Question

There are three different search paths in XCode Build Settings:

• Framework Search Path
• Header Search Path
• Library Search Path

Could anyone clarify what those paths do and what they are used for?

Answer 1

Framework search path: where to search frameworks (.framework bundles) in addition to system frameworks paths. Not used very much in iOS development, officially there is no developer iOS frameworks.

In Mac development, it’s set automatically if you drag a 3rd party framework into the project. Otherwise, just set it to the container directory where you saved the framework.

In xcconfig files you use this variable:

FRAMEWORK_SEARCH_PATHS = "/path/to/frameworks/container/directory"

Header search path: where to search for header files (.h files) in addition to system paths. Usually you’ll need it if you are using a 3rd party library. Set it to the directory where you have the header files. If you use a directory to include the header (example: #import "mylibrary/component.h") set it to the parent directory.

In xcconfig files you use this variable:

HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS = "/path/to/headers/container/directory"

Library search path: where to search for library files in addition to system paths. Xcode will set it automatically if you drag a library (.a files) into the project. To set it manually, use the directory where the library is located.

In xcconfig files you use this variable:

LIBRARY_SEARCH_PATHS = "/path/to/libraries/container/directory" 

All three can hold a list of paths, with quotes, separated by space.