| 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
#!/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
#!/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echo "=== Outdated Pods ==="
pod outdated 2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- Report outdated pods with available versions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
#!/bin/bash
POD="${1:?Pod name required}"
echo "=== Pod Info: $POD ==="
pod spec cat "$POD" --verbose 2>/dev/null | head -20
Validate Podspec
#!/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
- NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
- NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or
--help output.
- NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
- ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
- 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 |
