Coding⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: RE error: illegal byte sequence on Mac OS X

Error fixing in Makefile on Mac OS X for cross-compiling to iOS.

Quick Answer: Use raw strings by prefixing the command with 's//', e.g. sed -i '' 's//"iphoneos-cross"",

The issue you're facing is due to the way sed handles special characters in its regular expressions. The double quotes within the string are causing the problem because they are being interpreted as escape characters.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Verified Fixes

Method 1: Using Raw Strings

  1. Step 1: Use the raw string flag with sed by prefixing the pattern with a single quote and removing the backslashes.

Method 2: Escaping Special Characters

  1. Step 1: Escape the special characters in the string, such as the backslash and double quotes.

✨ Wrapping Up

By applying one of these fixes, you should be able to resolve the RE error and successfully replace the string in your Makefile. Remember to test your command with different inputs to ensure it behaves as expected.

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