Base Windowed Application

A base template for Cocoa applications. These files provide the structure needed to create a Cocoa application for Mac OS without Xcode or nib files. This provides a minimal starting point without relying on Apple’s tools.

The build is done entirely using Make. Inspired by Jeff Johnson’s Working without a nib blog series and NiblessMenu sample project, the main menu and windows are all generated in code, not from nib files.

Build a new Cocoa application

Copy the following files and folders into a new project directory:

.gitignore
Info.plist
Internationalization/
Makefile
src/

If you aren’t creating a document-based application, don’t copy Document.{h,m}, and delete the CFBundleDocumentTypes key from “Info.plist”.

Rename the application and update the sample text in “Makefile” and “Info.plist”.

To build the application, run:

$ make

This will build a “.app” bundle in the “build/” folder.

Base Windowed Application

Build a new Cocoa application

License