Compiling for iOS

V can target iOS when run on macOS. The Xcode command line tools must be installed (xcode-select --install); V uses xcrun to locate the iOS SDK and configures the C compiler automatically.

To build for a real device (arm64):

v -os ios hello.v

To build for the iOS Simulator (x86_64 / arm64):

v -os ios -simulator hello.v

Under the hood, V invokes xcrun --sdk iphoneos --show-sdk-path (or iphonesimulator with -simulator), passes -isysroot and the appropriate -arch flags to clang, and adds -miphoneos-version-min / -miphonesimulator-version-min plus -fobjc-arc so that the generated C is compiled as Objective-C.

The output is a Mach-O executable — enough to run from a jailbroken device or via a debugger, but to deploy to a stock iPhone you also need to bundle the binary into an .app, code-sign it, and install it through Apple's tooling. A typical workflow:

# 1. Generate iOS-targeted C from V. The `-os ios` flag is required so
#    `$if ios { ... }` branches and iOS-specific files are included.
v -os ios -gc none -o build/main.c .

# 2. Compile for the device with Xcode's clang and link the frameworks
#    your app uses (UIKit, Foundation, AVFoundation, ...)
sdk="$(xcrun --sdk iphoneos --show-sdk-path)"
xcrun --sdk iphoneos clang \
    -x objective-c \
    -fobjc-arc \
    -arch arm64 \
    -isysroot "$sdk" \
    -miphoneos-version-min=15.0 \
    -framework Foundation \
    -framework UIKit \
    -lobjc \
    build/main.c \
    -o build/MyApp.app/MyApp

# 3. Drop an Info.plist next to the binary, then code-sign with your
#    development identity (see `security find-identity -v -p codesigning`)
codesign --force --sign "Apple Development: you@example.com (TEAMID)" \
    --entitlements entitlements.plist \
    build/MyApp.app

# 4. Install and launch on a connected device
udid="$(xcrun devicectl list devices | awk '/connected/ {print $NF; exit}')"
xcrun devicectl device install app    --device "$udid" build/MyApp.app
xcrun devicectl device process launch --device "$udid" com.example.myapp

The device must be unlocked, trusted, and have Developer Mode enabled (Settings → Privacy & Security → Developer Mode on iOS 16+). A free Apple ID added in Xcode → Settings → Accounts is sufficient for signing development builds.

Inside V code you can guard iOS-specific paths with $if ios { ... }, and add framework dependencies the same way you would with any Objective-C library, e.g.: