
Analyze existing CocoaPods configuration

2
Update Gradle configuration (repos, Kotlin version)

3
Add swiftPMDependencies {} alongside existing cocoapods {}

4
Transform Kotlin imports

5
Reconfigure iOS project and deintegrate CocoaPods

6
Remove CocoaPods plugin from Gradle

7
Verify Gradle build and Xcode project build

8
Write MIGRATION_REPORT.md

Phase 1: Pre-Migration Analysis

1.0 Verify the project builds

Before starting migration, identify the module to migrate and confirm it compiles successfully.

Find the module that uses CocoaPods — look for build.gradle.kts files containing cocoapods:

grep -rl "cocoapods" --include="build.gradle.kts" .

Extract the module name from the path (e.g., ./shared/build.gradle.kts → module name is shared). Note: multiple modules may use CocoaPods — record all of them. Typically only the module that produces the framework linked into the iOS app needs swiftPMDependencies; the others only need CocoaPods removed (Phase 6).

Compile Kotlin code — run the Kotlin compilation task for that module to verify the Kotlin source compiles:

./gradlew :moduleName:compileKotlinIosSimulatorArm64

Replace moduleName with the directory name of the module (e.g., :shared:compileKotlinIosSimulatorArm64). This is faster than a full build (which also runs release linkage) and sufficient to verify Kotlin code correctness.

Build the iOS app (optional) — try to locate the Xcode project and build it to confirm the full app compiles:

# Find the Xcode project
find . -name "*.xcworkspace" -not -path "*/Pods/*" -maxdepth 2
# Build (replace scheme name with the actual app scheme)
cd /path/to/iosApp
xcodebuild -workspace *.xcworkspace -scheme "<AppScheme>" -destination 'generic/platform=iOS Simulator' ARCHS=arm64

If the user wants to skip the Xcode build or no Xcode project is found, proceed without it — the Kotlin compilation from step 2 is sufficient to continue.

If the Kotlin compilation fails, ask the user to either:

Provide the correct Gradle command to verify the module builds, or

Confirm the module is in a working state and it's safe to proceed

If the user confirms without providing a build command, record that the pre-migration build could not be verified and warn about this at the end of migration (Phase 7).

1.0a Confirm Kotlin version with Swift Import support

Read the current Kotlin version from gradle/libs.versions.toml (or build.gradle.kts).

If the project already uses Kotlin 2.4.0-Beta2 or later → record the version and skip Phase 2.1 (no version change needed).

If the project uses an older Kotlin version → Phase 2.1 will upgrade it to 2.4.0-Beta2 (the first public release with swiftPMDependencies support, available on Maven Central — no custom repository needed). Warn the user: "⚠️ Kotlin version jump — upgrading across minor versions can introduce breaking changes unrelated to this migration. Recommended: update first, verify it builds, then re-run this migration." If the user confirms, proceed.

1.1 Check for deprecated CocoaPods workaround property

Search gradle.properties for the deprecated property:

kotlin.apple.deprecated.allowUsingEmbedAndSignWithCocoaPodsDependencies=true

This property was a workaround (see KT-64096) for projects using embedAndSign alongside CocoaPods dependencies. It suppresses an error about unsupported configurations that can cause runtime crashes or symbol duplication. After migrating to SwiftPM import, this property is no longer needed and must be removed in Phase 6. Record its presence if found.

1.2 Check for EmbedAndSign disablers

Search all build.gradle.kts files for code that disables EmbedAndSign tasks (e.g., TaskGraph.whenReady filters, tasks.matching blocks). This is a CocoaPods-era workaround that breaks the migration because integrateEmbedAndSign (needed in Phase 5) gets disabled too. Record any such code — it must be removed in Phase 6, and may need to be removed earlier. See troubleshooting.md § "integrateEmbedAndSign Skipped" for patterns.

1.3 Check for third-party KMP libraries with bundled cinterop klibs

Some KMP libraries ship pre-built cinterop klibs with cocoapods.* package namespaces. After migration, the swiftPMDependencies cinterop generator detects these existing bindings and skips generating new bindings for those Clang modules to avoid duplicates. This means cocoapods.* imports for those modules must be kept as-is — they resolve to the third-party library's bundled klib, not to actual CocoaPods.

