Upgrade to Xcode 26 by edgchen1 · Pull Request #29468 · microsoft/onnxruntime

edgchen1 · 2026-07-02T01:51:09Z

Description

Update most Apple pipelines to use Xcode 26. Keep a build on Xcode 16 for coverage of the older toolchain.

Other fixes:

Patch XNNPACK to fix an iphonesimulator x86_64 build error with the newer iphonesimulator SDK.
Fix issue where object files were not copied from the right location for the Mac Catalyst static framework build.

Motivation and Context

Upgrade to a newer Xcode version. Xcode 16 is no longer available on some build images.

Bump the ADO pipelines' Xcode version to 26.3 by centralizing the default in use-xcode-version.yml and removing redundant explicit parameters. The iOS packaging pipeline moves to Xcode 26.3 with iOS simulator runtime 26.2, and the dormant post-merge job is pinned to 15.3.0. In GitHub Actions, the macOS build-and-test workflow's Xcode version is now a per-matrix-entry override (dead x86_64 branches removed), and the cpu job adds a Release build on Xcode 26.3 for new-toolchain coverage. Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Flip the reusable macOS build-and-test workflow default to Xcode 26.3 so the coreml, xnnpack, and webgpu jobs build with it too, matching the packaging pipelines. Invert the cpu matrix to keep a Release build on Xcode 16 as a legacy canary. Bump the iphone_simulator job and ios.yml to Xcode 26.3 / iOS simulator 26.2, moving ios.yml from the deprecated macos-14 runner to macos-15. Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

tianleiwu · 2026-07-02T20:21:33Z

@copilot, please fix CI pipeline failures.

Copilot · 2026-07-02T20:24:19Z

@copilot, please fix CI pipeline failures.

Fixed in commit ab10544. The iOS_CI_on_Mac job was failing because Xcode 26's iOS SDK now declares _Float16 functions in math.h, and _Float16 is not supported on x86_64 simulator targets. Since the runner is macos-15 (Apple Silicon), I changed the simulator architecture from x86_64 to arm64 and bumped the minimum deployment target to 16.0.

This reverts commit 737557f.

The iOS 18+/macOS 15+ SDK <math.h> unconditionally declares _Float16, which clang supports on x86 only when SSE2 is enabled. XNNPACK compiles its SSE microkernels with -mno-sse2, so under the new SDK the system math module fails to precompile with "_Float16 is not supported on this target", breaking the x86_64 iOS-simulator build. x86_64 always has SSE2 as its baseline, so compile the SSE microkernels with -msse2 -mno-sse3 (matching the SSE2 tier) on Apple x86_64 instead of -msse -mno-sse2. Other targets are unchanged. Verified with the iphonesimulator x86_64 framework build. Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

…raries The macOS Catalyst (macabi) static-framework prelink copies each internal library's object files out of its CMake object directory, which was assumed to be ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/CMakeFiles/<lib>.dir. Libraries added via add_subdirectory (e.g. model_package) instead place their objects under a nested <target_binary_dir>/CMakeFiles/<lib>.dir, so the wrong directory was walked, zero .o files were copied, and the library's symbols were silently dropped from the prelinked object. This surfaced as undefined ModelPackage_* symbols when linking the maccatalyst test app. Derive each library's object directory from its own BINARY_DIR target property so both top-level and subdirectory-defined targets resolve correctly. Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

The iOS simulator runtime requested for the Apple framework test is not present on the ACES pool image, so get_simulator_device_info.py fails to find a matching simulator. Move the test to a separate job on the Microsoft-hosted macOS-15 image (which has the required runtime), consuming the xcframework artifact published by the build job. The heavier xcframework build stays on the faster ACES pool. The test job remains in the iOS_Full_xcframework stage, so a test failure still blocks the downstream NuGet packaging stage. Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

… included before.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR updates Apple CI pipelines and packaging builds to use Xcode 26 (with a retained Xcode 16 build for legacy toolchain coverage), and includes build-system fixes needed to keep Apple builds working with newer SDK/toolchain behavior.

