Build and run in Xcode works but skip app launch --iOS fails

[lib-cf]

Hello,

A newly generated project fails to build and run for iOS from the command line with skip app launch --iOS though it works in Xcode.

Setting SKIP_ACTION = none fixes the command line build. The issue may be that with SKIP_ACTION = launch, Android code is building and failing even though -iOS is specified.

Please advise. Thanks!

skip app launch --ios
[✓] Check project schemes (1.59s)
[✗] Build SkipDemo2 App (23.66s)
[✗] error: emit-module command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)
error: error: emit-module command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:47:42: error: cannot find type 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:14:35: error: cannot find type 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:25:46: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:25:32: error: no exact matches in call to initializer
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:14:48: error: cannot find type 'UserDefaultsAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:12:37: error: cannot find type 'UserDefaultsAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:47:42: error: cannot find type 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:14:35: error: cannot find type 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:25:46: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:25:32: error: no exact matches in call to initializer
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:79:27: error: cannot find type 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:87:32: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:101:28: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:119:29: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:135:29: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:145:29: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:153:15: error: type '_' is not optional, value can never be nil
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:285:16: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:319:16: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:324:16: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:423:31: error: cannot find 'BundleAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:423:26: error: no exact matches in call to initializer
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidBundle.swift:446:16: error: cannot find 'NSLocalizedStringAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:14:48: error: cannot find type 'UserDefaultsAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:12:37: error: cannot find type 'UserDefaultsAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:24:35: error: cannot find 'UserDefaultsAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:112:9: error: cannot find 'UserDefaultsAccess' in scope
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:186:31: error: cannot find 'UserDefaultsAccess' iError: /Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/Build/Intermediates.noindex/SkipDemo2.build/Debug-iphonesimulator/SkipDemo2 App.build/skip-gradle.log.txt:891:0: error: The gradle command failed. Review the log for details and consult https://skip.dev/docs/faq for common solutions. Command: gradle -p ../Android launchDebug
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:186:26: error: constructing an object of class type 'Self' with a metatype value must use a 'required' initializer
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:186:26: error: value of optional type 'Self?' must be unwrapped to a value of type 'Self'
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/SourcePackages/checkouts/skip-android-bridge/Sources/SkipAndroidBridge/AndroidUserDefaults.swift:186:31: error: missing argument label 'suiteName:' in call
Error: Error terminated(code: 1) running command: /Users/[REDACTED]/Library/Developer/Toolchains/swift-6.3.3-RELEASE.xctoolchain/usr/bin/swift build --swift-sdk aarch64-unknown-linux-android28 --package-path /Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/Build/Intermediates.noindex/BuildToolPluginIntermediates/skip-demo-2.output/SkipDemo2/skipstone/SkipDemo2/src/main/swift --scratch-path /Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/Build/Intermediates.noindex/BuildToolPluginIntermediates/skip-demo-2.output/SkipDemo2/skipstone/SkipDemo2/build/swift --configuration debug -Xswiftc -DSKIP_BRIDGE -Xswiftc -DTARGET_OS_ANDROID -Xswiftc -Xfrontend -Xswiftc -no-clang-module-breadcrumbs -Xswiftc -Xfrontend -Xswiftc -module-cache-path -Xswiftc -Xfrontend -Xswiftc /Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/Build/Intermediates.noindex/BuildToolPluginIntermediates/skip-demo-2.output/SkipDemo2/skipstone/SkipDemo2/build/swift/module-cache/SkipDemo2 -Xswiftc -DSKIP_BRIDGE -Xswiftc -DTARGET_OS_ANDROID -Xcc -fPIC --product SkipDemo2 --build-system native
error: Error: Error terminated(code: 1) running command: /Users/[REDACTED]/Library/Developer/Toolchains/swift-6.3.3-RELEASE.xctoolchain/usr/bin/swift build --swift-sdk aarch64-unknown-linux-android28 --package-path /Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/Build/Intermediates.noindex/BuildToolPluginIntermediates/skip-demo-2.output/SkipDemo2/skipstone/SkipDemo2/src/main/swift --scratch-path /Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/Build/Intermediates.noindex/BuildToolPluginIntermediates/skip-demo-2.output/SkipDemo2/skipstone/SkipDemo2/build/swift --configuration debug -Xswiftc -DSKIP_BRIDGE -Xswiftc -DTARGET_OS_ANDROID -Xswiftc -Xfrontend -Xswiftc -no-clang-module-breadcrumbs -Xswiftc -Xfrontend -Xswiftc -module-cache-path -Xswiftc -Xfrontend -Xswiftc /Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/Build/Intermediates.noindex/BuildToolPluginIntermediates/skip-demo-2.output/SkipDemo2/skipstone/SkipDemo2/build/swift/module-cache/SkipDemo2 -Xswiftc -DSKIP_BRIDGE -Xswiftc -DTARGET_OS_ANDROID -Xcc -fPIC --product SkipDemo2 --build-system native
error: Execution failed for task ':skipstone:SkipDemo2:buildAndroidSwiftPackageDebug' (registered in build file '../.build/Darwin/DerivedData/Build/Intermediates.noindex/BuildToolPluginIntermediates/skip-demo-2.output/SkipDemo2/skipstone/SkipDemo2/build.gradle.kts').
/Users/[REDACTED]/Developer/Temp/skip-demo-2/.build/Darwin/DerivedData/Build/Intermediates.noindex/SkipDemo2.build/Debug-iphonesimulator/SkipDemo2 App.build/skip-gradle.log.txt:891:0: error: The gradle command failed. Review the log for details and consult https://skip.dev/docs/faq for common solutions. Command: gradle -p ../Android launchDebug
[✗] Launch Skip app failed with 2 errors
See https://skip.dev/docs/faq and https://forums.skip.dev for help
See output log for error details: /tmp/skip-launch-2026-09-22T17:33:48Z.txt
Error: 3 errors

