CocoaPods

AXM reads CocoaPods extension metadata from an agent-extensions.json sidecar at the pod root. This is the two-way linking model applied to the CocoaPods ecosystem.

Add an agent-extensions.json file at the pod root with an agentExtensions array. Each entry is an extension reference (@owner/<type>/<name>):

// agent-extensions.json
{
  "$schema": "https://axm.sh/schemas/agent-extensions.schema.json",
  "agentExtensions": [{ "ref": "@examples/packs/swift-cocoapods-tinyflags" }],
}

The sidecar must survive pod install so AXM can read it at Pods/<PodName>/agent-extensions.json. Keep it by listing it in preserve_paths in your podspec:

# AgentXMExampleTinyFlags.podspec
s.preserve_paths = "agent-extensions.json"

Keep recommendations identity-only — omit versionRange. AXM resolves the reference to the newest matching extension version and pins it in the user's axm.lock. Prefer recommending a single pack so you keep one stable reference while its contents evolve.

Add a semver versionRange only when your pod genuinely pairs with a bounded major line of the extension:

{
  "agentExtensions": [
    {
      "ref": "@examples/packs/swift-cocoapods-tinyflags",
      "versionRange": "^1.0.0",
    },
  ],
}

On the extension manifest (skill.json, pack.json, subagent.json, …), add a packages array with a CocoaPods purl:

// pack.json
{
  "packages": [{ "purl": "pkg:cocoapods/AgentXMExampleTinyFlags" }],
}

Use the pod name as published to the CocoaPods trunk as the purl name.

Default to identity-only. Add a VERS versionRange with the cocoapods scheme only when the extension depends on pod APIs introduced or removed in a known range:

{
  "packages": [
    {
      "purl": "pkg:cocoapods/AgentXMExampleTinyFlags",
      "versionRange": "vers:cocoapods/>=0.1.0|<1.0.0",
    },
  ],
}

When the pod recommends an extension through the AgentXM Registry and that extension names the pod as a companion via its purl, AXM derives official status for the pair — no extra flag. See Official extensions.

The swift-cocoapods-lib and swift-cocoapods-app directories in polyglot-examples are the working fixtures for everything above. The pod publishes a TinyFlags companion pack and recommends it from the agent-extensions.json sidecar (retained via preserve_paths); the pack and each skill declare the pod's pkg:cocoapods purl as an identity-only companion package.