install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install cocoapods

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#cocoapods

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/co/cocoapods/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Dependency manager for Cocoa projects

Project links

Commands and aliases

pod
xcodeproj

history

Project history and usage

CocoaPods is the long-running dependency manager for Swift and Objective-C Cocoa projects. It is one of the defining package tools of iOS and macOS development, centered on the `pod` CLI, the Podfile, podspecs, and the CocoaPods Specs/trunk ecosystem.

Project history

The CocoaPods GitHub repository was created in 2011 and the project presents itself as the dependency manager for iOS and Mac projects. The official site says CocoaPods is developed on GitHub by the CocoaPods Dev Team with many contributors.

CocoaPods matured into a full package ecosystem: a command-line installer, a central specs index, project integration for Xcode workspaces, documentation, search, and trunk publishing for podspecs.

Adoption history

The official homepage states that CocoaPods has over 107 thousand libraries and is used in over 3 million apps. RubyGems records more than 100 million downloads for the `cocoapods` gem.

CocoaPods' adoption has also reached a late-maintenance phase. The official blog announced a plan to make CocoaPods trunk read-only, while keeping existing Specs/CDN infrastructure available so existing builds continue to work.

How it is used

A user writes dependencies in a `Podfile`, runs `pod install`, and then opens the generated `.xcworkspace` rather than the original Xcode project. The official guide says the `Podfile` and `Podfile.lock` should be kept under version control.

CocoaPods also supports creating and publishing pods through podspecs, with commands such as `pod spec create`, `pod spec lint`, and publishing through trunk.

Why package nerds care

CocoaPods is historically important because it brought a package-index workflow to Apple platform development before Swift Package Manager was mature. It normalized lockfiles, central package metadata, semantic versions, and repeatable third-party dependency integration for Xcode projects.

It is also a case study in package registry lifecycle. The planned read-only trunk transition shows how an ecosystem can preserve installability while reducing the operational and security burden of accepting new package submissions.

Timeline

2011: `CocoaPods/CocoaPods` repository created on GitHub.
2010s: CocoaPods becomes the dominant third-party dependency manager for Objective-C and Swift Cocoa projects.
2016: CocoaPods 1.0 series released.
2024: CocoaPods 1.16.2 released.
2024: Official blog announces a read-only plan for CocoaPods trunk, later updated in May 2025.
2026: Blog plan says new trunk submissions will be stopped while existing builds continue to work.

Related projects

CocoaPods Specs is the central podspec repository/trunk data set.
RubyGems distributes the `cocoapods` CLI gem.
Swift Package Manager and Carthage are adjacent Apple-platform dependency managers.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: orange

infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.

Risk classifier

orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure

Why

infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal

Signals

text:dependency manager

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: Podfile

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`pod`	cli	global executable
`xcodeproj`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version1.17.0

manager updated2026-07-06

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detected1.17.0

https://github.com/CocoaPods/CocoaPods

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:cocoapods
Version	1.17.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/cocoapods
Homepage	https://cocoapods.org/
Repository	https://github.com/CocoaPods/CocoaPods
Upstream docs	https://guides.cocoapods.org/
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/CocoaPods/CocoaPods/archive/refs/tags/1.17.0.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-07-06T23:44:34Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	ruby
Build dependencies	pkgconf
Uses from macOS	libffi
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	cocoapods
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

cocoapods

nix profile install nixpkgs#cocoapods

normalized package name match
Matched by: Cocoapods

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/co/cocoapods/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/cocoapods.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install cocoapods with Homebrew, Nix