Skill: SDK Version Check

Purpose

Detects apps built with outdated Xcode SDKs or targeting deprecated iOS versions, enforcing Guideline 2.5.10 which requires apps to be built with the current SDK from Xcode. Apple rejects submissions that do not meet the minimum SDK requirement enforced at each yearly iOS release cycle.

Apple Guideline

• Primary: 2.5.10 — Performance: Current SDK
• Related: 2.3.6
• Reference: references/guidelines/2-performance.md

Real-World Rejection Cases

• Case: App submitted with iOS 15 SDK (Xcode 13) after Apple began requiring iOS 16 SDK — rejected with ITMS-90725 "SDK Version Issue"
  Source: Apple Developer Forums (multiple annual reports at iOS SDK deadline)
  Root cause: Apple sets a hard deadline each spring for the minimum SDK version required for new submissions and updates — apps built against an older SDK receive an automatic rejection notice from App Store Connect before the binary even reaches human review

• Case: App targeted iOS 12 as deployment target while referencing APIs only available on iOS 15+ without availability checks — crashed on older devices during review
  Source: Apple Developer Forums (Guideline 2.5.10 enforcement)
  Root cause: When IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET is set lower than the APIs used, the app crashes at runtime on devices running the declared minimum OS — reviewers test on devices at or near the minimum supported version

• Case: App used a deprecated UIWebView after Apple removed it from the SDK — rejected at upload with ITMS-90809
  Source: Apple Developer News (UIWebView removal, April 2020)
  Root cause: APIs removed from the SDK cause binary validation failures at upload time — App Store Connect's automated checks reject the binary before human review begins

Trigger

Invoke on any iOS/macOS project before App Store submission to verify SDK and deployment target configuration.

Inputs

Name	Type	Default	Description
project_root	path	cwd	iOS/macOS project root
shared_context	object	nil	Pre-collected context from appstore-full-audit Phase 1

Actions

Phase 1: Context Collection

Skip this phase if shared_context is provided.

1. Glob **/*.pbxproj — locate Xcode project file.
2. Glob **/*.xcconfig — locate build configuration overrides.
3. Glob **/*.swift — collect Swift source files for deprecated API detection.

Phase 2: Checks

1. Minimum deployment target
   Read project.pbxproj — search for IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET.
   If value is 13 or lower → 🟠 HIGH. Apple requires new submissions to target a recent iOS version; very old deployment targets are flagged and may be rejected. Current minimum for new submissions typically advances each year.

2. SDKROOT value
   Read project.pbxproj — search for SDKROOT.
   If value is not iphoneos (e.g., iphoneos15.0 with a pinned old version) → 🟠 HIGH. SDKROOT should be iphoneos (latest) not a pinned version — pinned SDKs prevent building with the current Xcode SDK.

3. Deprecated UIWebView usage
   Grep pattern UIWebView in **/*.swift.
   Any match → 🔴 CRITICAL. UIWebView was removed; its presence causes ITMS-90809 binary rejection at upload. Replace with WKWebView.

4. Deprecated API patterns
   Grep pattern UIAlertView|UIActionSheet|ABAddressBook|AddressBook\.framework|UISearchDisplayController in **/*.swift.
   Any match → 🟠 HIGH. These APIs were deprecated and removed in recent SDK versions — they may produce build warnings or submission errors.

5. Missing availability guards for modern APIs
   Grep pattern @available\(iOS in **/*.swift — check presence near modern API usage.
   If modern APIs (e.g., UISheetPresentationController, PHPickerViewController) are used without @available guards while deployment target is < iOS 14 → 🟠 HIGH. Missing guards cause crashes on devices running the minimum supported OS.

Phase 3: Output

Collect all findings from Phase 2 and build the prioritised findings list below. Include file paths and line numbers. Omit tiers with no findings.

Output Format

## SDK Version Check — Findings

### 🔴 CRITICAL — Guaranteed rejection
- [ ] TODO: Remove UIWebView — ITMS-90809 will reject the binary at upload; replace with WKWebView — `LegacyBrowserViewController.swift:12` — Guideline 2.5.10

### 🟠 HIGH — Very likely rejection
- [ ] TODO: Update IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET from 12.0 to 16.0 or higher — current Apple minimum for new submissions — `MyApp.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj` — Guideline 2.5.10
- [ ] TODO: Replace UIAlertView with UIAlertController — removed from current SDK — `AlertHelper.swift:34` — Guideline 2.5.10
- [ ] TODO: Add @available(iOS 15, *) guard around UISheetPresentationController usage — crashes on iOS 14 devices — `BottomSheetManager.swift:8`

### 🟡 MEDIUM — Possible rejection
- [ ] TODO: Build with the latest Xcode and resolve all SDK deprecation warnings before submission

### 🟢 LOW — Best practice
- [ ] TODO: Subscribe to Apple Developer News for annual SDK minimum deadline announcements — typically announced at WWDC and enforced the following spring

Tools Used

Glob, Grep, Read

Constraints

• Read-only. No file edits.
• No network calls.
• Skip Phase 1 if shared_context is provided by orchestrating agent.
• Exact minimum SDK requirements change annually — check the current Apple Developer News for the active deadline.

Quick Commands

# Check deployment target
!grep -rn "IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET" . --include="*.pbxproj" --include="*.xcconfig" | head -10

# Check for removed UIWebView
!grep -rn "UIWebView" . --include="*.swift" | grep -v "//"

# Check for other deprecated APIs
!grep -rn "UIAlertView\|UIActionSheet\|ABAddressBook\|UISearchDisplayController" . --include="*.swift" | grep -v "//"

# Check SDKROOT
!grep -rn "SDKROOT" . --include="*.pbxproj" | head -5

Swift Anti-Pattern Reference

examples/swift/QualityPatterns.swift

Detection Steps

1. Find target files

   • Glob: **/*.swift, **/*.m, **/project.pbxproj, **/Podfile, **/Package.swift

2. Search for rejection patterns

   • Grep UIWebView in Swift/ObjC files — deprecated, causes ITMS-90809
   • Grep IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET in project.pbxproj — check value
   • Grep UIAlertView\|UIActionSheet\|UISearchDisplayController — removed APIs
   • Grep @available(iOS — count guards; compare against deprecated API usage

3. Determine verdict

   • UIWebView found → 🔴 CRITICAL (ITMS-90809 automatic rejection)
   • UIAlertView / UIActionSheet found → 🟠 HIGH
   • IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET < 16 + deprecated API without @available guard → 🟡 MEDIUM
   • No deprecated APIs found → 🟢 pass

4. Report

   • File path + line of UIWebView usage
   • Fix: Replace UIWebView with WKWebView; replace UIAlertView with UIAlertController