Edit

Can I change the output path of the IPA file?

  • Article

For Cycle 7 and higher

Yes, you can use customized MSBuild targets to achieve this. The easiest option is probably to copy the .ipa file after it has been built.

These steps will work for any iOS project that uses the MSBuild build engine on either Mac or Windows. (Note: all Unified API projects use the MSBuild build engine.)

  1. Open the .csproj file for the iOS app project in a text editor and then add the following lines at the end (immediately before the closing </Project> tag):

    <PropertyGroup>
    <CreateIpaDependsOn>
    $(CreateIpaDependsOn);
    CopyIpa
    </CreateIpaDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>

<Target Name="CopyIpa"
        Condition="'$(OutputType)' == 'Exe'
        And '$(ComputedPlatform)' == 'iPhone'
        And '$(BuildIpa)' == 'true'">
    <Copy
        SourceFiles="$(IpaPackagePath)"
        DestinationFolder="$(OutputPath)"
    />
</Target>

  2. Set the DestinationFolder to the desired output folder. As usual you may use MSBuild properties (like $(OutputPath)) within this argument if you wish.

Notes

  • The CreateIpaDependsOn property is defined in the Xamarin.iOS.Common.targets file that is part of Xamarin.iOS. It behaves as described in the Overriding Predefined Targets section of the article How to: Extend the Visual Studio Build Process.

  • You could use a Move Task rather than a Copy Task if you preferred. If you choose that option and you are building on Windows, you will need to use the fully-qualified task name <Microsoft.Build.Tasks.Move> to avoid an ambiguity with the XamarinVS build tasks.

For versions before Xamarin Studio 6.0.0.5174 | Xamarin for Visual Studio 4.1.0.530

Yes, you can use customized MSBuild targets to achieve this. The easiest option is probably to copy the .ipa file after it has been built.

These steps will work for any iOS project that uses the MSBuild build engine on either Mac or Windows. (Note: all Unified API projects use the MSBuild build engine.)

  1. Open the .csproj file for the iOS app project in a text editor and then add the following lines at the end (immediately before the closing </Project> tag).

    <PropertyGroup>
    <CreateIpaDependsOn>
        $(CreateIpaDependsOn);
        CopyIpa
    </CreateIpaDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>

<Target Name="CopyIpa"
        Condition="'$(OutputType)' == 'Exe'
        And '$(ComputedPlatform)' == 'iPhone'
        And '$(BuildIpa)' == 'true'">
    <Copy
        SourceFiles="$(OutputPath)$(IpaPackageName)"
        DestinationFolder="/Users/macuser/Desktop/"
    />
</Target>

  2. Set the DestinationFolder to the desired output folder. As usual you may use MSBuild properties (like $(OutputPath)) within this argument if you wish.

Notes

  • The CreateIpaDependsOn property is defined in the Xamarin.iOS.Common.targets file that is part of Xamarin.iOS. t behaves as described in the Overriding Predefined Targets section of the article How to: Extend the Visual Studio Build Process.

  • You could use a Move Task rather than a Copy Task if you preferred. If you choose that option and you are building on Windows, you will need to use the fully-qualified task name <Microsoft.Build.Tasks.Move> to avoid an ambiguity with the XamarinVS build tasks.