Known libraries with bundled cocoapods.* klibs:

Library
Maven artifact
Bundled klib namespace
Classes provided

KMPNotifier
io.github.mirzemehdi:kmpnotifier
cocoapods.FirebaseMessaging
FIRMessaging, FIRMessagingAPNSTokenType, etc.

How to detect: Search Gradle dependency declarations for known libraries, then cross-reference their bundled namespaces against the import cocoapods.* statements found in step 4. Mark any matches — these imports will NOT be transformed in Phase 4.

If unsure whether a third-party KMP library bundles cinterop klibs, check if it has a linkOnly = true pod dependency in the project — this is a strong indicator that the library provides its own klib for those classes.

To inspect klib contents and verify bundled bindings, see troubleshooting.md § "Third-Party KMP Libraries with Bundled Klibs".

Find and record:

CocoaPods configuration - Search for cocoapods in build.gradle.kts files

Pod dependencies - Extract pod names, versions from cocoapods {} blocks

Framework configuration - Record baseName, isStatic, deployment target from cocoapods.framework {}

linkOnly pods - Record pods declared with linkOnly = true. These have two common patterns:

KMP wrapper libraries (e.g., dev.gitlive:firebase-*): the wrapper provides Kotlin APIs, and the pod is only linked. See common-pods-mapping.md for implications.

Multi-module projects: the consuming module declares linkOnly = true because a child module already provides cinterop bindings for that pod. In SwiftPM, the swiftPackage() declaration should go only in the child module that uses the pod directly. The consuming module must NOT redeclare the same packages — it only needs a swiftPMDependencies {} block without those packages (or an empty one if all pods were linkOnly). Import namespace implication: when the consuming module imports SPM classes that come from a child module's swiftPMDependencies, the import path uses the child module's group and name as the namespace (see Phase 4 Import Namespace Formula).

Kotlin imports - Find all import cocoapods.* statements. Cross-reference with step 1.3 to identify which imports come from bundled klibs (and must be preserved) vs. which come from direct pod cinterop (and must be transformed).

Map pods to SPM - See common-pods-mapping.md

Locate iOS project directory - Find the directory containing Podfile and .xcworkspace:
find . -name "Podfile" -type f

Record this path (e.g., iosApp/, ios/, or project root) - needed for Phase 5

Check for non-KMP CocoaPods - Determine if the project uses CocoaPods for dependencies other than KMP. This affects cleanup strategy in Phase 5.

Cross-reference Podfile against cocoapods {} block - Parse the Podfile and compare its pod entries with the pods declared in the Gradle cocoapods {} block. Record any dependencies that exist in the Podfile but are not listed in cocoapods {}. These Podfile-only dependencies still linked into the app via CocoaPods and must be migrated to swiftPMDependencies — dropping them silently causes obscure linkage errors at runtime.

Check Xcode build phases - Open the .xcodeproj's project.pbxproj and search for the Gradle build phase script. Check if embedAndSignAppleFrameworkForXcode is present but commented out (prefixed with #). If commented out, it must be uncommented during Phase 5 — the integrateEmbedAndSign task may or may not handle this automatically.

Check for existing Crashlytics dSYM upload script - If using FirebaseCrashlytics, search project.pbxproj for a dSYM upload shell script phase. Record its current path (CocoaPods-era scripts reference ${PODS_ROOT}/FirebaseCrashlytics/upload-symbols). This must be updated to the SPM path in Phase 5.

Identify CocoaPods-related extras in build scripts - Search all build.gradle.kts files for CocoaPods workarounds beyond the standard cocoapods {} block (custom tasks hooking into podInstall, Pods.xcodeproj patching, podspec metadata, extraSpecAttributes, noPodspec(), etc.). See cocoapods-extras-patterns.md for the full pattern list. Record all findings — these will be handled in Phase 6.

Phase 2: Gradle Configuration

Important scope note: Do NOT upgrade the Gradle wrapper version, update KSP, or update any other dependencies during this migration. Those are separate concerns and out of scope. Only change what is listed below.

