[HN Gopher] Build iOS Apps on Linux and Windows
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Build iOS Apps on Linux and Windows
Author : plurby
Score : 161 points
Date : 2025-05-11 08:10 UTC (14 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (forums.swift.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (forums.swift.org)
| andrewrn wrote:
| Woah this is very exciting if true! I love Linux and my framework
| laptop, but have wanted to make simple iOS apps.
|
| That being said, PWA's are damn capable at this point for basic
| little apps. I wish more laypeople were aware of the ability to
| "install" PWA's. Most non-tech people only think apps come from
| the iOS App Store.
| Obscurity4340 wrote:
| Are PWA's subject to Safari's data collection policies or is it
| different?
| pjmlp wrote:
| Why bothering collecting on the client, when we can collect
| everything on the server?
| gman83 wrote:
| FYI, I've been making iOS apps on Linux for a while now, I just
| use CodeMagic to do the build step - https://codemagic.io/
| weird_trousers wrote:
| Awesome! I hope Apple will not get the lawyers out for this
| project (especially for licensing issues)... but this is
| promising for the future!
| walterbell wrote:
| It should be usable in Asahi Linux on Mac hardware.
| notpushkin wrote:
| Not a practical suggestion, but would it be feasible to run
| xtool on jailbroken iOS devices? (I mean, those are
| definitely Apple-branded!)
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| I doubt it, as it's being announced on Swift.org.
| notpushkin wrote:
| In a forum post - it's not an official announcement. But
| since it hasn't been taken down yet I guess there is hope?
| justanotheratom wrote:
| Note: you can also use it to replace Xcode on macOS for building
| iOS software!
|
| Also, there is an MCP Server to bypass Xcode from Cursor:
| https://github.com/cameroncooke/XcodeBuildMCP
| preisschild wrote:
| AFAIK the Apple EULA, which you have to agree to before uploading
| Apps to the App store, requires that you have built the software
| on Apple Hardware.
|
| IANAL, but if I understand correctly that means, the only
| conformant way to build on linux would be to you install linux on
| the Apple hardware.
| bitwize wrote:
| With antitrust regulators (including, to a certain extent, the
| relatively feckless ones in the USA) breathing down Apple and
| Google's necks, they might not be able to get away with
| enforcing that rule for long.
| detourdog wrote:
| It may use Secure Enclave.
| wmlive wrote:
| The GNUstep project offers a similar tool:
|
| https://github.com/gnustep/libs-xcode
| behnamoh wrote:
| Why does Apple behave like there are no other operating systems
| or devices in the world? for a long time, even in their keynotes
| they would compare the new iphones with the last year model, not
| the flagship androids. and their standards mostly work for
| themselves, not the rest of the world. for example, most
| keybindings in Pages are totally different than Word and the rest
| of the text editing apps (CMD-E is supposed to center things but
| it doesn't). they created a language (Swift) and kept it closed
| source for a long time, and then didn't extend support to other
| OS's. presumably they do this so devs who wanna make iOS apps
| _have to_ purchase Macs, but quite honestly this is just lazy
| corporate shenanigans. There are far more important reasons to
| buy a Mac, and anyone who uses Linux isn 't suddenly going to
| convert to macOS just so they can build iOS apps (they probably
| have more fundamental issues with non-FOSS software anyway).
| LoganDark wrote:
| > Why does Apple behave like there are no other operating
| systems or devices in the world?
|
| Because Apple doesn't care. Or, to be more accurate, Apple
| didn't care while Steve Jobs was still alive. They never cared
| what the rest of the world was doing - their mission had always
| been to build the entire user experience from scratch. The
| software, hardware, everything. Because in their eyes (or at
| least in Jobs' eyes) the rest of the world was doing it all
| wrong.
|
| Ever since Steve Jobs died, the company he built has been
| slowly taken over by the wrong kinds of people. Apple
| Intelligence, for example, is not driven by _any_ of the
| philosophy that Jobs would have used. And Apple software
| updates have been slowly declining in quality ever since his
| death.
|
| My total speculation was that Steve Jobs was autistic and Apple
| was sort of an autistic revolution. I don't know what Tim Cook
| is, but he's no Steve Jobs. Apple is slowly devolving into the
| sort of thinking that is not different and that is a real
| shame.
| detourdog wrote:
| They are unique because they own they whole widget and provide
| a whole widget experience. They aren't worried about the
| fractional widget market.
| DownrightNifty wrote:
| Mega cool!
|
| We should all be taking full advantage of the amazing
| capabilities of the pocket supercomputers we all carry around
| with us at all times (even if the companies who make them don't
| want us to or don't care about us). Anything less would be silly!
| Now Linux and Windows users (the majority of iPhone users) can do
| easily do so, and that's great.
|
| To install your own personal homebrew apps without Apple's
| approval, use AltStore (Windows) or SideStore (Linux):
|
| https://faq.altstore.io/altstore-classic/how-to-install-alts...
|
| https://docs.sidestore.io/docs/installation/linux
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(page generated 2025-05-11 23:01 UTC)