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[No QA] Strip debug symbols from production iOS binaries#83249

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roryabraham wants to merge 7 commits intomainfrom
rory-strip-debug-symbols
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[No QA] Strip debug symbols from production iOS binaries#83249
roryabraham wants to merge 7 commits intomainfrom
rory-strip-debug-symbols

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@roryabraham roryabraham commented Feb 23, 2026 •
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Explanation of Change

Adds an Xcode Run Script build phase to both the HybridApp (Mobile-Expensify) and standalone (NewExpensify) iOS projects that strips debug symbols from the main app binary and all embedded third-party frameworks.

According to Sentry release metrics, debug symbols are contributing ~22MB to production bundles unnecessarily. The top contributors are:

  • Onfido.framework: 8.15 MB
  • MapboxCoreMaps.framework: 5.27 MB
  • MapboxMaps.framework: 2.73 MB
  • hermes.framework: 2.47 MB
  • LinkKit.framework: 1.65 MB

The script uses strip -rSTx to remove local symbols, debug symbols, Swift symbols not needed at runtime, and non-global symbols. It skips Debug configurations (so local dev is unaffected) and skips Apple-signed frameworks (which must not be modified).

Ordering is critical: the stripping phase runs after dSYM generation and Sentry upload, so crash symbolication is preserved. The dSYM is listed as an input file dependency to enforce this ordering in Xcode.

Note

The Mobile-Expensify submodule change requires a corresponding PR to Mobile-Expensify.

Fixed Issues

$ #82999

Tests

Tested with an AdHoc build in Sentry:

Before After
image image

Offline tests

None.

QA Steps

None.

  • Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

  • I linked the correct issue in the ### Fixed Issues section above
  • I wrote clear testing steps that cover the changes made in this PR
    • I added steps for local testing in the Tests section
    • I added steps for the expected offline behavior in the Offline steps section
    • I added steps for Staging and/or Production testing in the QA steps section
    • I added steps to cover failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
    • I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
    • I tested this PR with a High Traffic account against the staging or production API to ensure there are no regressions (e.g. long loading states that impact usability).
  • I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
  • I ran the tests on all platforms & verified they passed on:
    • Android: Native
    • Android: mWeb Chrome
    • iOS: Native
    • iOS: mWeb Safari
    • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
  • I verified there are no console errors (if there's a console error not related to the PR, report it or open an issue for it to be fixed)
  • I verified there are no new alerts related to the canBeMissing param for useOnyx
  • I followed proper code patterns (see Reviewing the code)
    • I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick)
    • I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
    • I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
    • I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
      • If any non-english text was added/modified, I used JaimeGPT to get English > Spanish translation. I then posted it in #expensify-open-source and it was approved by an internal Expensify engineer. Link to Slack message:
    • I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
    • I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
    • I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
    • I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
  • If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
  • I followed the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
  • I tested other components that can be impacted by my changes (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar are working as expected)
  • I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
  • I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.ts or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
  • I verified that if a function's arguments changed that all usages have also been updated correctly
  • If any new file was added I verified that:
    • The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
  • If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
    • A similar style doesn't already exist
    • The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG))
  • If new assets were added or existing ones were modified, I verified that:
    • The assets are optimized and compressed (for SVG files, run npm run compress-svg)
    • The assets load correctly across all supported platforms.
  • If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
  • If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
  • If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
  • If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
  • If the PR modifies the UI (e.g. new buttons, new UI components, changing the padding/spacing/sizing, moving components, etc) or modifies the form input styles:
    • I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
    • I added Design label and/or tagged @Expensify/design so the design team can review the changes.
  • If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
  • I added unit tests for any new feature or bug fix in this PR to help automatically prevent regressions in this user flow.
  • If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

N/A — build pipeline change only

Android: mWeb Chrome

N/A — build pipeline change only

iOS: Native
iOS: mWeb Safari

N/A — build pipeline change only

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

N/A — build pipeline change only

@roryabraham roryabraham changed the title Strip debug symbols from production iOS binaries [WIP] Strip debug symbols from production iOS binaries Feb 23, 2026
@roryabraham @cursoragent
Strip debug symbols from iOS production binaries
28c1f7d 
Add a shared script and Xcode Run Script build phases to both the
HybridApp (Mobile-Expensify) and standalone (NewExpensify) projects
that strip debug symbols from the app binary and embedded frameworks.

This runs after dSYM generation and Sentry upload, preserving crash
symbolication while reducing production IPA size by ~22MB (~11%).

The script skips Debug configurations so local development is unaffected.

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
@roryabraham roryabraham force-pushed the rory-strip-debug-symbols branch from 8813ec8 to 28c1f7d Compare February 26, 2026 23:24
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@roryabraham
Fix dependency cycle by removing dSYM inputPath from Strip Debug Symb…
f36b9a6 
…ols phase

The dSYM inputPath created a cycle in Xcode's build graph. Instead, use
alwaysOutOfDate=1 to run the phase every build, matching how the Sentry
upload phases work.

Made-with: Cursor
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@roryabraham
Fix: use -exec pattern for framework stripping and add diagnostics
7bac0ea 
Switch to the Sentry-recommended -exec bash -c pattern for the find
command to match the proven approach. Also add a diagnostic message
when the Frameworks directory is not found.

Made-with: Cursor
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Fix: find framework binaries by name convention, not permission bits
c590cb7 
XCFrameworks (like Onfido) extracted from ZIPs may lack the execute
permission bits that the previous -perm -111 check required. Instead,
iterate over .framework directories and locate binaries by the standard
naming convention (binary name matches framework name without extension).

Made-with: Cursor
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github-actions bot commented Feb 27, 2026

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪
Built from App PR #83249 Mobile-Expensify PR Expensify/Mobile-Expensify#13876.

Android 🤖 iOS 🍎
⏩ SKIPPED ⏩ https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-ios-device-AdHoc-c590cb7-096ab81-9da351ef2d6ce9d5a76f048deed14263032cb3c7/index.html
The build for Android was skipped iOS
Web 🕸️
⏩ SKIPPED ⏩
The build for Web was skipped

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

@roryabraham roryabraham changed the title [WIP] Strip debug symbols from production iOS binaries [No QA] Strip debug symbols from production iOS binaries Feb 27, 2026
@roryabraham roryabraham marked this pull request as ready for review February 27, 2026 02:38
@roryabraham roryabraham requested a review from a team as a code owner February 27, 2026 02:38
@melvin-bot melvin-bot bot requested a review from Pujan92 February 27, 2026 02:39
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@Pujan92 Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

@melvin-bot melvin-bot bot removed the request for review from a team February 27, 2026 02:39
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@roryabraham roryabraham removed the request for review from Pujan92 February 27, 2026 05:08
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roryabraham commented Feb 27, 2026

@Pujan92 I don't think we need C+ review here

@roryabraham
Re-sign frameworks after stripping to restore code signatures
2650aad 
Stripping invalidates the embedded code signature. While Xcode's final
code signing step handles this, explicitly re-signing each framework
after stripping is more robust and doesn't rely on implicit behavior.

Made-with: Cursor
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roryabraham commented Feb 27, 2026

@codex review

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Codex Review: Didn't find any major issues. Breezy!

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