Of course if you do get the code signing / certificate generation working from the command line outside of XCode then you can install a certificate on your actual iPhone and test there (installing the app via iTunes w/your certificate). Using the alternative tool chain opens up (at least on the Mac) the possibility of using other IDEs other than XCode for developing the application and again resorting to XCode for the deployment and testing with the simulator. I'd suggest to still do the final build and code signing and packaging in XCode (which may mean borrowing someone's Mac) in case you run into problems when submitting the application to Apple. It's not impossible, but just requires additional work, especially for signing the code (there are open alternative solutions out there as well).Īlso, take a look at other guides (for the same tool chain) that approach it more methodically. Regarding the alternative tool chain, Saurik's site is useful but for latest firmware development he indicates building on the iPhone itself and stays clear of indicating that you may need to copy necessary iPhone firmware files to your Linux environment. Though, if that's what you need to do, I'm planning on jumping through their hoops I'd really like to get some stuff developed on my iPhone. I think it's rather elitist for them to think only macOS users are good enough to write programs for their phone, and the fact you need to buy a $100 license if you want to publish your stuff, really makes it more difficult for the hobbyist programmer. But in order to actually release software you've written, you must enroll in the iPhone Developer Program - a step separate from downloading the SDK, and one that requires Apple's approval. The SDK itself is a free download, with which you can write programs and run them on a software simulator. Code signing and nondisclosure conditions make free software a no-go. Obstacles regarding the SDK: The iPhone SDK and free software: not a matchĪpple's recently released a software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone, but if you were hoping to port or develop original open source software with it, the news isn't good. I really dislike what they are doing, and I hope a good SDK come out for other environments, such as Linux and Windows. I've been upset about that, but I'm looking into buying a mac now, just to do iPhone development. The only SDK available from Apple only targets the macOS environment.

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