Use a Kotlin project as a CocoaPods dependency

You can use an entire Kotlin project as a Pod dependency. To do that, you'll need to include such a dependency in the Podfile of your project, specifying its name and the path to the project directory with the generated Podspec.

This dependency will be automatically built (and rebuilt) along with this project. Such an approach simplifies importing to Xcode by removing a need to write the corresponding Gradle tasks and Xcode build steps manually.

You can add dependencies between a Kotlin project and an Xcode project with one or several targets. It's also possible to add dependencies between a Kotlin project and multiple Xcode projects. However, in this case, you need to call pod install manually for each Xcode project. With a single Xcode project, it's done automatically.

Xcode project with one target

To use a Kotlin project as a Pod dependency in the Xcode project with one target:

Create an Xcode project if you don't have one.
In Xcode, ensure to disable User Script Sandboxing under Build Options in the application target:
In the iOS part of your Kotlin project, create a Podfile.
In the shared module's build.gradle(.kts) file, add the path to the Podfile with podfile = project.file().
This step helps synchronize your Xcode project with Kotlin project dependencies by calling pod install for your Podfile.
Specify the minimum deployment target version for the Pod library:
kotlin { iosArm64() cocoapods { version = "2.0" summary = "CocoaPods test library" homepage = "https://github.com/JetBrains/kotlin" ios.deploymentTarget = "16.0" pod("SDWebImage") { version = "5.20.0" } podfile = project.file("../ios-app/Podfile") } }
In the Podfile, add the name and path of the Kotlin project you want to include in the Xcode project:
target 'ios-app' do use_frameworks! platform :ios, '16.0' # Pods for iosApp pod 'kotlin_library', :path => '../kotlin-library' end
Run pod install in your project directory.
When you run pod install for the first time, it creates the .xcworkspace file. This file includes your original .xcodeproj and the CocoaPods project.
Close your .xcodeproj and open the new .xcworkspace file instead. This way you avoid issues with project dependencies.
Run Build | Reload All Gradle Projects in IntelliJ IDEA (or File | Sync Project with Gradle Files in Android Studio) to re-import the project.

Xcode project with several targets

To use a Kotlin project as a Pod dependency in the Xcode project with several targets:

Create an Xcode project if you don't have one.
In the iOS part of your Kotlin project, create a Podfile.
In the shared module's build.gradle(.kts) file, add the path to your project's Podfile with podfile = project.file().
This step helps synchronize your Xcode project with Kotlin project dependencies by calling pod install for your Podfile.
Add dependencies to the Pod libraries you want to use in your project with pod().
For each target, specify the minimum deployment target version for the Pod library:
kotlin { iosArm64() tvosArm64() cocoapods { version = "2.0" summary = "CocoaPods test library" homepage = "https://github.com/JetBrains/kotlin" ios.deploymentTarget = "16.0" tvos.deploymentTarget = "16.0" pod("SDWebImage") { version = "5.20.0" } // Specify the path to the Podfile podfile = project.file("../severalTargetsXcodeProject/Podfile") } }
In the Podfile, add the name and path of the Kotlin project you want to include in the Xcode project:
target 'iosApp' do use_frameworks! platform :ios, '16.0' # Pods for iosApp pod 'kotlin_library', :path => '../kotlin-library' end target 'TVosApp' do use_frameworks! platform :tvos, '16.0' # Pods for TVosApp pod 'kotlin_library', :path => '../kotlin-library' end
Run pod install in your project directory.
When you run pod install for the first time, it creates the .xcworkspace file. This file includes your original .xcodeproj and the CocoaPods project.
Close your .xcodeproj and open the new .xcworkspace file instead. This way you avoid issues with project dependencies.
Run Build | Reload All Gradle Projects in IntelliJ IDEA (or File | Sync Project with Gradle Files in Android Studio) to re-import the project.

What's next

Last modified: 05 May 2025