feat(ios): manage generated modulemaps in CLI-controlled directory instead of node_modules

[edusperoni]

PR Checklist

• The PR title follows our guidelines: https://github.com/NativeScript/NativeScript/blob/master/tools/notes/CONTRIBUTING.md#commit-messages.
• There is an issue for the bug/feature this PR is for. To avoid wasting your time, it's best to open a suggestion issue first and wait for approval before working on it.
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• All existing tests are passing: https://github.com/NativeScript/nativescript-cli/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#contribute-to-the-code-base
• Tests for the changes are included.

What is the current behavior?

When preparing an iOS plugin that ships a static library (.a) with headers, the CLI generates a module.modulemap and writes it into node_modules — next to the plugin's headers at node_modules/{plugin}/platforms/ios/.../include/{lib}/module.modulemap. This mutates node_modules, which should be treated as immutable (it breaks clean/reproducible installs, dirties caches, and is the iOS counterpart to the Android side writing generated .aars back into node_modules).

What is the new behavior?

The generated modulemap is now written into a CLI-managed directory under the platform root — platforms/ios/.plugins/{lib}/module.modulemap — and never into node_modules.

• generateModulemap() writes to the new .plugins location and references the plugin's headers in place via relative paths (header "<relative path back to node_modules>"), so no headers are copied or linked and node_modules is left untouched. It now returns a boolean indicating whether a modulemap was produced.
• addStaticLibrary() adds the .plugins/{lib} directory to HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS so clang discovers the module from the new location; removeStaticLibs() removes it symmetrically on plugin removal.
• No iOS runtime change is required: the runtime/metadata generator discovers modulemaps purely through HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS, which the CLI controls — so this works on any iOS runtime version.

Tests for generateModulemap were updated to cover the new output location, the relative header paths, and the boolean return value.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Refactor
  • Reorganized iOS static-library module.modulemap generation into a dedicated CLI-managed directory under the iOS project root.
  • Updated modulemap handling so stale files are removed when headers are missing, and Xcode header search paths are adjusted only when a modulemap is actually produced.
  • Improved dynamic framework binary path detection to align with updated path construction behavior.
• Tests
  • Updated modulemap-related static library tests to match the new output location and updated generation outcomes.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Repository UI

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Run ID: 935d672b-823a-4b22-a5cc-cd9664586db7

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 1cb741c and 60a7b36.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• lib/services/ios-project-service.ts

🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes (1)

• lib/services/ios-project-service.ts

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

IOSProjectService now writes C/C++ modulemaps for static libraries into a CLI-managed directory (GENERATED_PLUGINS_DIR_NAME) under the iOS platform project root instead of the headers folder. generateModulemap is reworked to accept a target directory, return a boolean, and clean up stale files. Header search path additions and removals are updated accordingly, and tests reflect the new paths and return value.

Changes

Modulemap CLI-managed directory refactor

Layer / File(s)	Summary
GENERATED_PLUGINS_DIR_NAME constant and isDynamicFramework path fixes lib/services/ios-project-service.ts	Adds the GENERATED_PLUGINS_DIR_NAME constant and updates isDynamicFramework to build .xcframework and non-.xcframework binary paths via path.join.
generateModulemap rework lib/services/ios-project-service.ts	generateModulemap now accepts a modulemapDir argument, ensures that directory exists, writes module.modulemap into it, removes a stale modulemap when no header files are present, and returns a boolean indicating success.
Static library add/remove wiring lib/services/ios-project-service.ts	Static library preparation calls generateModulemap with the CLI-managed directory and adds it to Xcode header search paths only when the call returns true; removal deletes that same directory from header search paths.
Tests for new modulemap directory and boolean return test/ios-project-service.ts	Tests target modulemapDir under <projectPath>/.plugins/<libraryName>, use path.relative for expected header entries, assert generateModulemap returns false after headers are deleted, and verify that reading module.modulemap from modulemapDir throws.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~20 minutes

Poem

🐇 No more maps tucked in headers' lair,
The CLI now picks a spot with care.
.plugins awaits each module's scroll,
A boolean returned to show control.
Paths joined just right, the test agrees—
The rabbit hops with tidy ease! 🗺️

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title directly and accurately reflects the main change: moving generated modulemaps from node_modules to a CLI-controlled directory.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 1

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents

Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
In `@lib/services/ios-project-service.ts`:
- Around line 1739-1745: The call to this.$fs.readDirectory(headersFolderPath)
will throw an error if the headersFolderPath directory does not exist, and there
is no guard to prevent this. Add an existence check using this.$fs.getFsStats or
a similar method before calling readDirectory to verify that headersFolderPath
exists and is a directory. If the directory does not exist, handle it gracefully
by returning an empty array or skipping the operation, so the filter operation
on headerFiles can proceed safely without throwing.

🪄 Autofix (Beta)

Fix all unresolved CodeRabbit comments on this PR:

• Push a commit to this branch (recommended)
• Create a new PR with the fixes

---

ℹ️ Review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Repository UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 637c453c-b36e-4c97-848f-92ccf6eb636f

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 86cb6a5 and 1cb741c.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• lib/services/ios-project-service.ts
• test/ios-project-service.ts