Xcode Build Direct

Build and manage iOS/macOS projects using native Xcode CLI tools instead of MCP servers.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Building iOS or macOS apps with Xcode
• Running apps in iOS simulators
• Managing simulator instances (boot, shutdown, list)
• Taking screenshots of simulators
• Capturing app logs
• Running tests (unit or UI)
• Automating UI interactions (tap, type, swipe)

Preference: Always use direct CLI commands (xcodebuild, xcrun simctl) instead of XcodeBuildMCP tools.

Quick Start

1. Discover Project Structure

# List schemes in a workspace
xcodebuild -workspace /path/to/App.xcworkspace -list

# List schemes in a project
xcodebuild -project /path/to/App.xcodeproj -list

# Show build settings
xcodebuild -workspace /path/to/App.xcworkspace -scheme AppScheme -showBuildSettings

2. Find Available Simulators

# List all simulators
xcrun simctl list devices

# List as JSON (better for parsing)
xcrun simctl list devices --json

# List only available simulators
xcrun simctl list devices available

3. Build for Simulator

# Get simulator UUID first
UDID=$(xcrun simctl list devices --json | jq -r '.devices | .[].[] | select(.name=="iPhone 16 Pro") | .udid' | head -1)

# Build
xcodebuild \
  -workspace /path/to/App.xcworkspace \
  -scheme AppScheme \
  -destination "platform=iOS Simulator,id=$UDID" \
  -configuration Debug \
  -derivedDataPath /tmp/build \
  build

4. Install and Launch

# Find the built .app
APP_PATH=$(find /tmp/build -name "*.app" -type d | head -1)

# Install on simulator
xcrun simctl install $UDID "$APP_PATH"

# Launch app
xcrun simctl launch $UDID com.your.bundleid

5. Take Screenshot

xcrun simctl io $UDID screenshot /tmp/screenshot.png

Detailed References

For comprehensive command documentation, see:

• CLI_REFERENCE.md - Full xcodebuild and xcrun simctl command reference
• XCUITEST_GUIDE.md - UI automa...