2.1 Update Kotlin version

Skip this step if the project already uses Kotlin 2.4.0-Beta2 or later (recorded in Phase 1.0a).

Update to 2.4.0-Beta2 (or the latest available release with Swift Import support) in gradle/libs.versions.toml:

[versions]
kotlin = "2.4.0-Beta2"

2.4.0-Beta2 is available on Maven Central — no custom repository is needed.

Phase 3: Add swiftPMDependencies (Keep CocoaPods)

Do NOT remove the cocoapods {} block or kotlin("native.cocoapods") plugin yet. Add swiftPMDependencies {} alongside the existing CocoaPods configuration.

3.1 Add group property

group = "org.example.myproject"  // Required for import namespace

Compose Resources warning: If the project uses Compose Multiplatform resources (org.jetbrains.compose plugin or compose.resources), the group property is also used as the namespace for generated resource accessors (e.g., Res.string.*, Res.drawable.*). If group already exists in build.gradle.kts, do not change it. If you are adding group for the first time, warn the user that existing Compose resource accessor call sites throughout the project will change namespace and may need updating.

3.2 Add swiftPMDependencies block alongside cocoapods

For each pod dependency, add the equivalent SwiftPM package declaration. Use common-pods-mapping.md to map each pod to its SPM package URL, product name, and importedClangModules.

Version preservation: Do NOT bump dependency versions during migration. Use the exact same version that was specified in the cocoapods {} block. Changing versions can resolve to different library builds that break cinterop APIs (removed symbols, changed signatures) and introduce issues unrelated to the migration itself.

CocoaPods version spec
SPM equivalent
Example

version = "1.2.3" (exact)
version = "1.2.3" (simple) or exact("1.2.3") (typed)
pod("GoogleMaps") { version = "10.3.0" } → version = "10.3.0"

version = "~> 1.2" (optimistic)
version = "1.2.0" (simple) or from("1.2.0") (typed)
pod("FirebaseAuth") { version = "~> 12.5" } → version = "12.5.0"

No version specified
Ask user which version to pin
Ask the user which version to use

Two API forms: The DSL has a simple string API and a typed API. Use the simple string API for most packages:

swiftPackage(url = "https://github.com/owner/repo.git", version = "1.0.0", products = listOf("ProductName"))

The simple API auto-defaults importedClangModules to the products list. Use the typed API (with url(), exact(), product() wrappers) only when you need exact version pinning, platform constraints, or explicit Clang module control. See dsl-reference.md for the typed API.

Key concepts: products = SPM product names (controls linking). importedClangModules = Clang module names for cinterop bindings (only when discoverClangModulesImplicitly = false). discoverClangModulesImplicitly defaults to true (bindings for all Clang modules); set false when transitive C/C++ modules fail cinterop (Firebase, gRPC), then list needed modules explicitly.

Important: SPM product names and Clang module names don't always match. Always consult common-pods-mapping.md for correct values.

Podfile-only dependencies: If Phase 1 step 9 identified dependencies that exist in the Podfile but not in the Gradle cocoapods {} block, these must also be added to swiftPMDependencies as products entries. Even though the KMP module didn't declare them, they were linked into the app by CocoaPods and may be required for the app to build. Look up each Podfile-only pod's SPM package URL and add it as a swiftPackage() with at least its products. If any of these pods were used via cinterop (check for import cocoapods.* statements referencing them), also add importedClangModules.

Do not mix the same library suite across CocoaPods and SPM. Libraries that share a common repository (e.g., all Firebase products) share transitive dependencies. Having some products linked via CocoaPods and others via SPM causes duplicate/conflicting symbols and dyld crashes at runtime. When migrating such a suite, move all pods from that suite to SPM at once — including Swift-only pods that Kotlin doesn't use directly. Add Swift-only pods as products entries (no importedClangModules needed). After adding new products, re-run integrateLinkagePackage to regenerate the linkage Swift package.

