[iOS] Inconsistent Podfile.lock checksums for hermes-engine across team members due to absolute paths

[Atotaro98]

Description

When multiple developers with identical development environments run pod install, they get different checksums for hermes-engine in Podfile.lock, causing unnecessary git conflicts and confusion.

React Native Version

0.83.0

Affected Platforms

Runtime - iOS

Environment

• React Native: 0.83.0
• CocoaPods: 1.15.2
• Ruby: 3.2.3
• Node: 22.17.0
• macOS: 15.x (darwin24/darwin25)
• Architecture: arm64

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a React Native 0.83.0 project with Hermes enabled
2. Developer A (username: userA) runs: cd ios && pod install
3. Developer B (username: userB) runs: cd ios && pod install
4. Compare the Podfile.lock checksums for hermes-engine
5. Observe different checksums despite identical configurations

Expected Behavior

All team members with identical:

• macOS versions
• Ruby versions
• CocoaPods versions
• Node versions
• Architecture (arm64)
• yarn.lock checksums

Should get the same checksum for hermes-engine in Podfile.lock.

Actual Behavior

Each developer gets a different checksum for hermes-engine.

Example:

• Developer A: hermes-engine: 89103799388dfbbf1d8e74917538bc7c2be3de7f
• Developer B: hermes-engine: a1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef12345678
• Developer C: hermes-engine: b9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba98765432

Root Cause

Investigation reveals that ios/Pods/Local Podspecs/hermes-engine.podspec.json contains absolute paths with usernames:

"user_target_xcconfig": {
"HERMES_CLI_PATH": "/Users/USERNAME/path/to/project/node_modules/hermes-compiler/hermesc/osx-bin/hermesc"
}This is generated by node_modules/react-native/sdks/hermes-engine/hermes-utils.rb around lines 220-240, where it resolves the absolute path to hermes-compiler.

Since each developer has a different username, the generated podspec.json differs, causing CocoaPods to compute different checksums.

Reproducible Demo

Developer A

cat ios/Pods/Local\ Podspecs/hermes-engine.podspec.json | grep HERMES_CLI_PATH

Output: "/Users/developerA/project/..."

Developer B

cat ios/Pods/Local\ Podspecs/hermes-engine.podspec.json | grep HERMES_CLI_PATH

Output: "/Users/developerB/project/..."Even though the downloaded tarballs have identical checksums:

shasum ios/Pods/hermes-engine-artifacts/hermes-ios-0.14.0-debug.tar.gz

Both get: 832aa5e706235a2802e3c255f0a69ae9b97f213e## Suggested Fix

Modify sdks/hermes-engine/hermes-utils.rb to use relative paths instead of absolute paths in the generated podspec.json, or make the path resolution consistent across all environments.

Possible approaches:

1. Use ${PODS_ROOT} or other CocoaPods variables instead of absolute paths
2. Use paths relative to the project root
3. Normalize the path before writing to podspec.json

Impact

• ❌ Unnecessary git conflicts in Podfile.lock
• ❌ Team confusion about why hashes differ
• ❌ CI/CD inconsistencies
• ❌ Developers hesitant to commit Podfile.lock changes

Workarounds

1. Designate one person to manage Podfile.lock commits
2. Use .gitattributes with ios/Podfile.lock merge=union
3. Use git update-index --skip-worktree ios/Podfile.lock (not recommended)

Steps to reproduce

Developer A

cat ios/Pods/Local\ Podspecs/hermes-engine.podspec.json | grep HERMES_CLI_PATH

Output: "/Users/developerA/project/..."

Developer B

cat ios/Pods/Local\ Podspecs/hermes-engine.podspec.json | grep HERMES_CLI_PATH

Output: "/Users/developerB/project/..."

