refactor(ios): remove clang VFS overlay, resolve headers via new ReactNativeHeaders framework#57285
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refactor(ios): remove clang VFS overlay, resolve headers via new ReactNativeHeaders framework#57285chrfalch wants to merge 2 commits into
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The minimal machinery to build the packaged header structures: - headers-spec.js: the executable layout contract (rules R1-R8) — which namespaces are hoisted into the React framework, which carry module maps, and how collisions are rejected. - headers-inventory.js: scans the source tree and classifies every shipped header (language surface + modularizability bucket) — the input to the spec. computeInventory() feeds the build in-memory; the CLI writes a JSON manifest. - headers-compose.js: emits the layout — writes the <React/...> headers + umbrella + module map into each React.framework slice (detected by the framework's presence), and assembles the headers-only ReactNativeHeaders.xcframework (every other namespace + deps + Hermes). Called by xcframework.js during compose. This is the alternative header source that lets consumers resolve React Native headers without a clang VFS overlay. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Emit the headers-spec layout unconditionally and delete the VFS overlay across
JS, CI publish, and Ruby. Consumers resolve headers the way the SwiftPM branch
does: <React/...> from the vendored React.framework, every other namespace from
ReactNativeHeaders. No root Headers/ on the xcframework, no VFS.
JS:
- xcframework.js: always emit the React.framework spec layout and build
ReactNativeHeaders.xcframework (was gated behind RN_ZERO_I_LAYOUT=1). Remove
the legacy header path entirely — the podspec->root-Headers enumeration,
createModuleMapFile, and copyHeaderFilesToSlices — so the published
React.xcframework is a standard framework (Info.plist + per-slice
React.framework/{Headers,Modules}), no root Headers/ or Modules/. Ship
ReactNativeHeaders.xcframework inside the reactnative-core tarball (sibling of
React.xcframework) so the prebuilt pod can vend both; keep the standalone
ReactNativeHeaders.xcframework.tar.gz for the SPM path. Drop the
React-VFS-template.yaml emit and the ./vfs import.
- vfs.js: deleted (its only consumer was xcframework.js).
- types.js: drop the now-unused VFSEntry/VFSOverlay/HeaderMapping types.
- replace-rncore-version.js: drop the React-VFS.yaml preservation rationale.
Ruby/CocoaPods:
- React-Core-prebuilt.podspec: vend React.xcframework (its per-slice
React.framework + module map serves <React/...> and @import React via
FRAMEWORK_SEARCH_PATHS); flatten ReactNativeHeaders' headers into a top-level
Headers/ in prepare_command and expose them via the pod header search path.
Drop the VFS-era root header_mappings_dir/module_map.
- rncore.rb: remove the -ivfsoverlay injection and process_vfs_overlay;
add_rncore_dependency and configure_aggregate_xcconfig now add a
HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS to React-Core-prebuilt/Headers for podspec, aggregate, and
third-party targets.
- react_native_pods.rb: drop the process_vfs_overlay post-install call.
Docs: replace the "VFS Overlay System" section with the headers-spec layout;
drop the obsolete "Known Issues" (pre-headers-spec) section.
Verified end-to-end: prebuild compose produces a VFS-free, root-Headers-free
React.xcframework; rn-tester pod install + xcodebuild (prebuilt path) BUILD
SUCCEEDED with zero -ivfsoverlay.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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| // namespace). The headers-only xcframework is a sibling of React.xcframework. | ||
| execSync( | ||
| `tar -czf ${tarFilePath} -C ${path.dirname(outputPath)} React.xcframework`, | ||
| `tar -czf ${tarFilePath} -C ${path.dirname(outputPath)} React.xcframework ${path.basename(headersXcfw)}`, |
| frameworkLog('Creating tar file: ' + headersTarPath); | ||
| try { | ||
| execSync( | ||
| `tar -czf ${headersTarPath} -C ${path.dirname(headersXcfw)} ReactNativeHeaders.xcframework`, |
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Summary
The prebuilt React.xcframework previously relied on a Clang VFS overlay (React-VFS.yaml) to make headers importable, because the headers were laid out in CocoaPods-style namespaced folders rather than standard framework conventions. The overlay had to be generated at build time, re-resolved at pod-install time per slice, and injected as
-ivfsoverlayflags into every Obj-C, C++, and Swift compile (including aggregate and third-party pod targets).This is fragile, hard to reason about, and incompatible with SwiftPM consumption.
This PR removes the VFS overlay entirely and resolves headers through standard framework/header-search-path mechanics instead.
Headers are now emitted into the artifact according to an explicit, executable spec:
<React/...>header plus a framework module map, so#import <React/...>and@import Reactresolve throughFRAMEWORK_SEARCH_PATHSautomatically.<react/...>,<yoga/...>,folly,glog, …), shipped alongside in the prebuilt tarball and exposed via a single header search path.ReactNativeDependenciesbinary-only.No clang VFS overlay, no per-target
-ivfsoverlayflags. The layout is driven by a single source of truth (headers-spec.js, rules R1–R8) that both the prebuild compose step and downstream SwiftPM tooling derive from, so the shipped header set cannot drift from the spec.Source headers are byte-identical to the repo — the only consumer-facing changes needed is bare-form angle includes (
#import <RCTAppDelegate.h>→#import <React/RCTAppDelegate.h>).Key changes
headers-spec.js(the executable layout contract),headers-compose.js(emitter for both xcframeworks),headers-inventory.js(podspec-driven header classifier feeding the spec + a diagnostic manifest).vfs.js, VFS types intypes.js, and the VFS processing/flag-injection paths inrncore.rbandxcframework.js.React-Core-prebuilt.podspec(vends both xcframeworks, flattens ReactNativeHeaders headers into Headers/ via prepare_command),rncore.rb/react_native_pods.rb(header search path instead of overlay flags), README (VFS docs replaced with the new model).Changelog
[IOS] [CHANGED] - Remove the Clang VFS overlay from prebuilt React Native Core; resolve headers via React.xcframework + a new headers-only ReactNativeHeaders.xcframework
Test Plan
React.xcframeworkandReactNativeHeaders.xcframeworkpod install flattens headers into React-Core-prebuilt/Headers.React.xcframeworkandReactNativeHeaders.xcframeworkare changed between debug and release correctly.