kotlin {
    // Keep existing targets
    iosArm64()
    iosSimulatorArm64()
    iosX64()

    swiftPMDependencies {
        iosMinimumDeploymentTarget = "16.0"

        swiftPackage(
            url = "https://github.com/owner/repo.git",
            version = "1.0.0",
            products = listOf("ProductName"),
        )
    }

    cocoapods {
        // ... keep existing cocoapods block for now
    }
}

3.3 Move framework configuration out of cocoapods block

If the cocoapods block contains a framework {} configuration, move it to the binaries API on each target. isStatic = true is recommended — dynamic frameworks have known edge cases with SwiftPM import that can cause linker errors, dyld crashes, or duplicate class warnings:

listOf(iosArm64(), iosSimulatorArm64(), iosX64()).forEach { iosTarget ->
    iosTarget.binaries.framework { baseName = "Shared"; isStatic = true }
}

If the cocoapods.framework {} block contained export(project(...)) or transitiveExport = true, preserve these in the new binaries.framework {} block — they are essential for multi-module projects where the framework exports child modules.

3.4 Handle dev.gitlive/firebase-kotlin-sdk and similar CocoaPods-era KMP wrappers

If the project uses dev.gitlive:firebase-* or similar KMP wrapper libraries, two additional steps are required:

A. Switch to isStatic = true — dynamic frameworks + Firebase SPM = runtime dyld crash. After switching: re-run integrateLinkagePackage, remove any "Embed Frameworks" copy phase, move linker flags to OTHER_LDFLAGS.

B. Add framework search paths — add conditional -F linkerOpts in build.gradle.kts and matching FRAMEWORK_SEARCH_PATHS in the Xcode project.

See common-pods-mapping.md § dev.gitlive and troubleshooting.md for code snippets and the full product list.

3.5 Add opt-in annotations

The swiftPackage() and localSwiftPackage() DSL functions are annotated with @ExperimentalKotlinGradlePluginApi. Add this opt-in to suppress the compiler warning:

@file:OptIn(org.jetbrains.kotlin.gradle.ExperimentalKotlinGradlePluginApi::class)

Place this at the top of each build.gradle.kts file that calls swiftPackage() or localSwiftPackage().

Also add the cinterop opt-in for Kotlin source files:

kotlin.compilerOptions {
    optIn.add("kotlinx.cinterop.ExperimentalForeignApi")
}

For full DSL reference, see dsl-reference.md.

Phase 4: Kotlin Source Updates

Import Namespace Formula

swiftPMImport.<group>.<module>.<ClassName>

Where:
- group: build.gradle.kts `group` property of the MODULE THAT DECLARES the swiftPMDependencies, dashes (-) → dots (.)
- module: Gradle module name of the MODULE THAT DECLARES the swiftPMDependencies, dashes (-) → dots (.), underscores (_) preserved as-is
- ClassName: Objective-C class name (FIR* for Firebase, GMS* for Google Maps)

The namespace uses the declaring module's group+name, not the importing module's. This is the most common mistake agents make. When module A depends on module B, and module B declares swiftPMDependencies, module A imports SPM classes using module B's group and module name — NOT module A's.

Example Transformation — Single Module

// group = "org.jetbrains.kotlin.firebase.sample", module = "kotlin-library"

// BEFORE:
import cocoapods.FirebaseAnalytics.FIRAnalytics

// AFTER:
import swiftPMImport.org.jetbrains.kotlin.firebase.sample.kotlin.library.FIRAnalytics

Example Transformation — Multi-Module (linkOnly pods)

When a consuming module had pod("GoogleMaps") { linkOnly = true } because a child module provides the cinterop bindings:

// composeApp/App.kt — composeApp depends on :google-maps Gradle module
// google-maps has group = "org.jetbrains.kotlin.google-maps", module name = "google-maps"
// google-maps declares swiftPMDependencies with GoogleMaps

// BEFORE (in composeApp):
import cocoapods.GoogleMaps.GMSServices

// AFTER — uses google-maps module's namespace, NOT composeApp's namespace:
import swiftPMImport.org.jetbrains.kotlin.google.maps.google.maps.GMSServices
//                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
//                    google-maps's group (dashes→dots)  google-maps's module name (dashes→dots)

The import path does NOT use composeApp's group (org.jetbrains.kotlin.compose.sample). It uses the declaring module's identity because that's where the cinterop bindings are generated.

