Are You Getting This Error While Deploying Your Flutter App to the App Store?

“Asset validation failed: Invalid Executable — contains bitcode” 😖

If you’re trying to upload your Flutter iOS app to TestFlight and suddenly hit this error:

Asset validation failed Invalid Executable AgoraRtmKit.framework contains bitcode

…and sometimes the same error for FBSDKCoreKit, you’re not alone. This is a very common issue faced by Flutter developers integrating third-party SDKs like Agora, Facebook SDK, or Mapbox.

In this article, I’ll explain:

• Why this error happens
• Why disabling Bitcode in Xcode is not enough
• What actually works (the real fix)
• Step-by-step solution that finally lets you upload to TestFlight ✅

🔴 The Problem: Bitcode in Third-Party Frameworks

Apple deprecated Bitcode and no longer accepts apps containing Bitcode-enabled binaries.

Even if:

• ENABLE_BITCODE = NO in Xcode
• Your app archives successfully

👉 App Store Connect still rejects the upload if any embedded framework contains Bitcode.

In this case, frameworks like:

• AgoraRtmKit
• FBSDKCoreKit
• FBSDKLoginKit
• FBAEMKit

still ship precompiled binaries with Bitcode inside them.

That’s why:

• The app builds find
• But fails during TestFlight upload

❌ Why Podfile Changes Alone Don’t Work

You might try:

• Updating Podfile
• Disabling Bitcode globally
• Adding post_install scripts
• Stripping Bitcode via CocoaPods hooks

Yet the error still appears.

Why?

👉 Because XCFramework binaries are already compiled, and CocoaPods does not remove Bitcode automatically.

So unless you manually strip Bitcode, App Store validation will fail.

✅ The Working Solution: Manually Strip Bitcode

This is the only reliable fix that works in real projects.

Step 1: Go to iOS Pods directory

cd ios
cd Pods

Step 2: Find the Framework Path

In Xcode:

1. Expand Pods
2. Locate the framework mentioned in the error
3. Right-click → Copy Path

Your path may differ slightly depending on SDK versions.

Step 3: Run bitcode_strip Command

Use this format:

xcrun bitcode_strip -r <FrameworkBinaryPath> -o <FrameworkBinaryPath>

🔧 Example Commands (Real-World Fix)

Run one command per framework that causes the error.

Agora RTM

xcrun bitcode_strip -r AgoraRtm_iOS/AgoraRtmKit.xcframework/ios-arm64_armv7/AgoraRtmKit.framework/AgoraRtmKit \
-o AgoraRtm_iOS/AgoraRtmKit.xcframework/ios-arm64_armv7/AgoraRtmKit.framework/AgoraRtmKit

Facebook SDKs

xcrun bitcode_strip -r FBSDKLoginKit/XCFrameworks/FBSDKLoginKit.xcframework/ios-arm64/FBSDKLoginKit.framework/FBSDKLoginKit \
-o FBSDKLoginKit/XCFrameworks/FBSDKLoginKit.xcframework/ios-arm64/FBSDKLoginKit.framework/FBSDKLoginKit

xcrun bitcode_strip -r FBSDKCoreKit/XCFrameworks/FBSDKCoreKit.xcframework/ios-arm64/FBSDKCoreKit.framework/FBSDKCoreKit \
-o FBSDKCoreKit/XCFrameworks/FBSDKCoreKit.xcframework/ios-arm64/FBSDKCoreKit.framework/FBSDKCoreKit

xcrun bitcode_strip -r FBSDKCoreKit_Basics/XCFrameworks/FBSDKCoreKit_Basics.xcframework/ios-arm64/FBSDKCoreKit_Basics.framework/FBSDKCoreKit_Basics \
-o FBSDKCoreKit_Basics/XCFrameworks/FBSDKCoreKit_Basics.xcframework/ios-arm64/FBSDKCoreKit_Basics.framework/FBSDKCoreKit_Basics

xcrun bitcode_strip -r FBAEMKit/XCFrameworks/FBAEMKit.xcframework/ios-arm64/FBAEMKit.framework/FBAEMKit \
-o FBAEMKit/XCFrameworks/FBAEMKit.xcframework/ios-arm64/FBAEMKit.framework/FBAEMKit

🚀 Final Steps

1. Run all required bitcode_strip commands
2. Open Xcode
3. Clean Build Folder
4. Archive again
5. Upload to TestFlight

🎉 Success! The “Invalid Executable — contains bitcode” error is gone.

🧠 Key Takeaways

• ❌ Disabling Bitcode in Xcode is not enough
• ⚠️ Many third-party XCFrameworks still ship with Bitcode
• ✅ Manual xcrun bitcode_strip is the real fix
• 🔁 Must be re-applied if Pods are reinstalled