Changes:

Switch most Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions macOS/iOS workflows to Xcode 26.3 + iOS simulator runtime 26.2, while keeping a legacy Xcode 16 build in the macOS workflow matrix.
Patch XNNPACK build flags to avoid Apple x86_64 simulator SDK build issues related to _Float16 and SSE2 requirements.
Fix Mac Catalyst static framework object-file staging by using the target’s own binary directory for object discovery/copying.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 13 out of 13 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
tools/ci_build/github/azure-pipelines/templates/use-xcode-version.yml	Updates the default Xcode selection used across Azure Pipelines templates.
tools/ci_build/github/azure-pipelines/templates/react-native-ci.yml	Removes hard-coded Xcode 16.4, inheriting the new default Xcode version.
tools/ci_build/github/azure-pipelines/templates/py-macos.yml	Removes hard-coded Xcode 16.4, inheriting the new default Xcode version.
tools/ci_build/github/azure-pipelines/templates/mac-cpu-packing-jobs.yml	Removes hard-coded Xcode 16.4, inheriting the new default Xcode version.
tools/ci_build/github/azure-pipelines/templates/c-api-cpu.yml	Updates iOS full xcframework build to Xcode 26.3, adds a hosted test job with simulator runtime selection, and stages artifacts more explicitly.
tools/ci_build/github/azure-pipelines/stages/plugin-mac-webgpu-stage.yml	Removes hard-coded Xcode 16.4, inheriting the new default Xcode version.
tools/ci_build/github/azure-pipelines/post-merge-jobs.yml	Pins a post-merge iOS dynamic framework stage to Xcode 15.3.0 to preserve older toolchain coverage.
tools/ci_build/github/azure-pipelines/mac-ios-packaging-pipeline.yml	Updates packaging pipeline parameters to Xcode 26.3 and simulator runtime 26.2.
cmake/patches/xnnpack/AddEmscriptenAndIosSupport.patch	Adjusts XNNPACK microkernel compile flags for Apple toolchains (armv7-a workaround and Apple x86_64 SSE2 handling).
cmake/onnxruntime.cmake	Fixes Mac Catalyst object file staging by locating object dirs via the target’s binary dir.
.github/workflows/macos-ci-build-and-test-workflow.yml	Forces macOS CI to run on macos-15 and defaults Xcode to 26.3 (with per-matrix override support).
.github/workflows/mac.yml	Adds an Xcode 16 matrix entry for legacy coverage and bumps simulator/Xcode versions for iOS packaging.
.github/workflows/ios.yml	Moves iOS CI to macos-15, switches simulator arch to arm64, and bumps Xcode/runtime versions.

tianleiwu

Review: Upgrade to Xcode 26

Overall this is a clean, well-scoped toolchain upgrade. The Apple pipelines move to Xcode 26.3 / iOS 26.2 simulator while retaining an Xcode 16 Release leg for legacy-toolchain coverage. A few notes.

Well done

use-xcode-version.yml default bumped 15.3.0 → 26.3 with a full caller audit. Templates intended to move forward drop their explicit 16.4 and inherit the new default, while post-merge-jobs.yml is explicitly pinned back to 15.3.0 to preserve its prior behavior. No caller is silently regressed.
Splitting iOS_Full_xcframework into a build job (ACES Sequoia pool) + a dependent test job (hosted macOS-15 with the required simulator runtime) is a sensible way to work around the missing simulator runtime on the build pool. The test_files.zip staging keeps the test inputs self-contained, and the published onnxruntime-ios-full-xcframework artifact content (the versioned xcframework zip at the artifact root) is unchanged, so the downstream nuget packaging consumer is unaffected.
The XNNPACK SSE2 workaround is correct and well-commented. Apple x86_64 always has SSE2, so forcing -msse2 on the SSE microkernels to satisfy the _Float16 declaration in the newer SDK's <math.h> is safe and does not affect runtime CPU dispatch.
The Mac Catalyst object-copy fix (get_target_property(... BINARY_DIR)) correctly locates objects for add_subdirectory targets (e.g. model_package) whose CMakeFiles/<lib>.dir is nested rather than directly under CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR.

Minor

I agree with the existing observation on macos-ci-build-and-test-workflow.yml that the inline matrix docs still present x86_64 as a machine option; since the runs-on ternary now maps it to macos-15-intel (and the arch assertion in macos-ci-setup would fail on a mismatched machine), it is worth trimming/updating that comment for clarity. (Consolidated with the already-posted inline comment rather than re-posted.)
Not in this diff, but related: .github/actions/macos-ci-setup/action.yml still defaults xcode_version: "16". The reusable workflow now always passes an explicit value, so this default is dead, but it is a stale value worth aligning in a future cleanup.

No blocking issues from my side.