Import flattening: The Clang module name (e.g., FirebaseFirestoreInternal, FirebaseAuth) disappears from the import path — all classes are flattened under the same swiftPMImport.<group>.<module> prefix regardless of which library they come from. For example, both cocoapods.FirebaseAuth.FIRAuth and cocoapods.FirebaseFirestoreInternal.FIRFirestore become swiftPMImport.<group>.<module>.FIRAuth and swiftPMImport.<group>.<module>.FIRFirestore.

Preserving Bundled Klib Imports

CRITICAL: Do NOT replace cocoapods.* imports that resolve to third-party KMP libraries' bundled cinterop klibs (identified in Phase 1 step 1.3). These imports must remain as-is — the cocoapods prefix is the package namespace in the library's published klib, not an actual CocoaPods dependency. The swiftPMDependencies cinterop generator skips modules already provided by a dependency's klib, so swiftPMImport.* for those classes will fail with "Unresolved reference".

Example (project using KMPNotifier):

// KEEP — resolves to kmpnotifier's bundled cinterop klib
import cocoapods.FirebaseMessaging.FIRMessaging

Bulk Replacement

Use a regex find-and-replace across all Kotlin source files, excluding imports identified in Phase 1 step 1.3. In multi-module projects, run the replacement separately for each module using that module's group and name:

Find:    cocoapods\.\w+\.
Replace: swiftPMImport.<declaring.module.group>.<declaring.module.name>.

After bulk replacement, manually restore any cocoapods.* imports that should be preserved (from bundled klibs).

Finding correct import path: Run ./gradlew :moduleName:compileKotlinIosSimulatorArm64 - errors show available classes.

Phase 5: iOS Project Reconfiguration

5.1 Get migration command

Build the CocoaPods workspace to obtain the migration command:

cd /path/to/iosApp

xcodebuild -scheme "$(echo -n *.xcworkspace | python3 -c 'import sys, json; from subprocess import check_output; print(list(set(json.loads(check_output(["xcodebuild", "-workspace", sys.stdin.readline(), "-list", "-json"]))["workspace"]["schemes"]) - set(json.loads(check_output(["xcodebuild", "-project", "Pods/Pods.xcodeproj", "-list", "-json"]))["project"]["schemes"]))[0])')" -workspace *.xcworkspace -destination 'generic/platform=iOS Simulator' ARCHS=arm64 | grep -A5 'What went wrong'

The build output will contain a command like:

XCODEPROJ_PATH='/path/to/project/iosApp.xcodeproj' GRADLE_PROJECT_PATH=':shared' '/path/to/project/gradlew' -p '/path/to/project' ':shared:integrateEmbedAndSign' ':shared:integrateLinkagePackage'

Run this command. It modifies the .xcodeproj to trigger embedAndSignAppleFrameworkForXcode during the build. integrateLinkagePackage is a one-time setup — it does not need to be added as a build phase. If integrateEmbedAndSign is skipped, check for EmbedAndSign disablers (Phase 1 step 1.2) — remove them first, then re-run.

Verify embedAndSignAppleFrameworkForXcode is active: After running integration, check the build phase script in project.pbxproj. If embedAndSignAppleFrameworkForXcode is commented out (prefixed with #), uncomment it.

The integrateLinkagePackage task generates KotlinMultiplatformLinkedPackage/ at <iosDir>/ — a local Swift package that mirrors your products list and ensures SPM libraries are linked into the final binary.

After running the integration tasks, disable User Script Sandboxing (ENABLE_USER_SCRIPT_SANDBOXING = NO) in the .xcodeproj. Xcode 16+ enables it by default, which prevents the Gradle build phase from writing to the project directory:

sed -i '' 's/ENABLE_USER_SCRIPT_SANDBOXING = YES/ENABLE_USER_SCRIPT_SANDBOXING = NO/g' "$XCODEPROJ_PATH/project.pbxproj"

If the setting is absent (Xcode defaults to YES), add ENABLE_USER_SCRIPT_SANDBOXING = NO; to the app target's buildSettings sections. Then restart the Gradle daemon: ./gradlew --stop

Alternative (if xcodebuild approach fails): See troubleshooting.md § "Manual Integration Command Discovery" for a fallback script to discover paths and run integration tasks directly.

