Build iOS Apps on Linux and Windows
49 comments
·May 11, 2025andrewrn
Woah this is very exciting if true! I love Linux and my framework laptop, but have wanted to make simple iOS apps.
That being said, PWA’s are damn capable at this point for basic little apps. I wish more laypeople were aware of the ability to “install” PWA’s. Most non-tech people only think apps come from the iOS App Store.
gman83
FYI, I've been making iOS apps on Linux for a while now, I just use CodeMagic to do the build step - https://codemagic.io/
afavour
Yeah I do really wish PWAs got more attention. But it’s very, very difficult to do that last mile of UI polish that makes the average iOS app gleam by comparison. Fingers crossed we’ll see more browser primitive APIs in that area.
whycome
The user flow for installing PWAs is so dumb. It’s deliberate I guess. It doesn’t align with the idea of “installing” or even a marketplace. I think the language is something like “add to home” and it’s not clear that it’s anything other than a shortcut to a website.
Obscurity4340
Are PWA's subject to Safari's data collection policies or is it different?
pjmlp
Why bothering collecting on the client, when we can collect everything on the server?
c0wb0yc0d3r
What if there is no server? An offline first PWA could easily be served via a static web host.
weird_trousers
Awesome! I hope Apple will not get the lawyers out for this project (especially for licensing issues)... but this is promising for the future!
walterbell
It should be usable in Asahi Linux on Mac hardware.
notpushkin
Not a practical suggestion, but would it be feasible to run xtool on jailbroken iOS devices? (I mean, those are definitely Apple-branded!)
walterbell
maximal malicious compliance!
Once Asahi Linux support matures (e.g. Thunderbolt external storage for software RAID) Mac Mini hardware with Linux for CI/CD will be competitive on price/performance/watt.
If Apple would re-enable Linux VMs on iPad/iPhone, everyone could be happy. Thankfully Google is now shipping a full pKVM Linux VM ("Terminal") on Pixel phones, including USB-c docking to external keyboard and mouse. Hopefully that "inspires" Apple to restore the Linux VM functionality they removed three years ago. Then iPhone Pro + USB-c dock = Linux desktop for iOS app development, buying time for Apple to converge iOS/macOS/visionOS in +++ years.
ChrisMarshallNY
I doubt it, as it's being announced on Swift.org.
notpushkin
In a forum post – it’s not an official announcement. But since it hasn’t been taken down yet I guess there is hope?
ChrisMarshallNY
Likely, Apple won’t have any desire to take it down, as you still need to go through the App Store approval process, to sell on the App Store (and they still get their vig).
But they also probably won’t go out of their way to support it. It could break, down the road.
behnamoh
Why does Apple behave like there are no other operating systems or devices in the world? for a long time, even in their keynotes they would compare the new iphones with the last year model, not the flagship androids. and their standards mostly work for themselves, not the rest of the world. for example, most keybindings in Pages are totally different than Word and the rest of the text editing apps (CMD-E is supposed to center things but it doesn't). they created a language (Swift) and kept it closed source for a long time, and then didn't extend support to other OS's. presumably they do this so devs who wanna make iOS apps have to purchase Macs, but quite honestly this is just lazy corporate shenanigans. There are far more important reasons to buy a Mac, and anyone who uses Linux isn't suddenly going to convert to macOS just so they can build iOS apps (they probably have more fundamental issues with non-FOSS software anyway).
cosmic_cheese
In addition to the other answers, when it comes to the Mac they’re not as worried about bringing new people aboard as they are with keeping existing users happy. Keep in mind that some of these users have been on board since the 80s or 90s and so the Apple way of doing things is as natural to them as the Microsoft way of doing things is to the masses. The benefit to suddenly wholeheartedly aping MS all of the sudden is questionable — most Windows users still aren’t going to switch for various reasons (e.g. there’s no Billy’s Bargain Basement $200 Macs or there’s some Windows-only software they need). They’d only be alienating their existing users.
detourdog
They are unique because they own they whole widget and provide a whole widget experience. They aren’t worried about the fractional widget market.
drekipus
> Why does Apple behave like there are no other operating systems or devices in the world?
Dress for the job you want
LoganDark
> Why does Apple behave like there are no other operating systems or devices in the world?
Because Apple doesn't care. Or, to be more accurate, Apple didn't care while Steve Jobs was still alive. They never cared what the rest of the world was doing - their mission had always been to build the entire user experience from scratch. The software, hardware, everything. Because in their eyes (or at least in Jobs' eyes) the rest of the world was doing it all wrong.
Ever since Steve Jobs died, the company he built has been slowly taken over by the wrong kinds of people. Apple Intelligence, for example, is not driven by any of the philosophy that Jobs would have used. And Apple software updates have been slowly declining in quality ever since his death.
My total speculation was that Steve Jobs was autistic and Apple was sort of an autistic revolution. I don't know what Tim Cook is, but he's no Steve Jobs. Apple is slowly devolving into the sort of thinking that is not different and that is a real shame.
aspenmayer
I think that you’re right that Apple is different, but it’s different so that Apple can control it. I wrote about this recently in another comment:
https://news.ycombinator.com/context?id=43953751
The gist of it is this:
Both Steves worked for Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese. I believe that Jobs was likely inspired by Bushnell to create a tech ecosystem to enable easy creation, monetization, and control. But mostly, I think Jobs and Wozniak created Apple to enable them both to create the kinds of technology they needed and wanted, to get the work done they knew folks were using personal computers for. Personal computers have distinct use cases which make them distinct from mainframes or other systems largely outside the control of individuals, and this appeal to the individual is what differentiates Apple from Google or other computer hardware companies. Apple still actually has tech support, retail stores, and yet the goalposts of the market and consumer expectations have moved. Apple hasn’t kept up with what consumers expect in many ways, and the markets they serve have changed, as Apple is now serving multiple sides of markets that they operate as an intermediary, as opposed to the past where Apple was constrained to being a participant in multiple, sometimes overlapping markets.
