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Bazel configs

The way your project is generated, and the way Bazel builds it inside of Xcode, can be customized with configs in .bazelrc files.

rules_xcodeproj

The rules_xcodeproj config is used when building the project inside of Xcode. It’s also inherited by all of the other rules_xcodeproj_* configs.

Warning

Build affecting flags need to be the same between all rules_xcodeproj{_*} configs, so it’s usually better to adjust this config (rules_xcodeproj) over the other ones, unless you actually need to target them specifically.

rules_xcodeproj_generator

The rules_xcodeproj_generator config is used when generating the project (i.e. when you run bazel run //:xcodeproj).

The types of things you might want to adjust on this config are non-build affecting, like adjusting build log output.

rules_xcodeproj_indexbuild

The rules_xcodeproj_indexbuild config is used when Xcode performs an Index Build (also known as “Prepare for Indexing”), where it builds the project in the background to a separate output directory, to ensure that it has the required artifacts to perform per-file indexing based compiles.

Since Index Build runs in the background quite frequently, sometimes once per target in the project, and then once per saving of a file, the types of things you might want to adjust on this config are probably log output or telemetry related (and the default config disables BES upload for this reason). For example, if you set --profile globally or on the rules_xcodeproj config, you will want to set --profile= (clearing the value) on rules_xcodeproj_indexbuild to prevent Index Builds from overwriting the profile:

build:rules_xcodeproj --profile=/tmp/profile.gz
build:rules_xcodeproj_indexbuild --profile=

rules_xcodeproj_swiftuipreviews

The rules_xcodeproj_swiftuipreviews config is used when Xcode performs a SwiftUI Preview build.

You shouldn’t need to adjust this config. The default config applies the needed build adjusting flags.

Project-level configs

Each xcodeproj can specify a set of configs which inherit from the rules_xcodeproj family of configs. You can specify the base config with the config attribute. For example, if you set config = "projectx_xcodeproj", then the projectx_xcodeproj, projectx_xcodeproj_generator, projectx_xcodeproj_indexbuild, and projectx_xcodeproj_swiftuipreviews configs are available to adjust, and they all inherit from their respective rules_xcodeproj{_*} configs.

Using this feature adds a layer of indirection, and should only be used if you have project-specific configurations you need to apply.

Extra config flags

Finally, there is one last way to adjust the Bazel configs, through the use of the --@rules_xcodeproj//xcodeproj:extra_*_flags family of build flags. These flags apply changes to the configs after all other sources, and work when calling bazel run to generate the project. If using project-level configs, these flags adjust those instead of the base configs.

  • extra_common_flags: Applied to the parent config (i.e. rules_xcodeproj)
  • extra_generator_flags: Applied to the generator config (i.e. rules_xcodeproj_generator)
  • extra_indexbuild_flags: Applied to the Index Build config (i.e. rules_xcodeproj_indexbuild)
  • extra_swiftuipreviews_flags: Applied to the Xcode Previews build config (i.e. rules_xcodeproj_swiftuipreviews)

.bazelrc files

Project xcodeproj.bazelrc

A project xcodeproj.bazelrc file is loaded before the workspace .bazelrc. It’s created from a template, which contains the default configs mentioned above, and will also contain stubs for the project-level configs if they are used.

Workspace xcodeproj.bazelrc

At the end of the project xcodeproj.bazelrc file is a conditional import of a workspace level xcodeproj.bazelrc file. Since startup flags (e.g. --host_jvm_args) can’t be applied to configs, they can instead be set in this file, and they will only apply to rules_xcodeproj bazel invocations. If you have to generate all or part of your rules_xcodeproj configs, this is a convenient file to use for that.

Note

--output_base is set by rules_xcodeproj in order to nest the output base inside of the primary output base (see the command-line API section for more details). Thus, setting startup --output_base in xcodeproj.bazelrc will have no effect.

Workspace .bazelrc

Next the normal workspace .bazelrc file is imported. Here you can adjust the configs further.