5.2 Update Crashlytics dSYM upload script (if applicable)

If the project uses FirebaseCrashlytics and has a dSYM upload run script phase (identified in Phase 1 step 11), update the script path from ${PODS_ROOT}/FirebaseCrashlytics/upload-symbols to "${BUILD_DIR%/Build/*}/SourcePackages/checkouts/firebase-ios-sdk/Crashlytics/run". See troubleshooting.md § "Firebase Crashlytics: dSYM Upload Script" and common-pods-mapping.md for the full script and input files list.

5.3 Deintegrate CocoaPods

Option A: Full deintegration (if CocoaPods was used ONLY for KMP dependencies):

Before deleting files, run git status --short and verify the paths. If unsure, move files to a backup location instead of deleting immediately.

cd /path/to/iosApp
pod deintegrate
rm -rf Podfile Podfile.lock Pods/
# Remove the workspace that matches your app xcodeproj name
XCODEPROJ_NAME=$(basename "$(find . -maxdepth 1 -name "*.xcodeproj" -type d | grep -v Pods | head -1)" .xcodeproj)
rm -rf "${XCODEPROJ_NAME}.xcworkspace"
# Return to project root
cd ..
# Remove the migrated module podspec only (for example, shared.podspec)
# If unknown, list candidates and remove the matching one explicitly:
ls -1 *.podspec
# rm -f shared.podspec

This cleanup snippet is self-contained and does not assume XCODEPROJ_PATH or GRADLE_PROJECT_PATH from the earlier one-off migration command are still available in your shell.

If pod deintegrate is not available, see troubleshooting.md § "Manual CocoaPods Deintegration from pbxproj" for the full list of references to remove. Also remove Pods/ from .gitignore and delete the .xcworkspace directory.

Option B: Partial removal (if other non-KMP CocoaPods dependencies remain):

Remove only the KMP pod line from the Podfile and re-run pod install:

target 'iosApp' do
  # Remove this line:
  pod 'shared', :path => '../shared'
  # Keep other non-KMP pods
end

cd /path/to/iosApp && pod install

Tip: Consider migrating remaining pods to SPM too — most popular iOS libraries support it natively. Add them in Xcode via File → Add Package Dependencies, then fully deintegrate CocoaPods once all pods are replaced.

5.4 Manual integration (if automatic fails)

See troubleshooting.md § "Manual Xcode Integration Steps" for the 5-step manual setup (build phase, sandboxing, linkage package).

Phase 6: Remove CocoaPods from Gradle

Now that the iOS project is reconfigured, remove the CocoaPods plugin and block from all modules that used it (not just the primary one):

6.1 Remove CocoaPods plugin

Remove kotlin("native.cocoapods") or alias(libs.plugins.kotlinCocoapods) from plugins {} in every module that used it:

plugins {
    // REMOVE: kotlin("native.cocoapods")  or  alias(libs.plugins.kotlinCocoapods)
    alias(libs.plugins.kotlinMultiplatform)  // Keep
}

If all modules have been migrated, also remove the kotlinCocoapods plugin entry from gradle/libs.versions.toml:

[plugins]
# REMOVE: kotlinCocoapods = { id = "org.jetbrains.kotlin.native.cocoapods", version.ref = "kotlin" }

6.2 Remove cocoapods block

Delete the entire cocoapods { ... } block from build.gradle.kts. The swiftPMDependencies {} block and binaries.framework {} configuration added in Phase 3 replace it. Also delete any generated .podspec files from the module directory (e.g., shared/shared.podspec) — these were generated by the CocoaPods plugin and are no longer needed.

