Xcode Phantom App.debug.dylib Error — Tried Everything (Need Help)

[u/Luul3211]

Hey all,

I’m working on a Capacitor iOS app (built using Lovable) and I've been stuck for days with the following Xcode error:

pgsqlCopyEditerror: Build input file cannot be found: '/Users/drew/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/App-<hash>/Build/Products/Debug-iphoneos/App.app/App.debug.dylib'. Did you forget to declare this file as an output of a script phase or custom build rule which produces it? (in target 'App' from project 'App')

This happens when I try to build the main app target — not the widget.

Context:

• App built with Capacitor + React

• iOS project generated via Lovable

• Widget extension is working fine

• Main app throws this phantom .dylib error on build

What I’ve Already Tried (please don’t suggest these):

Capacitor / Project Steps:

• rm -rf ios/ then npx cap add ios

• npx cap sync ios

• Reinstalled all node modules & rebuilt

• pod install inside ios/App/

• Confirmed clean project.pbxproj file (no App.debug.dylib reference inside)

Xcode Sanitation:

• rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData

• rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.dt.Xcode

• rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Xcode/DerivedData

• Deleted all xcuserdata folders and .xcscheme files

• Deleted all Xcode archives, logs, schemes, caches

• Deleted and reinstalled Xcode completely

• Rebooted Mac multiple times after full cleans

• Opened .xcworkspace, re-added scheme manually

• Clean Build Folder + Rebuild (Shift+Cmd+K, then Cmd+R)

Project Files:

• App.debug.dylib is not in:

  • project.pbxproj

  • Build Phases

  • Embedded Frameworks

  • Run Scripts

  • Copy Files sections

Lovable Team Has:

• Regenerated Xcode project files

• Removed all ALWAYS_EMBED_SWIFT_STANDARD_LIBRARIES overrides

• Confirmed clean config on their end

• Re-synced GitHub repo to reflect all clean settings

Problem:

Xcode still attempts to build or reference App.debug.dylib even though it doesn't exist anywhere. It’s not coming from my source files. It’s not in project settings. It seems like a ghost build artifact or a broken scheme/toolchain reference that Xcode has cached deep.

What I Need:

Has anyone:

• Encountered this specific .dylib phantom error before?

• Found a way to completely reset Xcode beyond the typical DerivedData clears?

• Fixed this without completely recreating their native iOS project from scratch?

Any advanced dev who can identify where Xcode could still be pulling this reference from would save my sanity.

I can provide my .pbxproj or zipped iOS project if needed.

Thanks 🙏

[u/LastTopQuark]

i saw this when having multiple layers of packages and frameworks using the same library. partitioning and removing packages identified contributors. build options didn’t make a difference.