Project xcodeproj_extra_flags.bazelrc

Finally, if any --@rules_xcodeproj//xcodeproj:extra_*_flags build flags were used during project generation, then those adjustments are made in a project xcodeproj_extra_flags.bazelrc file, which is loaded after the workspace .bazelrc file. This ensures that they override any flags set earlier, mimicking the behavior of command-line set flags taking precedence.

Command-line API

rules_xcodeproj builds targets in its own output base. It does this to ensure that the analysis cache isn’t affected by other Bazel commands, including project generation itself. In addition, rules_xcodeproj sets one of the project’s Bazel configs. Because of this, normal Bazel commands, such as bazel build or bazel clean, won’t be the same as what is performed in Xcode.

To enable you to perform Bazel commands in the same “environment” that rules_xcodeproj itself uses, we provide a command-line API. Assuming your xcodeproj target is defined at //:xcodeproj, this is how you can call this API:

bazel run //:xcodeproj -- [option ...] command_string

For example, this will call bazel info output_path in the rules_xcodeproj environment:

bazel run //:xcodeproj -- 'info output_path'

This will build all targets in the project the same way as Xcode Previews does:

bazel run //:xcodeproj -- --config=swiftuipreviews --generator_output_groups=all_targets build

Commands

The API supports all the commands bazel supports. It does not support providing startup options, though you can specify those in the xcodeproj.bazelrc file.

Below are notes about various commands.

build

To build targets the same way as rules_xcodeproj requires more than just using this API, because the xcodeproj rule applies a configuration transition to targets. That means that building targets by specifying their labels will build potentially different versions of those targets, and minimally versions that have different cache keys.

rules_xcodeproj uses output groups to “address” these correctly configured targets. It uses a set of private output groups, but it also exposes some public ones.

To build these output groups with this API you would have to craft a call like this (note: this is not the recommended way to do this, and might break in the future, continue reading after the example for the recommended way):

bazel run //:xcodeproj -- 'build --remote_download_minimal --output_groups=all_targets //:xcodeproj.generator'

This requires knowing the internal name of the generator target (//:xcodeproj.generator in this example), and it also doesn’t apply some flags that Xcode bazel build command applies (e.g. --experimental_remote_download_regex). Instead, it’s recommended that you use the --generator_output_groups option:

bazel run //:xcodeproj -- --generator_output_groups=all_targets 'build --remote_download_minimal'

clean

When you run bazel clean normally (i.e. not using this API), it won’t affect the rules_xcodeproj output base the way you expect. bazel clean --expunge will though, as it will blow away both environments. To clean the rules_xcodeproj output base use the API instead:

bazel run //:xcodeproj -- clean

query/cquery/aquery

Depending on how you have your rules_xcodeproj Bazel configs set up, you might be able to run bazel query without using the API. I recommend using the API instead though, to prevent fetching external dependencies in the primary output base. The other queries, cquery and aquery, should always be performed through the API, to ensure the targets are properly configured:

bazel run //:xcodeproj -- 'aquery "set(//some:target)"'

Options

You can specify some options before the Bazel command:

-v/--verbose

Prints the command that was executed.

Without -v:

$ bazel run --config=cache //:xcodeproj -- clean
INFO: Invocation ID: e4be5bb9-1823-4ca9-a3fd-6066f936460a
INFO: Analyzed target //:xcodeproj (0 packages loaded, 0 targets configured).
INFO: Found 1 target...
Target //:xcodeproj up-to-date:
  /Users/brentley/Developer/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-output-base/execroot/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-out/darwin_arm64-fastbuild/bin/xcodeproj-runner.sh
INFO: Elapsed time: 0.285s, Critical Path: 0.00s
INFO: 1 process: 1 internal.
INFO: Running command line: /Users/brentley/Developer/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-output-base/execroot/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-out/darwin_arm64-fastbuild/bin/xcodeproj-runner.sh -v clean
INFO: Build completed successfully, 1 total action

INFO: Invocation ID: 84c53471-73a4-4267-9289-0ad076ee94fb
INFO: Starting clean.

