Excluding an SPM Dependency from a build by reading a flag

[malcommac]

What problem or need do you have?

Hello, I wanted to know if there is a way to exclude a specific dependency (specifically a locally imported framework via SPM) from the builds by reading the presence of a defined flag (e.g., RELEASE/DEBUG/TESTING) within the project settings. The framework should not be compiled or included in the final IPA

I think I could use the condition in TargetDependency but I'm not sure how I could read a settings flag, I can see only the PlatformFilter as possible argument: while I would to use the configuration (in pure SPM something like .target(name: "XXXX", condition: .when(configuration: .debug))):

.external(name: $0, condition: .when(...))

Potential solution

No response

macOS version

14.4.1

Tuist version

4.x

Xcode version

15.x

[pepicrft]

Xcode only supports selecting dependencies based on the configuration being built, not on a certain value of a project build setting. You might be able to achieve that with imports implicitly resolved, but I advise not to, because many Xcode features, such as Swift Previews, rely on explicitness to work reliably. Does it answer your question?

[malcommac]

Hi @pepicrft thank you for your quick reply. Per configuration import would be okay; what's the best way to achieve it via Tuist?

[pepicrft]

Sorry, my bad; I meant destination and not configuration. I think you'll have to resort to build settings magic to conditionally do that, like CocoaPods does, but as I mentioned, this is generally not a good idea.

[malcommac]

Upon further thought, I have come to the conclusion that it would be much easier and faster to send to the Tuist generate (or read via environment variable) a setting that tells me whether to create a project/target that includes that framework or not. This way, I can easily handle this scenario by choosing the best configuration depending on whether it's a development, testing, or production build.

[fortmarek]

That sounds like a good way forward! We're closing the issue as there's no action item for us here 🙂