skip-gradle.log.txt

[toastmod]

I am also unable to use --ios, it tries to launch on android emulator anyways.

[efim0v]

It's a bug in skip app launch --ios, and it also explains what @toastmod sees. --ios turns off the Android side only through two environment variables on the xcodebuild call, SKIP_ACTION=none and SKIP_PLUGIN_DISABLED (AppCommand.swift#L109-L114). But your project's Darwin/SkipDemo2.xcconfig sets SKIP_ACTION = launch (template), and in Xcode a build setting from an xcconfig wins over an environment variable with the same name. So the "Run skip gradle" script still sees launch and starts the Android build.

That Android build inherits SKIP_PLUGIN_DISABLED from the environment, so the skipstone plugin switches itself off (SkipPlugin.swift#L35-L47) and doesn't generate the Swift side of the bridged classes. BundleAccess, UserDefaultsAccess and NSLocalizedStringAccess are only declared inside #if SKIP in skip-android-bridge (AndroidBundle.swift#L528-L531), hence "cannot find type 'BundleAccess' in scope". A build from Xcode doesn't set SKIP_PLUGIN_DISABLED, which is why it works there.

SKIP_ACTION = none works, as you found, but it also stops the Android launch when you build in Xcode. To keep that and still have --ios work, comment the line out in Darwin/SkipDemo2.xcconfig instead:

//SKIP_ACTION = launch

The run script falls back to launch when the setting is empty (SkipProject.swift#L3071-L3076), so Xcode builds behave as before, and the SKIP_ACTION=none from --ios now gets through. I checked this with a small Xcode 27 project that has the same xcconfig line and script check, built the same way skip app launch --ios builds it: with the line in place the script gets launch, with it commented out it gets none, and a normal build still falls back to launch.

The real fix belongs in Skip: --ios should pass the setting as an xcodebuild argument (xcodebuild ... SKIP_ACTION=none), which takes precedence over the xcconfig. Probably worth an issue.

[lib-cf]

Okay, submitted issue #747

Thank you @efim0v! 👍