Plan for iOS support?

[ionas-dev]

Hi, I've been using the lib in my iOS app and ran into a issue specific to iOS.

Service discovery on my iOS device only works when the service is published from my mac after browsing has started. If the service is already published before browsing begins, it is not discovered. This issue only occurs when browsing on iOS — it works as expected on other platforms.

Is there a plan to add proper iOS support? Any known workarounds in the meantime would also be appreciated.

Also note:
I am not using the Multicast Networking Entitlement, as it should not be required for a single-service use case — see https://stackoverflow.com/questions/65490312/multicast-networking-entitlement-on-ios-14

[keepsimple1]

Service discovery on my iOS device only works when the service is published from my mac after browsing has started.

This sounds like iOS device able to receive mDNS packets, but might not be able to send mDNS queries. (A service published after would send out unsolicited packets)

Did you try to enable debug level logging for mdns-sd and see what's going on? Was all multicast send blocked ?

Is there a plan to add proper iOS support?

No active plan. But I'd be happy to work with you to add this support.

I am not using the Multicast Networking Entitlement, as it should not be required for a single-service use case

what is "single-service use case" ? The stackoverflow thread says Bonjour usage are okay, but does not clearly say if customer mDNS implementation needs the Multicast Networking Entitlement or not.

[ionas-dev]

What is "single-service use case"? The stackoverflow thread says Bonjour usage are okay, but does not clearly say if customer mDNS implementation needs the Multicast Networking Entitlement or not.

With "single-service use case" I mean browsing for a specific service instead of arbitrary ones. Therefore, according to the thread, the entitlement is not required. But i don't know much about the entitlements. Maybe, you don't need one for their own networking framework, but having one would allow this use case.

Did you try to enable debug level logging for mdns-sd and see what's going on? Was all multicast send blocked?

I think you're right. I added logs during the sending of the query and the WiFi interface en0 does block it — I get OS error 65 (EHOSTUNREACH).

No active plan. But I'd be happy to work with you to add this support.

Unfortunately I have no prior knowledge regarding Bonjour, but I'm going to look into it and do my best. At first glance it looks like Apple restricts generic socket usage in favor of their own networking framework.

[hanaTsuk1]

I applied for a Multicast Networking Entitlement, and now mdns-sd is working on my physical machine.

[keepsimple1]

I applied for a Multicast Networking Entitlement, and now mdns-sd is working on my physical machine.

Great to hear! Is your physical machine an iPhone? i.e. working on iOS?

[hanaTsuk1]

I applied for a Multicast Networking Entitlement, and now mdns-sd is working on my physical machine.

Great to hear! Is your physical machine an iPhone? i.e. working on iOS?

Yes, I've tested it on an iPhone. First, you need an Apple Developer account. Go to the Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles page to apply for capabilities for your app.