LoganDark
> I think that you’re right that Apple is different, but it’s different so that Apple can control it.
Control would not be such a bad thing if Apple could still be trusted. Unfortunately it seems that they have started to lose their way.
It's not like they became worthless or evil at the flip of a switch - it takes time for such a large company to die like that. But they are declining (in ways other than profit, of course).
They have still managed to create some genuinely good innovation, such as Apple Silicon Macs, but they are seeming to gradually lose their ability to do that properly.
I don't see any problem with wanting more control over the user experience so that it can be improved. Honestly, it seems like the problem you're describing started with how that control has been (ab)used since Steve Jobs' death. I feel like that brought all the corruption out of hiding because Tim doesn't necessarily shoot it all down like Jobs would have.
scripturial
> Apple software updates have been slowly declining in quality ever since his dea
For years I installed all Apple software updates instantly and without reserve. These days I wait for at least the .1 release, after being bitten a few times by bugs and workflow breaking pointless changes.
> My total speculation was that Steve Jobs was autistic and Apple was sort of an autistic revolution.
Yes, I assume his abrasiveness was a result of an autistic drive for perfection combined with an autistic difficulty with picking up on social queues. But I’m not sure it’s possible to know this for sure. So many people simply read it as narcissism (which has overlapping external features) I’m not sure everyone can tell the difference (during a social interaction) between a narcissistic lack of concern for others vs an autistic inability to properly read and react to social queues.
7speter
There was Australian… professor(?) Whose youtube videos I can’t find right now who quite comfortably claimed Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Robin Williams were autistic.
Best I could find is a Temple Grandin blurb about Jobs and Wozniak being autistic and still different sorts of thinkers:
LoganDark
I can't say whether he was or wasn't a narcissist, because I can't really tell one way or the other, but I don't think he had a simple inability to pick up on social cues. At least, that doesn't look to have been the cause of the abrasiveness. To me, it just seemed like he believed that people could do better.
This video is just one tiny piece of history, but I'd call it a very good watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Fs0pD2Hsk
Today's Apple doesn't truly stand for this anymore. Today's Apple is not the same Apple. It still has Jobs' Apple in its core, and that's why there ever was a solid base to build upon... but their new stuff is all hit or miss, sometimes very miss, because they're not the crazy ones anymore. They're slowly rotting into a generic megacorp... and that is very sad.
saagarjha
> for a long time, even in their keynotes they would compare the new iphones with the last year model, not the flagship androids.
Because it wouldn’t be a fair fight when one platform is three years behind you in performance.
goosedragons
And yet, they still regularly compare AS Macs to Intel Macs.
bsaul
i was thinking it would have used the swift build project https://github.com/swiftlang/swift-build recently released but i didn't find any mention of that.
Did i miss something ?
wmlive
The GNUstep project offers a similar tool:
justanotheratom
Note: you can also use it to replace Xcode on macOS for building iOS software!
Also, there is an MCP Server to bypass Xcode from Cursor: https://github.com/cameroncooke/XcodeBuildMCP
preisschild
AFAIK the Apple EULA, which you have to agree to before uploading Apps to the App store, requires that you have built the software on Apple Hardware.
IANAL, but if I understand correctly that means, the only conformant way to build on linux would be to you install linux on the Apple hardware.
bitwize
With antitrust regulators (including, to a certain extent, the relatively feckless ones in the USA) breathing down Apple and Google's necks, they might not be able to get away with enforcing that rule for long.
MrGilbert
I really hope that the EU might step in once again. I own an iPhone, I am a software developer, but I cannot distribute apps to end users, because I don't own a Mac. That is frustrating.
pjmlp
Likewise a Mac developer cannot distribute Windows apps, Playstation, Switch, XBox,...
scripturial
I’ve never tried because I’m on Mac these days, but can’t you meet the licensing rules by using a Mac vps for 10 minutes to do a build, or even just use GitHub actions? (I read that GitHub actions provides a Mac build option but I’ve not tried it)
tonyhart7
hope flutter integrate this fast
dangoodmanUT
oh they wont
tonyhart7
why lol
WOOVYWOOVY
If you want to build your flutter app for iOS but doesn't have any apple devices, you can try osX (search in github) which basically just a macOS vm with docker. From there just do your stuff with xcode, and classic flutter build.
curtisszmania
[dead]
Mega cool!
We should all be taking full advantage of the amazing capabilities of the pocket supercomputers we all carry around with us at all times (even if the companies who make them don't want us to or don't care about us). Anything less would be silly! Now Linux and Windows users (the majority of iPhone users) can do easily do so, and that's great.
To install your own personal homebrew apps without Apple's approval, use AltStore (Windows) or SideStore (Linux):
https://faq.altstore.io/altstore-classic/how-to-install-alts...
https://docs.sidestore.io/docs/installation/linux