A developer built SPEEM, their first iOS app, entirely within Doom Emacs, bypassing Xcode completely. The author created a custom modules/ios.el with ~1000 lines of Emacs Lisp to handle the complete development loop: writing Swift code, building, simulating, and debugging. This approach leverages Apple's command-line tools that Xcode itself uses internally.

The workflow integrates key Apple utilities like xcodebuild, simctl, and sourcekit-lsp through Emacs keybindings. The author explains how to properly configure sourcekit-lSP to point to the correct Xcode installation and uses xcode-build-server to generate buildServer.json files, which is crucial for LSP to understand project configuration. This setup provides completion, jump-to-definition, and refactoring capabilities.

The motivation stemmed from the developer's existing Emacs workflow across multiple languages. By creating a consistent development environment, they eliminated context switching between editors. The approach demonstrates how Apple's command-line tools can be orchestrated into a functional IDE within Emacs, offering a viable alternative to Xcode for developers who live primarily in Emacs.