fix: load SQLCipher.framework explicitly on iOS/macOS#381
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simolus3 merged 2 commits intopowersync-ja:mainfrom Mar 18, 2026
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DynamicLibrary.process() (RTLD_DEFAULT) on iOS resolves to Apple's system sqlite3 before SQLCipher. Apple's sqlite3 has extension loading disabled and returns SQLITE_MISUSE (21) from sqlite3_auto_extension, causing PowerSync's extension registration to fail with: SqliteException(21): Could not load extension The Android override already uses openCipherOnAndroid() to explicitly load libsqlcipher.so. This commit adds the equivalent for iOS/macOS: explicitly load SQLCipher.framework/SQLCipher by path so the sqlite3 package uses SQLCipher rather than the system library. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
simolus3
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Mar 16, 2026
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It's a bit odd that these changes are necessary since the native plugin should link and load SQLCipher already, but I ran integration tests with and without this change and thing worked.
So in case some build setups make this required, these changes look good to me.
Co-authored-by: Simon Binder <oss@simonbinder.eu>
simolus3
approved these changes
Mar 18, 2026
This was referenced Mar 18, 2026
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Problem
On iOS (and macOS), PowerSyncSQLCipherOpenFactory fails with:
SqliteException(21): Could not load extension
This happens in PowerSyncOpenFactory.enableExtension() when it calls
sqlite3.ensureExtensionLoaded(), which internally calls sqlite3_auto_extension() and
gets SQLITE_MISUSE (21) back.
Root cause: The sqlite3 Dart package's _defaultOpen() on iOS tries
sqlite3.framework/sqlite3 and CSQLite.framework/CSQLite first (for
sqlite3_flutter_libs). Neither exists when using sqlcipher_flutter_libs, so it falls
back to DynamicLibrary.process() (RTLD_DEFAULT). RTLD_DEFAULT resolves to Apple's
system sqlite3 before SQLCipher, and Apple's system sqlite3 has extension loading
disabled — so sqlite3_auto_extension returns SQLITE_MISUSE.
Fix
The Android override already handles this correctly by explicitly loading
libsqlcipher.so via openCipherOnAndroid(). This PR adds the equivalent for iOS and
macOS: explicitly load SQLCipher.framework/SQLCipher by path, bypassing RTLD_DEFAULT
entirely.
Testing
Verified on a physical iOS device (iPhone). Before this fix the app crashed
immediately on launch. After this fix SQLCipher initialises correctly and PRAGMA
cipher_version returns a result.