6.3 Remove deprecated gradle.properties entries

If found in Phase 1.1, remove from gradle.properties:

# REMOVE — no longer needed after migrating away from CocoaPods (KT-64096)
kotlin.apple.deprecated.allowUsingEmbedAndSignWithCocoaPodsDependencies=true

6.4 Clean up CocoaPods-related extras

Review the extras identified in Phase 1 step 12. Podspec metadata, noPodspec(), CocoaPods task hooks, and Pods.xcodeproj patching code are safe to remove without user consultation. Non-standard pod configurations (extraOpts, moduleName), custom cinterop defFile setups, and CocoaPods-specific compiler/linker flags require analysis — consult the user if unsure whether SPM handles them automatically.

See cocoapods-extras-patterns.md for the full categorized list with examples.

Phase 7: Verification

Do NOT stop until the application builds successfully. This phase is iterative — if any step fails, diagnose the error, fix it (consulting troubleshooting.md and re-checking Phases 2–6), and re-run the failing step. Repeat until the build succeeds or the issue is clearly outside the migration scope (pre-existing bug, unrelated tooling problem). Do NOT write the migration report (Phase 8) until the build succeeds.

7.1 Compile Kotlin code

Compile the migrated module to verify Kotlin sources are correct:

./gradlew :moduleName:compileKotlinIosSimulatorArm64

If compilation fails with unresolved references, check import transformations (Phase 4) and SwiftPM dependency declarations (Phase 3.2). Common causes: missing importedClangModules, wrong Clang module names, preserved bundled klib imports that should have been transformed (or vice versa).

7.2 Link framework

./gradlew :moduleName:linkDebugFrameworkIosSimulatorArm64

If linking fails, check that all required SPM products are declared and that version constraints resolve correctly. Linking errors about missing symbols often indicate a product was omitted from swiftPMDependencies or a version mismatch caused API removal.

7.3 Build iOS/macOS Xcode project

After the Gradle steps succeed, build the Xcode project to verify the full application compiles. Use -project *.xcodeproj if all CocoaPods were removed (Option A), or -workspace *.xcworkspace if non-KMP CocoaPods remain (Option B):

cd /path/to/iosApp
# Discover schemes and build (replace -project/-workspace as needed; for macOS use -destination 'platform=macOS'):
xcodebuild -project *.xcodeproj -list -json 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "import sys,json; schemes=json.load(sys.stdin)['project']['schemes']; [print(s) for s in schemes]"
xcodebuild -project *.xcodeproj -scheme "<AppScheme>" -destination 'generic/platform=iOS Simulator' ARCHS=arm64 build

If checkSandboxAndWriteProtection fails — sandboxing was not disabled in Phase 5.1. Go back and apply the sandboxing fix from Phase 5.1, then retry.

If the pre-migration build was not verified (Phase 1.0 fallback was used), warn the user:

Note: The pre-migration build could not be fully verified. If build errors appear now, some may be pre-existing issues unrelated to the migration. Compare errors against the pre-migration build output to distinguish migration issues from prior problems.

If the build fails

Do NOT revert the migration. Read the error log, re-check Phases 2-6, and consult troubleshooting.md. If unsure, present options to the user — do not silently undo migration work. Fix the issue and re-run the failing verification step. Keep iterating until the build succeeds.

Phase 8: Migration Report

After the build succeeds, write a comprehensive MIGRATION_REPORT.md in the project root. Use the template in migration-report-template.md.

The report must include:

Pre-Migration State — CocoaPods dependencies (name, version, linkOnly), framework config, cocoapods.* imports, non-KMP pods, atypical configuration

Migration Steps — exact changes per phase with before/after snippets for non-trivial changes

Import Transformations — table of every import change, clearly marking preserved cocoapods.* imports and which bundled klib provides them

Errors Encountered — structured Error #N entries: phase, exact symptom, root cause, fix, generalizable flag

Non-Trivial Decisions — isStatic changes, preserved imports, framework search paths, trade-offs

Files Changed — complete list grouped by type (Gradle, Kotlin, Xcode, created, deleted)

Additional Resources

DSL Reference - Full swiftPMDependencies syntax

Common Pods Mapping - Pod to SPM mapping table

CocoaPods Extras Patterns - Detection and cleanup patterns for CocoaPods workarounds

Troubleshooting - Issues, solutions, rollback

Migration Report Template - Post-migration report template