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I am a newbie for XDK iOS Development and I was wondering how does it compile iOS apps without a MAC? If its cloud build, how does it work even when I am offline?

user2801184
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It is a cloud build, there is no support for off-line builds. When you do a build, it bundles your code, sends it to the cloud and does the build there. Then you download the resulting app package.

Note that there are a couple ways to test your app without building it. One is to use the emulator, which requires no build but supports only a fixed number of plugins. The "Debug" tab is more powerful, as it can support most plugins, but it requires building the debug container with your set of plugins at least once (requiring a net connection). After that it should cached it so you can Debug offline if needed.

OldGeeksGuide
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  • Even if I am off the internet it still builds and shows the updated changes on the UI . How does this work if it cloud build? they might start charging money for the builds once XDK becomes popular? – user2801184 Nov 11 '15 at 21:46
  • I'm not sure I understand. If I click on the 'Build' tab and choose, for example, and Android build, I click on the blue 'Build' button and the first thing it does is upload my code to the cloud. Are you saying you don't see that? – OldGeeksGuide Nov 11 '15 at 22:27
  • I designed a simple app offline(not connected to Internet). Now I click Emulate tab. It still shows your app on the screen. Now this is contrary,since it is cloud build it needs Internet connection all the time ? – user2801184 Nov 11 '15 at 23:47
  • Ah, I see the confusion. The emulator doesn't actually build your app, rather it runs it in a webview and emulates some of the standard cordova plugins. It is just a rough approximation of how your app would work on a real device. If you use the Debug tab, you can get closer to the way a built app would work, but it needs to build for your combination of plugins at least once. After that you should be able run the Debugger offline. – OldGeeksGuide Nov 12 '15 at 01:21
  • Thank you for Answering the question! – user2801184 Nov 12 '15 at 20:09