Build cache for faster iOS builds with Jenkins CI and on-demand macOS VM slaves

Most of the existing iOS CI environments are configured to run the build and tests jobs directly on the Mac hardware. In such installations with large projects, some data like XCode derived data, and code repository get cached on the hardware and subsequent builds use these caches. In this blog, we will describe how you can set up your Anka Build macOS cloud in a Jenkins CI environment to build cache inside the VM and use them for on-demand provisioned Jenkins iOS CI slaves. This will provide the advantages of isolated, reproducible environments and build caches for faster build times.



We have implemented a Jenkins plugin called “Anka Slave template Prepare” plugin. This plugin enables devops to load and update build cache on existing jobing Anka macOS VM templates in an automated manner. Devops can then use the Anka Build Cloud Jenkins plugin and setup their primary iOS CI Jenkins jobs to always run using the VM templates pre-loaded with caches.



Visit https://ankadoc.bitbucket.io/using-jenkins/#using-the-anka-slave-template-prepare-plugin for detailed documentation to configure the plugin.



Anka Slave Template Prepare Jenkins Plugin







Post Build Action Configuration



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