xcode "Products" folder missing in project navigator

What color is the recreated folder? Yellow or blue?

Do you have a backup you can pull from to restore that project?

I was able to fix this by comparing the project.pbxproj of my project (inside MyProject.xcodeproj) with another project.

Firstly, to avoid making things worse make sure you can reverse these changes if you need to by using a version control system or creating a backup of the project folder.

Solution:

• The Products group is just a normal group so you can make a new group in Xcode as usual (make sure you select New Group Without Folder).
• Then close the project in Xcode and open MyProject.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj in a text editor.
• Find your new Products group in this file and copy its identifier (looks like: 198218E720EE27210084C6C1)
• Find the productRefGroup key and copy the identifier to the value field and add the Products group name so it looks like this: productRefGroup = 198218E720EE27210084C6C1 /* Products */;
• Find the group where all your products are (for me it was the main group)
• Cut and paste each reference from that group to your Products group.
• Save and open Xcode and your products will correctly reside in the new Products group.

This is still a problem, two years later, in Xcode 13.1. I've written feedback about it.

@JetForMe I faced same issue today on Xcode 13.1, checking raw project file format and there is "Products" group and entires exists. However, the project file is missing "Frameworks" group, and after I added dummy Framework linking in that product target to create "Frameworks" group, then "Products" reappears again. (After restore it, I can remove dummy Framework linking and that dummy Framework reference in "Frameworks" group without losing "Products" group in Project tree.) I don't know if you can fix your project file in same way, but just I want to share this very weird Xcode behaviors.

Xcode 13.1

the product folder not exist.

It should set Xcode

at Xcode Menu

Product. -> Show Build Folder in Finder

and you can reference the framework file

For me, the "sort by name" on the Project identity helped - after applying the sort, the Products folder appeared in the list

For some reason, if the Products folder is at the last position it disappears. Magic!

In Xcode 14.2 I don't see product folder (see screen shot).

From menu "Product" -> "Show Build Folder in Finder" I see Products folder, but I don't see the Release folder, but only Debug folder (see screenshot).

How to set Xcode to compile release App?

Cesare Piersigilli

The problem is still present with Xcode 14.2. I prepared a fresh new project and the Products folder new showed up.

The solution for me was inherited from Pulsar's post but with much less editing of the .xcodeproj file:

1. Quit Xcode
2. Open the bundle MYPROJECT.xcodeproj
3. Edit the file MYPROJECT.pbxproj
4. Search for "Products"

In my case I found the following:

   /* Begin PBXGroup section */
 		5D1FC2932992BC6900AA5910 = {
 			isa = PBXGroup;
 			children = (
 				5D1FC2B92992BEC100AA5910 /* myBinary1 */,
 				5D1FC29E2992BC6900AA5910 /* myProject */,
 				5D1FC2BB2992BEF000AA5910 /* myBinary2 */,
 				5D1FC29D2992BC6900AA5910 /* Products */,
 			);

1. I simply moved the /* Products */ line to the top of the "children" list

    		5D1FC29D2992BC6900AA5910 /* Products */,
    		5D1FC2B92992BEC100AA5910 /* myBinary1 */,
    		5D1FC29E2992BC6900AA5910 /* myProject */,
    		5D1FC2BB2992BEF000AA5910 /* myBinary2 */,
   

2. Save and reopen Xcode.

The Products folder was again visible in the project navigator.

I don't know how to feel a bug report for the Xcode team Xcode 13, Xcode 14, the bug is stil present.

Here's something to try if none of the previous suggestions work (although use at your own risk!)...

1. Locate your ....pbxproj file and make a copy, just in case anything messes up.
2. Open the ....pbxproj for editing, search for productRefGroup and delete that line.
3. Save the edit and re-open Xcode.
4. Products directory shows back up!

Summary: I'm not sure if productRefGroup is really necessary! Everything seems to build fine without it.