[iOS] CocoaPods cheatsheet

Published: 3 days ago (February 5, 2026 at 09:37 PM EST)

1 min read

Source: Dev.to

Introduction

CocoaPods is a dependency manager for iOS projects.

brew install ruby
sudo gem install cocoapods

Verify the installation:

pod --version

Navigate to the folder containing your .xcodeproj and run:

pod init

Edit the generated Podfile (Ruby DSL) to specify the platform, target, and desired pods:

platform :ios, '15.0'

target 'YourAppTarget' do
  use_frameworks!

  pod 'Alamofire'
  pod 'SnapKit'
end

pod install

🚨 From now on, open the .xcworkspace file, not the .xcodeproj.

import Alamofire

AF.request("https://example.com").response { response in
    print(response)
}

If the code compiles, you’re all set.

Command	Description
`pod install`	Install the dependencies listed in the `Podfile`.
`pod update`	Update the installed dependencies to the latest compatible versions.
`pod repo update`	Refresh the local specs repository.
`pod deintegrate`	Remove CocoaPods from the project completely.
`pod search NAME`	Search for a pod by name.

“No such module” or Build settings conflicts
```
pod deintegrate
pod install
```
Slow installs
```
pod install --repo-update
```

For newer projects, consider using Swift Package Manager instead.