How to add a reference (instead of copy) of a custom iOS framework in a project

Question

I try to add a custom made framework in a project of me but as a reference.

The reason for this is that I want making changes in the framework and see them in the project without need of delete old framework - copy new one.

But something i am missing since i got the below error

No such module

The way I add the framework as a reference is to "untick" the "copy if needed" when I drag and drop it.

I am adding the framework inside the "frameworks" folder of the project.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Answer 1

You should be linking external libraries in the menu by going to the Target’s “Build Phases” and add the library with “link binary with libraries”. This should fix your problem.

An alternative suggestion is to use CocoaPods, which are very widely used in iOS development. If you aren't familiar with Cocoapods, its sort of like web development's npm. You turn your custom framework into a Pod and add a Podfile to your iOS app. The Podfile is just a list of external dependencies. If you push a change to your custom framework, all you have to do is run

pod update

in your command line it will automatically handle the update. This would solve your problem and also keeps your project neat and organized so you don't have to juggle drag and dropping new libraries. CocoaPods also can handle a lot of the other major external libraries you may be using. See the following very easy to follow tutorials: creating a pod, getting started with cocoapods