Managing Cocoapods

---
name: managing-cocoapods
description: |
  Use when working with Cocoapods — cocoaPods dependency management for
  iOS/macOS. Covers Podfile configuration, pod publishing, dependency
  resolution, spec repositories, and pod analysis. Use when managing CocoaPods
  dependencies, publishing pod specs, resolving version conflicts, or analyzing
  pod dependency trees.
connection_type: cocoapods
preload: false
---

# CocoaPods Management Skill

Manage and analyze CocoaPods dependencies, pod specs, and iOS/macOS project configuration.

## MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

**Always check current Podfile and pod configuration before modifying dependencies.**

### Phase 1: Discovery

```bash
#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Podfile ==="
cat Podfile 2>/dev/null | head -25

echo ""
echo "=== Pod Version ==="
pod --version 2>/dev/null

echo ""
echo "=== Podspec ==="
cat *.podspec 2>/dev/null | head -20
ls *.podspec.json 2>/dev/null

echo ""
echo "=== Installed Pods ==="
cat Podfile.lock 2>/dev/null | grep '^  - ' | head -15
```

### Phase 2: Analysis

```bash
#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Pod Dependencies ==="
cat Podfile.lock 2>/dev/null | grep -E '^\s{2}- ' | wc -l | xargs -I{} echo "Total pods: {}"

echo ""
echo "=== Outdated Pods ==="
pod outdated 2>/dev/null | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Spec Repos ==="
pod repo list 2>/dev/null | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== Pod Sources ==="
grep 'source ' Podfile 2>/dev/null
```

## Output Rules
- **TOKEN EFFICIENCY**: Target <=50 lines per output
- List pods with version constraints
- Summarize dependency tree depth
- Report outdated pods with available versions

## Common Operations

### Pod Lookup

```bash
#!/bin/bash
POD="${1:?Pod name required}"
echo "=== Pod Info: $POD ==="
pod spec cat "$POD" --verbose 2>/dev/null | head -20
```

### Validate Podspec

```bash
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Lint Podspec ==="
pod spec lint *.podspec 2>&1 | tail -15

echo ""
echo "=== Lib Lint ==="
pod lib lint 2>&1 | tail -10
```

## Safety Rules

- **Run `pod lib lint`** before publishing pod specs
- **Commit Podfile.lock** for reproducible builds
- **Never force-push trunk** without verifying podspec validity
- **Review dependency tree** changes after `pod update` for unexpected upgrades

## Output Format

Present results as a structured report:
```
Managing Cocoapods Report
═════════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]

Resource       Status    Key Metric    Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name]         [ok/warn] [value]       [findings]

Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]
```

Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.

## Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. **NEVER assume resource names** — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. **NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions** — verify against the service documentation or `--help` output.
3. **NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions** — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. **ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain** — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. **ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully** — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

## Counter-Rationalizations

| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|----------|---------|-----|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |