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JavaScript bundle was not built into the app
iOS / Xcode · last reviewed 2026-11-10
The error looks like this
error: File /Users/robert/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/App/Release-iphoneos/App.app/main.jsbundle does not exist.
Why it happens
The "Bundle React Native code and images" build phase failed or was skipped (often node not found, or a JS error in release mode).
How to fix it
- Build the bundle by hand to see the real error: npx react-native bundle --platform ios --dev false --entry-file index.js --bundle-output /tmp/main.jsbundle
- Create ios/.xcode.env.local with: export NODE_BINARY=$(command -v node)
- Fix the JS error it prints, then Archive again.
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