With -v:

$ bazel run --config=cache //:xcodeproj -- -v clean
INFO: Invocation ID: e4be5bb9-1823-4ca9-a3fd-6066f936460a
INFO: Analyzed target //:xcodeproj (0 packages loaded, 0 targets configured).
INFO: Found 1 target...
Target //:xcodeproj up-to-date:
  /Users/brentley/Developer/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-output-base/execroot/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-out/darwin_arm64-fastbuild/bin/xcodeproj-runner.sh
INFO: Elapsed time: 0.285s, Critical Path: 0.00s
INFO: 1 process: 1 internal.
INFO: Running command line: /Users/brentley/Developer/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-output-base/execroot/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-out/darwin_arm64-fastbuild/bin/xcodeproj-runner.sh -v clean
INFO: Build completed successfully, 1 total action

Running Bazel command:
+ env PATH=/bin:/usr/bin /Users/brentley/Library/Caches/bazelisk/downloads/bazelbuild/bazel-5.3.0-darwin-arm64/bin/bazel --host_jvm_args=-Xdock:name=/Applications/Xcode-14.0.1.app/Contents/Developer --noworkspace_rc --bazelrc=/Users/brentley/Developer/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-output-base/execroot/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-out/darwin_arm64-fastbuild/bin/xcodeproj-runner.sh.runfiles/rules_xcodeproj/xcodeproj.bazelrc --bazelrc=.bazelrc --bazelrc=/Users/brentley/Developer/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-output-base/execroot/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-out/darwin_arm64-fastbuild/bin/xcodeproj-runner.sh.runfiles/rules_xcodeproj/xcodeproj-extra-flags.bazelrc --output_base /Users/brentley/Developer/rules_xcodeproj/bazel-output-base/execroot/_rules_xcodeproj/build_output_base clean --repo_env=DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode-14.0.1.app/Contents/Developer --repo_env=USE_CLANG_CL=14A400 --config=_rules_xcodeproj_build
INFO: Invocation ID: 84c53471-73a4-4267-9289-0ad076ee94fb
INFO: Starting clean.

--config

Changes the Bazel config that is used. Valid values are:

For example, this will build all targets in the project the same way as Xcode Previews does:

bazel run //:xcodeproj -- --config=swiftuipreviews --generator_output_groups=all_targets build

--generator_output_groups

If the Bazel command is build, then this builds the specified generator outputs groups, potentially adding additional flags to match the behavior of Xcode’s bazel build (e.g. --experimental_remote_download_regex).

These are the available output groups to use:

  • all_targets: This will build every target specified by top_level_targets. This is useful to build in “cache warming” jobs.

For example, this will build all targets the same way that Xcode does:

bazel run //:xcodeproj -- --generator_output_groups=all_targets build

Substitutions

In your command, any reference to these variables will be expanded:

  • $_GENERATOR_LABEL_: The label of the generator target (e.g. @@_main~internal~rules_xcodeproj_generated//generator/xcodeproj). Useful for certain aquery commands:

    $bazel run //:xcodeproj -- 'aquery $_GENERATOR_LABEL_'
...
INFO: Invocation ID: ca31d4b4-0df5-49de-a020-c70a922521af
INFO: Streaming build results to: https://app.buildbuddy.io/invocation/ca31d4b4-0df5-49de-a020-c70a922521af
INFO: Analyzed target @_main~internal~rules_xcodeproj_generated//generator/tools/generators/legacy/xcodeproj:xcodeproj (1 packages loaded, 2 targets configured).
INFO: Found 1 target...
action 'Writing file external/_main~internal~rules_xcodeproj_generated/generator/xcodeproj/xcodeproj-xcode_generated_paths.json'
  Mnemonic: FileWrite
  Target: @rules_xcodeproj_generated//generator/xcodeproj:xcodeproj
  Configuration: darwin_arm64-dbg
  Execution platform: @local_config_platform//:host
  ActionKey: f0332c573c0b3ae2ebe525959057fd901d6ce582948b19f7b8e2fdee3f43f045
  Inputs: []
  Outputs: [bazel-out/darwin_arm64-dbg/bin/external/_main~internal~rules_xcodeproj_generated/generator/xcodeproj/xcodeproj-xcode_generated_paths.json]
...