Xcode linker error: file too small for architecture x86_64

Question

I'm developing an application in Xcode.

When I try to build, this error comes up:

ld: in /Users/theodore/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/Tower-bkpdifuqssebjdgurzmtirbxejnn/Build/Intermediates/Tower.build/Debug/Tower.build/Objects-normal/x86_64/TWRAppDelegate.o, file too small for architecture x86_64
clang: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)

Does anyone know what's wrong?

Try a full rebuild / clean. It's possible that the a previous build has been abnormally aborted, leaving the `TWRAppDelegate.o` file corrupted or zero-size. — Martin Baulig, Dec 25 '12 at 21:27
A little precisation: you do that with cmd+shift+k, if that doesn't work, go into the derived data folder and delete the folder named as your project. — Ramy Al Zuhouri, Dec 25 '12 at 21:34
@RamyAlZuhouri: There isn't any need to go Trashing build folders yourself anymore. Hold down Option and the Clean command (which is in the Product menu) changes to “Clean Build Folder…”, which does that for you. — Peter Hosey, Dec 26 '12 at 04:38
@MartinBaulig If you post your suggestion as an answer, I'll upvote it and mark it as the accepted answer. — tbodt, Jul 18 '13 at 19:12
@MartinBaulig : Thanks for letting me steal your comment. My cut-and-paste of it just got to 40 upvotes, and gave me the Guru silver badge. Go figure. :-) — Peter K., Jan 28 '16 at 16:28
I started to often get this error for a third-party library written in Swift (PromiseKit). It used to work OK when I used the old version that was written in Objective-C. Maybe it's a bug in the Swift compiler? — iosdude, Jun 29 '16 at 09:54

Peter K. · Accepted Answer · 2016-10-05T00:08:55.750

212

Stealing @martin-baulig's answer:

Try a full rebuild / clean. It's possible that the previous build has been abnormally aborted, leaving the TWRAppDelegate.o file corrupted or zero-size.

edited Oct 05 '16 at 00:08

answered Apr 29 '15 at 19:13

Peter K.

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My project takes a while to build. You can get away with deleting just the 1-4 object files that get corrupted if you stop the build abnormally rather than everything. – Fernando Mazzon Nov 14 '16 at 12:23
Better use @grassyburrito's answer (just add a space or something to the corrupted file); cleaning the build folder is redundant and could waste a good deal of time – nrx Jun 30 '21 at 08:38
@nrx I tend to agree, but I've had it where several files were corrupted... and I didn't know until after several attempts at compiling. Depending on your project size, Martin's approach might be faster. And this answer was given two years before grassyburrito's :-) – Peter K. Jun 30 '21 at 19:24

grassyburrito · Answer 2 · 2018-07-09T11:28:52.650

27

I usually add a space (could be any character for that matter) to the file in question, remove it and then save. Easier and quicker than a clean build.

edited Jul 09 '18 at 11:28

answered Mar 03 '17 at 15:04

grassyburrito

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Your answer save me 10 minutes of rebuilding the project! Thanks – Accid Bright Aug 22 '18 at 12:07
1

This answer should go to the top one! – Ting Yi Shih Dec 11 '20 at 08:21
1

Thanks, kind stranger! This is the correct answer. Cleaning the build folder is obvious and redundant. – nrx Jun 30 '21 at 08:35

Anton Plebanovich · Answer 3 · 2020-06-05T22:51:36.503

To automatically fix this issue Build Script Phase can be added. Goto Xcode -> Your Project -> Your Target -> Build Phases -> + -> New Run Script Phase

Rename it to Xcode Link Fix and move it above Compile Sources phase. Paste this into script body:

# Legacy build system
legacy_dir=`dirname "${LD_DEPENDENCY_INFO_FILE}"`
if [ -d "${legacy_dir}" ]; then
    find "${legacy_dir}" -size 0 | while read -d $'\n' file; do
        rm "$file"
    done
fi

# New build system
if [ -d "${OBJECT_FILE_DIR_normal}" ]; then
    find "${OBJECT_FILE_DIR_normal}" -size 0 | while read -d $'\n' file; do
        rm "$file"
    done
fi

This script checks for object files with zero size and removes them so when compilation is done in next step it success.

You need to add this script for every app target if you have many.

This script takes ~0.1 second to run and saves you from full project rebuild.

It's genious! Need to have in every project. – Nike Kov Mar 30 '20 at 08:33 — Nike Kov, Mar 30 '20 at 08:33

score 9 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 20 '16 at 08:57

9

rm -rf /Users/hostname/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData

answered Oct 20 '16 at 08:57

yeyimilk

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score 6 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 14 '18 at 02:34

6

just remove this file by run cmd in your terminal app:

rm /Users/theodore/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/Tower-bkpdifuqssebjdgurzmtirbxejnn/Build/Intermediates/Tower.build/Debug/Tower.build/Objects-normal/x86_64/TWRAppDelegate.o

answered Sep 14 '18 at 02:34

HaiN

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I solved it the same way, much faster than a full clean/build on my big project. Next time I will give @Anton Plebanovich 's solution a try, it could be an excellent way to automate this fix. – Romano Jan 27 '20 at 08:26

score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 20 '19 at 13:19

3

Quick way to fix error without complete cache clean:

Open file described in error (in case of this question TWRAppDelegate)
cmd + A
cmd + X
Rebuild - fail
cmd + V
Rebuild - succeed

answered Mar 20 '19 at 13:19

Vadim Ahmerov

708
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score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Jun 29 '16 at 11:18

Since building a clean project may take way too long there is shorter way for those that have the access to the file that is corrupt in the cache:

Delete the file (Remove reference)
Build project
Reinsert file
Build project

Full version so you have no trouble finding the file:

Find the file in Xcode project navigator
Right click the file and press "show in finder" (opens a finder at the location where the file is)
Select the file in Xcode and press backspace then click "Remove reference"
Build project (it will fail but wait for it to finish)
Reinsert file by dragging it from the finder into the same location you just deleted it
Build project (should work now)

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 04 '18 at 20:29

You can just delete the TWRAppDelegate.o file and continue your build. Copy the full path mentioned in the error message and paste it behind an 'rm' command in your terminal. There's no need to clean/rebuild, delete derived data, add/remove the file from the project, etc.

score -1 · Answer 9 · answered Aug 02 '16 at 05:28

-1

Step 1. Go to: Project > Build Settings > Search Paths

Step 2. Set "Always Search User Paths" to Yes

Step 3. Build the project (You'll get a warning but the project will build.)

Step 4. Set "Always Search User Paths" back to No and build again to eliminate the warning

answered Aug 02 '16 at 05:28

tland

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Can just add this for others who find this answer. "Always Search User Path" has been deprecated as of Xcode 8.3 and from the documenation it also says "Disabling it is strongly recommended." (I.e. setting it to NO) – Groot Jul 03 '20 at 12:05

Xcode linker error: file too small for architecture x86_64

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