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Building FlockFinder

This guide covers building the FlockFinder iOS app from source code.

Prerequisites

Requirement Version
macOS Ventura 13.0+
Xcode 15.0 or later
iOS Device Physical device (BLE requires hardware)
Apple Developer Account Free or paid membership

Simulator Limitations

The iOS Simulator does not support Bluetooth Low Energy. You must build and run on a physical iOS device to test BLE functionality.

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/VirtuallyScott/FlockFinderApp.git
cd FlockFinderApp

Open in Xcode

  1. Open FlockFinder.xcodeproj in Xcode 15+
  2. Wait for Swift Package Manager to resolve dependencies (if any)

Configure Signing

  1. Select the FlockFinder target in the project navigator
  2. Go to the Signing & Capabilities tab
  3. Select your Team from the dropdown
  4. Xcode will automatically manage provisioning profiles

Free Developer Account

You can use a free Apple Developer account for personal testing. The app will need to be re-signed every 7 days.

Build and Run

  1. Connect your iOS device via USB or WiFi
  2. Select your device from the device dropdown
  3. Press ⌘R or click the Run button
  4. Trust the developer certificate on your device if prompted:
  5. Go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management
  6. Tap your developer certificate and select Trust

Build Configuration

Debug Build

The default Debug configuration includes:

  • Full logging output
  • Debug stream view for raw BLE data
  • Faster iteration with incremental builds

Release Build

For distribution or optimized testing:

  1. Select Product > Scheme > Edit Scheme
  2. Change Build Configuration to Release
  3. Build and archive: ⌘⇧A or Product > Archive

Troubleshooting

Common Build Errors

"Signing requires a development team"

  • Ensure you've selected a team in Signing & Capabilities
  • Sign in to your Apple ID in Xcode Preferences > Accounts

"Untrusted Developer"

  • On your iOS device: Settings > General > VPN & Device Management
  • Trust your developer certificate

"No provisioning profiles found"

  • Let Xcode manage signing automatically
  • Or manually create profiles in the Apple Developer portal

BLE Not Working

If Bluetooth features aren't working:

  1. Ensure you're running on a physical device, not the simulator
  2. Check that Bluetooth is enabled on your device
  3. Verify the app has Bluetooth permissions in Settings
  4. Try killing and restarting the app

Project Structure

After building successfully, familiarize yourself with the project architecture to understand the codebase.

Next Steps