diff --git a/.changeset/better-pets-help.md b/.changeset/better-pets-help.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..904acf2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/better-pets-help.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"ferric-cli": patch
+---
+
+Add x86_64 ios simulator target and output universal libraries for iOS simulators.
diff --git a/.changeset/large-hornets-burn.md b/.changeset/large-hornets-burn.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c7ad76f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/large-hornets-burn.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"ferric-cli": patch
+---
+
+It's no longer required to pass "build" to ferric, as this is default now
diff --git a/packages/ferric/src/build.ts b/packages/ferric/src/build.ts
index a3eb1684..4dd26d87 100644
--- a/packages/ferric/src/build.ts
+++ b/packages/ferric/src/build.ts
@@ -311,34 +311,54 @@ export const buildCommand = new Command("build")
     ),
   );
 
+async function createUniversalAppleLibraries(libraryPathGroups: string[][]) {
+  const result = await oraPromise(
+    Promise.all(
+      libraryPathGroups.map(async (libraryPaths) => {
+        if (libraryPaths.length === 0) {
+          return [];
+        } else if (libraryPaths.length === 1) {
+          return libraryPaths;
+        } else {
+          return [await createUniversalAppleLibrary(libraryPaths)];
+        }
+      }),
+    ),
+    {
+      text: "Combining arch-specific libraries into universal libraries",
+      successText: "Combined arch-specific libraries into universal libraries",
+      failText: (error) =>
+        `Failed to combine arch-specific libraries: ${error.message}`,
+    },
+  );
+  return result.flat();
+}
+
 async function combineLibraries(
   libraries: Readonly<[AppleTargetName, string]>[],
 ): Promise<string[]> {
   const result = [];
   const darwinLibraries = [];
+  const iosSimulatorLibraries = [];
   for (const [target, libraryPath] of libraries) {
     if (target.endsWith("-darwin")) {
       darwinLibraries.push(libraryPath);
+    } else if (
+      target === "aarch64-apple-ios-sim" ||
+      target === "x86_64-apple-ios" // Simulator despite name missing -sim suffix
+    ) {
+      iosSimulatorLibraries.push(libraryPath);
     } else {
       result.push(libraryPath);
     }
   }
-  if (darwinLibraries.length === 0) {
-    return result;
-  } else if (darwinLibraries.length === 1) {
-    return [...result, darwinLibraries[0]];
-  } else {
-    const universalPath = await oraPromise(
-      createUniversalAppleLibrary(darwinLibraries),
-      {
-        text: "Combining Darwin libraries into a universal library",
-        successText: "Combined Darwin libraries into a universal library",
-        failText: (error) =>
-          `Failed to combine Darwin libraries: ${error.message}`,
-      },
-    );
-    return [...result, universalPath];
-  }
+
+  const combinedLibraryPaths = await createUniversalAppleLibraries([
+    darwinLibraries,
+    iosSimulatorLibraries,
+  ]);
+
+  return [...result, ...combinedLibraryPaths];
 }
 
 export function isAndroidSupported() {
diff --git a/packages/ferric/src/cargo.ts b/packages/ferric/src/cargo.ts
index b4a06f16..7b665b98 100644
--- a/packages/ferric/src/cargo.ts
+++ b/packages/ferric/src/cargo.ts
@@ -21,10 +21,12 @@ import {
 const APPLE_XCFRAMEWORK_CHILDS_PER_TARGET: Record<AppleTargetName, string> = {
   "aarch64-apple-darwin": "macos-arm64_x86_64", // Universal
   "x86_64-apple-darwin": "macos-arm64_x86_64", // Universal
+
   "aarch64-apple-ios": "ios-arm64",
   "aarch64-apple-ios-sim": "ios-arm64_x86_64-simulator", // Universal
+  "x86_64-apple-ios": "ios-arm64_x86_64-simulator", // Universal
+
   // "aarch64-apple-ios-macabi": "", // Catalyst
-  // "x86_64-apple-ios": "ios-x86_64",
   // "x86_64-apple-ios-macabi": "ios-x86_64-simulator",
   // "aarch64-apple-tvos": "tvos-arm64",
   // "aarch64-apple-tvos-sim": "tvos-arm64-simulator",
@@ -216,6 +218,10 @@ export function getTargetEnvironmentVariables({
     };
   } else if (isAppleTarget(target)) {
     const weakNodeApiFrameworkPath = getWeakNodeApiFrameworkPath(target);
+    assert(
+      fs.existsSync(weakNodeApiFrameworkPath),
+      `Expected weak-node-api framework at ${weakNodeApiFrameworkPath}`,
+    );
     return {
       CARGO_ENCODED_RUSTFLAGS: [
         "-L",
diff --git a/packages/ferric/src/program.ts b/packages/ferric/src/program.ts
index 422c4ecc..d47d0479 100644
--- a/packages/ferric/src/program.ts
+++ b/packages/ferric/src/program.ts
@@ -6,4 +6,4 @@ import { buildCommand } from "./build.js";
 export const program = new Command("ferric")
   .hook("preAction", () => printBanner())
   .description("Rust Node-API Modules for React Native")
-  .addCommand(buildCommand);
+  .addCommand(buildCommand, { isDefault: true });
diff --git a/packages/ferric/src/targets.ts b/packages/ferric/src/targets.ts
index b7696a10..0e548de6 100644
--- a/packages/ferric/src/targets.ts
+++ b/packages/ferric/src/targets.ts
@@ -16,10 +16,12 @@ export type AndroidTargetName = (typeof ANDROID_TARGETS)[number];
 export const APPLE_TARGETS = [
   "aarch64-apple-darwin",
   "x86_64-apple-darwin",
+
   "aarch64-apple-ios",
   "aarch64-apple-ios-sim",
+  "x86_64-apple-ios", // Simulator (despite the missing -sim suffix)
+
   // "aarch64-apple-ios-macabi", // Catalyst
-  // "x86_64-apple-ios",
   // "x86_64-apple-ios-macabi", // Catalyst
 
   // TODO: Re-enabled these when we know how to install them 🙈
diff --git a/packages/host/src/node/prebuilds/apple.ts b/packages/host/src/node/prebuilds/apple.ts
index 9054965e..1aeb9658 100644
--- a/packages/host/src/node/prebuilds/apple.ts
+++ b/packages/host/src/node/prebuilds/apple.ts
@@ -131,11 +131,17 @@ export function determineXCFrameworkFilename(
 }
 
 export async function createUniversalAppleLibrary(libraryPaths: string[]) {
+  assert(
+    libraryPaths.length > 0,
+    "Expected at least one library to create a universal library",
+  );
   // Determine the output path
   const filenames = new Set(libraryPaths.map((p) => path.basename(p)));
   assert(
     filenames.size === 1,
-    "Expected all darwin libraries to have the same name",
+    `Expected libraries to have the same name, but got: ${[...filenames].join(
+      ", ",
+    )}`,
   );
   const [filename] = filenames;
   const lipoParentPath = fs.realpathSync(