Where is Info.plist in Xcode 13

Since Xcode 13, if you create a new SwiftUI project, you will not see an Info.plist file created in the Project Navigator anymore.

You can't even find it in the file system.

Where is Info.plist in Xcode 13

Apple decided to make the project look cleaner by extracting common configuration fields from an Info.plist to the target's Info tab.

Info.plist file we re-add to the project once we add additional fields.

The following is a release note from Xcode 13 Release Notes.

Projects created from several templates no longer require configuration files such as entitlements and Info.plist files. Configure common fields in the target’s Info tab, and build settings in the project editor. These files are added to the project when additional fields are used. (68254857)

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How to edit Info.plist

Since common configuration fields, e.g., app name, are moved to the target's Info tab, you can edit those fields by going there.

You can find the target's Info tab using the following steps.

1. Select the project root directory from the Project Navigator.
2. Select your app target.
3. Then, select the "Info" tab.

How to bring Info.plist back

With this new approach, you don't need to care about Info.plist file.

You can treat the target's Info tab as your new Info.plist file and customize everything there.

Additional fields

Info.plist file will automatically re-add to the project once you add an additional fields to it.

In this example, I add the Queried URL Schemes (LSApplicationQueriesSchemes) key with the list of URL schemes I want to query in my app.

After adding this key in the Info tab, Xcode will create a new Info.plist containing that additional key and value.

Info.plist vs Info tab

In theory Info.plist file and information in the Info tab should sync, but in reality, that isn't the case.

From my observation (in Xcode 14), the sync works well if you edit the information from the target's Info tab.

So, I recommend you edit values from the Info tab.

UIKit project

If you create a new SwiftUI project, you won't see any Info.plist file.

But if you create a new UIKit project, you will get one.

That's because UIKit needs one additional configuration, Application Scene Manifest (UIApplicationSceneManifest), by default.

So, you still get one Info.plist file for a UIKit project.

But the same rule still applies. The content in the Info.plist contains only an additional configuration key.

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Conclusion

Info.plist has been an essential part of iOS development for a very long time.

Having it hidden away like this can cause confusion to both experienced developers and newcomers.

The way Xcode conditionally adds Info.plist file based on the added key is way more confusing, in my opinion.

Having two sources of truth trigger a question of where you should add or update the value.

My rule of thumb is to treat the target's Info tab as the only source of truth and always add and edit a value there.