macOS + Xcode only. Pins the official LÖVE 11.5 iOS Xcode tree (love-11.5-ios-source.zip from love2d/love releases), matching conf.lua's t.version = "11.5".

There is no separate love2d/love-ios GitHub repo for 11.5; the release zip is the vendored iOS project (Xcode project under love-src/platform/xcode/love.xcodeproj, target love-ios).

Pin file: LOVE_VERSION → 11.5.

Quick start (simulator)

# Fetch LÖVE 11.5 iOS sources (once) + build for Simulator
scripts/build_ios.sh --fetch

The embedded game.love contains no ROM or generated game data. The current first-boot importer has desktop file pickers only, so a production iOS release still needs a UIDocumentPicker handoff that passes the selected ROM to LÖVE.

Default output: an unsigned Simulator .app under mobile/ios/build/ (no Apple Developer account required). A convenience copy also lands under dist/ios/<Config>-<sdk>/.

Install on a booted simulator (example):

xcrun simctl install booted mobile/ios/build/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/PokemonRed.app
xcrun simctl launch booted com.theboisclub.pokemonred

Or open mobile/ios/love-src/platform/xcode/love.xcodeproj in Xcode, select the love-ios target, and Run on a Simulator after scripts/build_ios.sh --package-only (or a full build) has placed game.love.

Device / Release

scripts/build_ios.sh --device            # Debug, physical device SDK
scripts/build_ios.sh --device --release  # Release configuration

Device builds need a signing identity and provisioning profile configured in Xcode (or via DEVELOPMENT_TEAM / CODE_SIGN_IDENTITY env vars). This repo does not store certificates, profiles, or App Store Connect secrets.

Manual out-of-band steps:

Apple Developer account + App ID for com.theboisclub.pokemonred
Development or Distribution certificate + provisioning profile
In Xcode: open love.xcodeproj → target love-ios → Signing & Capabilities → select your Team (or set DEVELOPMENT_TEAM=XXXXXXXXXX when invoking scripts/build_ios.sh --device)
Archive / export an .ipa from Xcode Organizer for TestFlight / Ad Hoc

Layout

Path	Role
`LOVE_VERSION`	Engine pin (`11.5`)
`overlays/love-ios.plist`	Portrait-only Info.plist + display name Pokemon Red (copied over the upstream plist every build)
`love-src/`	Downloaded `love-11.5-ios-source` tree (gitignored, do not commit)
`cache/`	Downloaded zips (gitignored)
`build/`	`xcodebuild` derived data (gitignored)

Game payload lands at:

love-src/platform/xcode/ios/resources/game.love

and is fused into the built .app (LÖVE auto-runs any bundled *.love).

Apple libraries dependency

The official love-11.5-ios-source.zip already ships prebuilt iOS xcframeworks under platform/xcode/ios/libraries/ (SDL2, LuaJIT, freetype, ogg, vorbis, theora, modplug).

If that folder is missing or incomplete (e.g. you cloned sources without libs), download the matching prebuilts and install them:

curl -fL -o mobile/ios/cache/love-11.5-apple-libraries.zip \
  https://github.com/love2d/love/releases/download/11.5/love-11.5-apple-libraries.zip
unzip -q mobile/ios/cache/love-11.5-apple-libraries.zip -d mobile/ios/cache
rm -rf mobile/ios/love-src/platform/xcode/ios/libraries
cp -R mobile/ios/cache/love-apple-dependencies/iOS/libraries \
  mobile/ios/love-src/platform/xcode/ios/libraries

scripts/build_ios.sh checks for libraries/SDL2.xcframework and fails with these instructions if it is absent.

Upstream also documents love-apple-dependencies as an alternate source of the same libraries.

App identity

Field	Value
Display name	Pokemon Red
`PRODUCT_NAME`	PokemonRed
Bundle ID	`com.theboisclub.pokemonred`
Orientations	Portrait only (`UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait`)

Overrides are applied by the build script (xcodebuild settings + plist overlay) so refreshing love-src/ does not lose branding.

Flags (`scripts/build_ios.sh`)

Flag	Meaning
(default)	Simulator, Debug, no signing
`--fetch`	Download/extract `love-11.5-ios-source.zip` if `love-src/` is missing
`--device`	Build against `iphoneos` instead of `iphonesimulator`
`--release`	`Release` configuration instead of `Debug`
`--package-only`	Zip `game.love` + apply plist overlay; skip `xcodebuild`

Also: scripts/build.sh ios delegates here (--release is forwarded).

Preconditions

macOS (Darwin) with Xcode + xcodebuild on PATH
iOS platform installed in Xcode (Settings → Platforms). xcodebuild -showsdks should list iphonesimulator / iphoneos. A partial install can fail IB/xib compiles with iOS … Platform Not Installed even when the SDK name appears.
love-src/ present (--fetch or manual unzip of love-11.5-ios-source.zip)
iOS libraries under love-src/platform/xcode/ios/libraries/ (see above)

README.md

iOS build (LÖVE 11.5)