tauri-apps/tauri · error

Failed to render template

Error message

Failed to render template

What it means

When tauri.conf.json sets bundle > ios > template, `tauri ios init` reads that custom Xcode project template (a project.yml written with Handlebars placeholders) and renders it into the generated project. This expect fires when Handlebars fails to render the custom template — malformed Handlebars syntax in the file — or when writing the output project.yml fails.

Solutions

1. Render the template standalone to see the real Handlebars error before running the CLI.
2. Compare your template against the default project.yml template in the tauri repository for the block structure.
3. Fix unbalanced {{#if}}/{{else}}/{{/if}} and {{#each}}/{{/each}} blocks and ensure variables referenced exist in the Tauri template data.
4. Temporarily remove bundle.ios.template to confirm the default path works, then re-apply changes incrementally.

Example fix

{{! before: unclosed block }}
settings:
  {{#if settings.base}}
  base: {{settings.base}}

{{! after }}
settings:
  {{#if settings.base}}
  base: {{settings.base}}
  {{/if}}

// Render the custom Xcode template once in a test to surface syntax errors early
#[test]
fn ios_template_is_valid() {
    let mut hb = handlebars::Handlebars::new();
    let src = std::fs::read_to_string("templates/ios-project.yml").unwrap();
    hb.register_template_string("p.yml", src).expect("invalid Handlebars in ios template");
    hb.render("p.yml", &serde_json::json!({})).unwrap();
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `tauri ios init` (or first ios build that regenerates the project) with bundle.ios.template pointing at a project.yml containing invalid Handlebars expressions such as an unclosed {{#if}} without {{/if}}, or a mismatched block.

Common situations: Teams customizing the XcodeGen project template (extra build settings, entitlements) and introducing syntax errors; templates copied from blog posts with smart-quote mangled {{ }}.

Related errors

• iOS platform not installed
• Arch specified by Xcode was invalid.
• failed to read missing addr file
• Failed to render template
• failed to run on_webview_created hook

AI-assisted analysis of tauri-apps/tauri@52e4b6e71d (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d01e23788e3cb8ea. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/tauri-cli/src/mobile/ios/project.rs:190

      } else {
        Ok(None)
      }
    },
  )
  .with_context(|| "failed to process template")?;

  if let Some(template_path) = tauri_config.bundle.ios.template.as_ref() {
    let template = std::fs::read_to_string(template_path).fs_context(
      "failed to read custom Xcode project template",
      template_path.to_path_buf(),
    )?;
    let mut output_file = std::fs::File::create(dest.join("project.yml")).fs_context(
      "failed to create project.yml file",
      dest.join("project.yml"),
    )?;
    handlebars
      .render_template_to_write(&template, map.inner(), &mut output_file)
      .expect("Failed to render template");
  }

  let mut dirs_to_create = asset_catalogs.to_vec();
  dirs_to_create.push(dest.join(DEFAULT_ASSET_DIR));
  dirs_to_create.push(dest.join("Externals"));
  dirs_to_create.push(dest.join(format!("{}_iOS", config.app().name())));

  // Create all required project directories if they don't already exist
  for dir in &dirs_to_create {
    std::fs::create_dir_all(dir).fs_context("failed to create directory", dir.to_path_buf())?;
  }

  // Note that Xcode doesn't always reload the project nicely; reopening is
  // often necessary.
  println!("Generating Xcode project...");
  duct::cmd(
    "xcodegen",
    [

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