shasum ios/Pods/hermes-engine-artifacts/hermes-ios-0.14.0-debug.tar.gz

Both get: 832aa5e706235a2802e3c255f0a69ae9b97f213e

React Native Version

0.83.0

Affected Platforms

Runtime - iOS, Build - MacOS

Output of npx @react-native-community/cli info

npx @react-native-community/cli info
info Fetching system and libraries information...
System:
  OS: macOS 26.0.1
  CPU: (10) arm64 Apple M1 Pro
  Memory: 198.80 MB / 16.00 GB
  Shell:
    version: "5.9"
    path: /bin/zsh
Binaries:
  Node:
    version: 22.17.0
    path: /Users/alejototarobarbieri/.nvm/versions/node/v22.17.0/bin/node
  Yarn:
    version: 4.9.2
    path: /Users/alejototarobarbieri/.nvm/versions/node/v22.17.0/bin/yarn
  npm:
    version: 11.5.2
    path: /Users/alejototarobarbieri/.nvm/versions/node/v22.17.0/bin/npm
  Watchman:
    version: 2025.09.01.00
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/watchman
Managers:
  CocoaPods:
    version: 1.16.2
    path: /Users/alejototarobarbieri/.rbenv/shims/pod
SDKs:
  iOS SDK:
    Platforms:
      - DriverKit 25.0
      - iOS 26.0
      - macOS 26.0
      - tvOS 26.0
      - visionOS 26.0
      - watchOS 26.0
  Android SDK: Not Found
IDEs:
  Android Studio: 2024.3 AI-243.25659.59.2432.13423653
  Xcode:
    version: 26.0.1/17A400
    path: /usr/bin/xcodebuild
Languages:
  Java:
    version: 17.0.16
    path: /opt/homebrew/opt/openjdk@17/bin/javac
  Ruby:
    version: 3.2.3
    path: /Users/alejototarobarbieri/.rbenv/shims/ruby
npmPackages:
  "@react-native-community/cli":
    installed: 20.0.0
    wanted: 20.0.0
  react:
    installed: 19.2.0
    wanted: 19.2.0
  react-native:
    installed: 0.83.0
    wanted: 0.83.0
  react-native-macos: Not Found
npmGlobalPackages:
  "*react-native*": Not Found
Android:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: true
iOS:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: true

Stacktrace or Logs

No crash or error logs - this is a checksum inconsistency issue.

Evidence of the problem:

1. Developer A Podfile.lock checksum:
   hermes-engine: 89103799388dfbbf1d8e74917538bc7c2be3de7f

2. Developer B Podfile.lock checksum:
   hermes-engine: <different-hash>

3. Developer C Podfile.lock checksum:
   hermes-engine: <different-hash>

4. All developers have identical:
   - React Native: 0.83.0
   - CocoaPods: 1.15.2
   - Ruby: 3.2.3
   - Node: 22.17.0
   - Architecture: arm64
   - yarn.lock SHA: f1219425032eb3071f15c0a869d356d445599bec

5. Downloaded tarballs are identical:
   shasum ios/Pods/hermes-engine-artifacts/hermes-ios-0.14.0-debug.tar.gz
   832aa5e706235a2802e3c255f0a69ae9b97f213e

6. Root cause - absolute paths in generated podspec:
   $ cat ios/Pods/Local\ Podspecs/hermes-engine.podspec.json | grep HERMES_CLI_PATH
   "HERMES_CLI_PATH": "/Users/USERNAME/path/to/project/node_modules/hermes-compiler/hermesc/osx-bin/hermesc"
   
   Each developer has different USERNAME, causing different checksums.

MANDATORY Reproducer

This issue affects any React Native 0.83.0 project with multiple developers on macOS. Steps to reproduce: 1. Create new RN 0.83.0 project: npx @react-native-community/cli init TestProject --version 0.83.0 2. Have Developer A (username: userA) run: cd ios && pod install 3. Have Developer B (username: userB) run: cd ios && pod install 4. Compare checksums: grep "hermes-engine:" ios/Podfile.lock 5. Observe different checksums despite identical environments Root cause verification: cat ios/Pods/Local\ Podspecs/hermes-engine.podspec.json | grep HERMES_CLI_PATHEach developer will have their own username in the absolute path. Repository demonstrating the issue: [You can add your repo URL here if you want, or leave it as "Any RN 0.83.0 project with multiple developers"]

Screenshots and Videos

No response

[react-native-bot]

Warning

Missing reproducer: We could not detect a reproducible example in your issue report. Reproducers are mandatory and we can accept only one of those as a valid reproducer:

• For majority of bugs: send us a Pull Request with the RNTesterPlayground.js edited to reproduce your bug.
• If your bug is UI related: a Snack
• If your bug is build/upgrade related: a project using our Reproducer Template

You can read more about about it on our website: How to report a bug.

[Atotaro98]

Warning

Missing reproducer: We could not detect a reproducible example in your issue report. Reproducers are mandatory and we can accept only one of those as a valid reproducer:

• For majority of bugs: send us a Pull Request with the RNTesterPlayground.js edited to reproduce your bug.
• If your bug is UI related: a Snack
• If your bug is build/upgrade related: a project using our Reproducer Template

You can read more about about it on our website: How to report a bug.

Reproducer Template Not Applicable
This issue cannot be reproduced with a single repository because it specifically affects teams with multiple developers with different usernames/home directories.

[buschco]

We experience this as well. Our workaround is to use the checksum generated by the runner, without committing any changes made locally.

[jordiepasman]

We are experiencing the same issue on React Native 0.83.1 (iOS) builds.
The behavior matches what’s described in this issue.

[mjmasn]

We're seeing this issue with React Native 0.83.1, the absolute paths thing makes sense as I even with the same user I get a different checksum if I clone the repo to a different directory.