How to compile Godot to iOS without a Mac

Date: July 22, 2024

Modified: December 8, 2024

Author: mak448a

Ever wanted to compile a Godot app to an iPhone IPA without owning a Mac or renting a Mac in the cloud? This guide is for you!

Please give my repository a star on GitHub if this helps!

Requirements

• gh CLI
• git
• Python

Guide

1. Download build-ios with the following command.

   git clone https://github.com/mak448a/build-ios --depth=1
   

2. Change the current directory to build-ios with

   cd build-ios
   

3. Install dependencies with the commands below. Choose the one for your operating system.

Windows

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Linux

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

1. Visit https://www.dropbox.com/developers/apps to get a token for using with the tool. You can name your app whatever you want, as long as it’s unique.
2. Run the Python script!

   python main.py
   

3. When you launch the CLI with python main.py, it’ll prompt you to choose whether you want to build or edit an IPA. For the first time, choose build IPA.

Mode instructions

Build IPA:

• Follow the prompts.

Edit IPA:

• When exporting your Godot Project, choose “Export PCK/ZIP” and save it as yourproject.pck.

But what’s the difference?

• Build IPA is for the first time you run the CLI. It makes a fresh build of your project.
• Edit IPA is for afterwards. You can export with the PCK only, and it’ll replace some of the files in the IPA. If you didn’t change any settings in project.godot, it should work perfectly! If you did though, rebuild the IPA.

Troubleshooting

If you get an AuthError('expired_access_token', None)), that means that you need to get a new OAuth token from Dropbox.