Is there a straightforward way to clean up the directory where xcode deploys an app when building for the iPhone simulator? I have a sqlite database that gets copied into the Documents folder on startup if necessary. The problem is that I might change my schema, but the new database won't get copied, because one already exists.
Ideally, every time I build, it would nuke the previous contents. Is this possible, or do I have to manually do it?
The simulator installs apps into:
"$HOME/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/User/Applications"
Also check:
"$HOME/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices"
The GUID files and directories match up to the simulator's installed apps.
Manually delete all those files/directories to remove all applications from the simulator.
I know there is some way to add scripts to the build process in XCode.
Also it looks as if XCode changes the GUID it uses each build (the directory where my app sits changes between builds in XCode), so trying to delete the same directory all the time won't work. If you are only working on one app at a time then clearing out the entire directory would be an option.
The way I do this is to simply click and hold on the icon for my app in the simulator--then when it starts to wiggle click the black and white (x). A message will pop up asking whether you really want to delete and you just click yes. The next time you build and deploy your app it will use the new sqlite db without a hitch and you don't have to go muck around in the filesystem.
What you are really trying to do is to clear out your database, if you've changed the schema. One way to do this, and it would make you happier in the long run when you start shipping version 2.0, 3.0, etc. of your app, is to check the version of your sqlite table, and if it has changed, then discard the old file and use the one in your bundle.
Finding a way to clean up the Simulator won't help the real world problem of how to clean up a customer's iPhone when you ship a new version with a new schema.
For extra points, after determining that you have encountered an old schema, you may want to copy the new database over without destroying the old one, and load any interesting data out of the old database, into the new one. Then blow away the old database. That way you can preserve your user's additions to the database.
The following command in the terminal will wipe all of your simulators as if you had just installed them.
$xcrun simctl erase all
Just close simulators before you run it.
