Cannot Install Cocoapods - No podfile found in the project directory

Steps to add CocoaPods to manage dependencies in your project:

1. sudo gem install cocoapods -> This installs CocoaPods as a piece of software on your machine.

2. Go to the root of your project directory and execute pod init -> This will add a base Podfile to your project.

3. Add the external dependencies that you have to this Podfile by editing it.

4. Run pod install which will fetch all the external dependencies mentioned by you, and associate it with a .xcworkspace file of your project. This .xcworkspace file will be generated for you if you already do not have one.

From here on, you should use .xcworkspace file instead of .xcproject / .xcodeproj.

Example Podfile Syntax:

target 'MyApp' do   
pod 'AFNetworking', '~> 3.0'
end

Where AFNetworking is the pod and 3.0 is the specific version that I want to install.

Documentation: Using CocoaPods

If you want to add a library from GitHub to your own project, after installing gems, do firstly pod init look at from GitHub cocoapod description and then add it after target line in podfile.

Save and run "pod install".

It would be successfully added on your project.

Just posting for anyone that encountered this issue while working on a react native project.

1. sudo gem install cocoapods this installs cocoa pods to your machine

2. cd projectDirectory cd into your project directory

3. cd ios cd into the ios directory of your project, is you list items that are in this folder, you would most likely see a podfile there.

4. pod install