Build an ad hoc distribution .ipa file for a project that includes static libraries (e.g. Open Ears)

When I wanted to generate an .ipa file for my latest project I ran into the following problem: my project uses the Open Ears library for speech recognition. Open Ears is included as a static library. When I tried to archive the app to share it with others I could not create the .ipa file. After clicking on “share” the option to save it as an .ipa file was grayed out with the message “No Packager exists for the type of archive”. So no chance to build the necessary .ipa file that is needed for ad hoc distribution.

The solution for this problem is quite simple but it took me some time to find it. The problem is that you have to make sure that the static libraries are included in the application binary. You achieve this by setting the “Skip Install” build setting to “YES” for the libraries: Right click on the library project icon (the blue one) and find the “Skip Install” property in the “Deployment category” in the build settings. Set it to “YES”.

Important: leave the “Skip Install” property of your main project at “NO”.

When you archive your project now, it should offer the save as .ipa option in the share section.