unable to build iOS project using Github actions

Question

I have a simple iOS project (just a new project created with Xcode) that I can build and test locally.

I want to integrate Github actions for CI/CD.

Here is my workflow script:

name: iOS starter workflow

on:
  push:
    branches: [ "main" ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ "main" ]

jobs:
  build:
    name: Build and Test default scheme using any available iPhone simulator
    runs-on: macos-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Set Default Scheme
        run: |
          scheme_list=$(xcodebuild -list -json | tr -d "\n")
          default=$(echo $scheme_list | ruby -e "require 'json'; puts JSON.parse(STDIN.gets)['project']['targets'][0]")
          echo $default | cat >default
          echo Using default scheme: $default
      - name: Build
        env:
          scheme: ${{ 'default' }}
          platform: ${{ 'iOS Simulator' }}
        run: |
          # xcrun xctrace returns via stderr, not the expected stdout (see https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/663959)
          device=`xcrun xctrace list devices 2>&1 | grep -oE 'iPhone.*?[^\(]+' | head -1 | awk '{$1=$1;print}' | sed -e "s/ Simulator$//"`
          if [ $scheme = default ]; then scheme=$(cat default); fi
          if [ "`ls -A | grep -i \\.xcworkspace\$`" ]; then filetype_parameter="workspace" && file_to_build="`ls -A | grep -i \\.xcworkspace\$`"; else filetype_parameter="project" && file_to_build="`ls -A | grep -i \\.xcodeproj\$`"; fi
          file_to_build=`echo $file_to_build | awk '{$1=$1;print}'`
          xcodebuild build-for-testing -scheme "$scheme" -"$filetype_parameter" "$file_to_build" -destination "platform=$platform,name=$device"
      - name: Test
        env:
          scheme: ${{ 'default' }}
          platform: ${{ 'iOS Simulator' }}
        run: |
          # xcrun xctrace returns via stderr, not the expected stdout (see https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/663959)
          device=`xcrun xctrace list devices 2>&1 | grep -oE 'iPhone.*?[^\(]+' | head -1 | awk '{$1=$1;print}' | sed -e "s/ Simulator$//"`
          if [ $scheme = default ]; then scheme=$(cat default); fi
          if [ "`ls -A | grep -i \\.xcworkspace\$`" ]; then filetype_parameter="workspace" && file_to_build="`ls -A | grep -i \\.xcworkspace\$`"; else filetype_parameter="project" && file_to_build="`ls -A | grep -i \\.xcodeproj\$`"; fi
          file_to_build=`echo $file_to_build | awk '{$1=$1;print}'`
          xcodebuild test-without-building -scheme "$scheme" -"$filetype_parameter" "$file_to_build" -destination "platform=$platform,name=$device"

The problem is that the action fails at the build step and complains about the destination.

here is the output:

xcodebuild: error: Unable to find a destination matching the provided destination specifier:
        { platform:iOS Simulator, OS:latest, name:'iPhone 11' }
    The requested device could not be found because no available devices matched the request.
    Ineligible destinations for the "HelloActions" scheme:
        { platform:iOS, id:dvtdevice-DVTiPhonePlaceholder-iphoneos:placeholder, name:Any iOS Device }
        { platform:iOS Simulator, id:dvtdevice-DVTiOSDeviceSimulatorPlaceholder-iphonesimulator:placeholder, name:Any iOS Simulator Device }
Error: Process completed with exit code 70.

I tried to change the destination, but no matter what device I try to use, it gives the exact same error every time.

I can run the exact same command on my local machine and it builds the project without any issue.

I even tried getting a list of available devices with xcrun xctrace list devices and using one of them, but it still says the same thing.

Answer 1

After hours of trying everything, I found the real issue and the solution.

I tried running unit tests using fastlane. after pushing to the repo, I found out that the actual problem was about the deployment target. The deployment target for my project was iOS 15.4 but the latest version that the Github actions supports is 15.2. that's why I couldn't build my project.

Then I changed the script and included the OS version for destination and Voila. Here's the updated line in the script:

xcodebuild build-for-testing -scheme "$scheme" -"$filetype_parameter" "$file_to_build" -destination "platform=$platform,OS=15.2,name=$device"