### Description  Update most Apple pipelines to use Xcode 26. Keep a build on Xcode 16 for coverage of the older toolchain. Other fixes: - Patch XNNPACK to fix an iphonesimulator x86_64 build error with the newer iphonesimulator SDK. - Fix issue where object files were not copied from the right location for the Mac Catalyst static framework build. ### Motivation and Context  Upgrade to a newer Xcode version. Xcode 16 is no longer available on some build images. --------- Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

This cherry-picks the following commits for the release: | Commit ID | PR Number | Commit Title | |-----------|-----------|-------------| | 56f6fee | #29038 | [CUDA] QMoE GEMV fast path for batch-1 decode | | a2c7c3b | #29081 | Fix QMoE CPU livelock by eliminating nested intra-op parallelism | | bd0cb9a | #28571 | [MLAS] KleidiAI fix igemm regression | | 5eb4aee | #29574 | Fix CustomOp forward compatibility: cap version instead of rejecting | | 5f49a37 | #29274 | fix(ci): incorrect identity for azcopy | | bb9ba7e | #29468 | Upgrade to Xcode 26 | | 36c6b7e | #29450 | Fix brew install applesimutils failure by trusting wix/brew tap | | a491809 | #29575 | Don't echo command when setting VSO variable in mac-cpu-packing-jobs.yml. | | a06675e | #29609 | Fix web e2e (npm/vite) and Python DML CI pipelines | Also fixed version missed by version update script. --------- Signed-off-by: Qxiang Xu <Qixiang.Xu@arm.com> Signed-off-by: Jonathan Clohessy <Jonathan.Clohessy@arm.com> Signed-off-by: Martin Klacer <martin.klacer@arm.com> Co-authored-by: Copilot <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: tlwu <tlwu@example.com> Co-authored-by: Martin Klacer <martin.klacer@arm.com> Co-authored-by: Jonathan Clohessy <Jonathan.Clohessy@arm.com> Co-authored-by: Damien Dooley <damien.dooley@arm.com> Co-authored-by: Chi Lo <54722500+chilo-ms@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Sanaa Hamel <sanaahamel@microsoft.com> Co-authored-by: Edward Chen <18449977+edgchen1@users.noreply.github.com>

edgchen1 and others added 3 commits July 1, 2026 18:38

change ios.yml job to build for arm64 since it is now on an arm64 image

c4d03b2

Copilot started work on behalf of tianleiwu July 2, 2026 20:21 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of tianleiwu July 2, 2026 20:24

Copilot AI requested a review from tianleiwu July 2, 2026 20:24

try tahoe aces image for templates/c-api-cpu.yml

737557f

edgchen1 force-pushed the edgchen1/xcode_26_upgrade branch from ab10544 to 737557f Compare July 2, 2026 20:31

Revert "try tahoe aces image for templates/c-api-cpu.yml"

b7e73cf

This reverts commit 737557f.

edgchen1 mentioned this pull request Jul 2, 2026

[Packaging] Packaging onnxruntime-node for macOS x86-64 #29502

Open

edgchen1 and others added 9 commits July 2, 2026 16:05

publish xcframework artifact before testing it for easier debugging

87b8ee6

also copy xcframework_info.json to artifacts

efadc67

use explicit xcode version and simulator version

89979ed

fix copy, move artifact staging to separate step

818ec54

put test files into a separate artifact. some necessary ones were not…

8766581

… included before.

revert unintentional change

2850887

hariharans29 mentioned this pull request Jul 3, 2026

[MLAS] Add ARM64 2-bit weight CPU kernels #29466

Merged

edgchen1 marked this pull request as ready for review July 3, 2026 22:39

edgchen1 requested review from Copilot and sanaa-hamel-microsoft July 3, 2026 22:42

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of edgchen1 July 3, 2026 22:43 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jul 3, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread .github/workflows/macos-ci-build-and-test-workflow.yml Outdated

update gha workflow to account for x86_64 machine (currently unused)

3a3fd6d

tianleiwu reviewed Jul 4, 2026

View reviewed changes

tianleiwu approved these changes Jul 4, 2026

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tianleiwu merged commit bb9ba7e into main Jul 4, 2026
87 checks passed

tianleiwu deleted the edgchen1/xcode_26_upgrade branch July 4, 2026 06:45

tianleiwu mentioned this pull request Jul 8, 2026

ORT Release 1.27.1 cherry pick 1 #29628

Merged

BrewTestBot mentioned this pull request Jul 11, 2026

onnxruntime 1.27.1 Homebrew/homebrew-core#292574

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Upgrade to Xcode 26#29468

Upgrade to Xcode 26#29468
tianleiwu merged 15 commits into
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edgchen1 commented Jul 2, 2026 •

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Review: Upgrade to Xcode 26

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edgchen1 commented Jul 2, 2026 •

edited

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