What can you do with this server?

The XcodeBuildMCP server provides a standardized interface for AI agents and MCP clients to interact with Xcode projects, enabling automation of Xcode-related tasks: * Xcode Project Management: Discover, clean, build, and manage Xcode projects/workspaces, list schemes, and show build settings * Simulator Management: List, boot, and control iOS simulators, deploy and launch apps on them * Build and Run Workflows: Build and run iOS apps on simulators by name or UUID, with support for advanced configurations * App Utilities: Extract bundle identifiers, retrieve build paths, and perform incremental builds (experimental) * Log Capture: Capture runtime logs from applications running on simulators * UI Automation: Interact with simulator UI and capture screenshots (beta feature) * Error Diagnostics: Troubleshoot system and dependency configurations

Which integrations are available for this server?

Provides tools for iOS simulator management including listing simulators, booting them, installing apps, launching apps, capturing logs, automating UI interactions, and taking screenshots. Supports building and running applications on macOS, including app launching and bundle ID extraction for macOS applications. Integrates with Sentry for error monitoring and diagnostics to track issues, crashes, and unexpected errors, with options to disable this functionality. Handles Swift-specific features including skipping macro validation to avoid errors when building projects that use Swift Macros. Enables programmatic interaction with Xcode projects, allowing operations like discovering projects, building for different platforms, managing schemes, cleaning build products, and extracting build settings.

How do I use XcodeBuildMCP?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@XcodeBuildMCP build my iOS app for the simulator" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

XcodeBuildMCP by cameroncooke

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server and CLI that provides tools for agent use when working on iOS and macOS projects.

npm version License: MIT Node.js Xcode 16 macOS MCP Ask DeepWiki

Installation

XcodeBuildMCP ships as a single package with two modes: a CLI for direct terminal use and an MCP server for AI coding agents. Both installation methods give you both modes.

Option A — Homebrew

brew tap getsentry/xcodebuildmcp brew install xcodebuildmcp

Use the CLI:

xcodebuildmcp --help

MCP client config:

"XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "xcodebuildmcp", "args": ["mcp"] }

Upgrade later with brew update && brew upgrade xcodebuildmcp.

Option B — npm / npx (Node.js 18+)

For CLI use, install globally:

npm install -g xcodebuildmcp@latest xcodebuildmcp --help

For MCP server only, no global install needed — add directly to your client config:

"XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] }

To pin a specific version, replace @latest with an exact version (e.g. xcodebuildmcp@latest).

Client-specific setup

The examples below use npx (Option B). If you installed via Homebrew, replace the command with "command": "xcodebuildmcp", "args": ["mcp"] instead.

Recommended (project-scoped): add .cursor/mcp.json in your workspace root:

{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } } }

For global Cursor config (~/.cursor/mcp.json), use this variant so startup is aligned with the active workspace:

{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "/bin/zsh", "args": [ "-lc", "cd \"${workspaceFolder}\" && exec npx -y xcodebuildmcp@latest mcp" ] } } }

Or use the quick install link:

Install MCP Server

Run:

claude mcp add XcodeBuildMCP -- npx -y xcodebuildmcp@latest mcp

Run:

codex mcp add XcodeBuildMCP -- npx -y xcodebuildmcp@latest mcp

Or add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.XcodeBuildMCP] command = "npx" args = ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"]

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } } }

Add to your VS Code settings JSON:

"mcp": { "servers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } } }

Or use the quick install links:

Install in VS Code Install in VS Code Insiders

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } } }

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Trae/User/mcp.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } } }

Requires Xcode 26.3 or later. Codex agent must be installed and configured in Xcode Settings -> Intelligence -> Open AI.

The only way at the time of writing to add an MCP server is to use a project scoped .codex/config.toml file in the root of your project workspace: /path/to/your/project/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.XcodeBuildMCP] args = [ "-lc", "PATH=/opt/homebrew/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin; export NVM_DIR=\"$HOME/.nvm\"; [ -s \"$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh\" ] && . \"$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh\"; nvm use --silent >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; npx -y xcodebuildmcp@latest mcp" ] command = "/bin/zsh" enabled = true tool_timeout_sec = 10000

NOTE: Codex Agent when running in Xcode has a limited PATH by default. The above example should work for most users but if you find the server doesn't start or is not available, it's likely because npx is not found so you might have to adjust the above configuration accordingly.

Requires Xcode 26.3 or later. Claude Code agent must be installed and configured in Xcode Settings -> Intelligence -> Anthropic.

Add to the end or replace the existing mcpServers object in Xcode's Claude Code agent config at: ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/CodingAssistant/ClaudeAgentConfig/.claude.json

// ... rest of file ... "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "/bin/zsh", "args": [ "-lc", "PATH=/opt/homebrew/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin; export NVM_DIR=\"$HOME/.nvm\"; [ -s \"$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh\" ] && . \"$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh\"; nvm use --silent >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; npx -y xcodebuildmcp@latest mcp" ] } } }

NOTE: Claude Code Agent when running in Xcode has a limited PATH by default. The above example should work for most users but if you find the server doesn't start or is not available, it's likely because npx is not found so you might have to adjust the above configuration accordingly.

For other installation options see Getting Started.

Related MCP server: Clockify MCP

Requirements

macOS 14.5 or later
Xcode 16.x or later
Node.js 18.x or later (not required for Homebrew installation)

Skills

XcodeBuildMCP now includes two optional agent skills:

MCP Skill: Primes the agent with instructions on how to use the MCP server's tools (optional when using the MCP server).
CLI Skill: Primes the agent with instructions on how to navigate the CLI (recommended when using the CLI).

To install, copy and paste the command below into a terminal and follow the on-screen instructions.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/getsentry/XcodeBuildMCP/v2.0.7/scripts/install-skill.sh -o install-skill.sh && bash install-skill.sh

For further information on how to install the skill, see: docs/SKILLS.md

Notes

XcodeBuildMCP requests xcodebuild to skip macro validation to avoid errors when building projects that use Swift Macros.
Device tools require code signing to be configured in Xcode. See docs/DEVICE_CODE_SIGNING.md.

Privacy

XcodeBuildMCP uses Sentry for error telemetry. For more information or to opt out of error telemetry see docs/PRIVACY.md.

CLI

XcodeBuildMCP provides a unified command-line interface. The mcp subcommand starts the MCP server, while all other commands provide direct terminal access to tools:

# Install globally npm install -g xcodebuildmcp@latest # Start the MCP server (for MCP clients) xcodebuildmcp mcp # List available tools xcodebuildmcp tools # Build for simulator xcodebuildmcp simulator build --scheme MyApp --project-path ./MyApp.xcodeproj

The CLI uses a per-workspace daemon for stateful operations (log capture, debugging, etc.) that auto-starts when needed. See docs/CLI.md for full documentation.

Documentation

Getting started: docs/GETTING_STARTED.md
CLI usage: docs/CLI.md
Configuration and options: docs/CONFIGURATION.md
Tools reference: docs/TOOLS.md
Troubleshooting: docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md
Privacy: docs/PRIVACY.md
Skills: docs/SKILLS.md
Contributing: docs/dev/CONTRIBUTING.md

Licence

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Install Server

security – no known vulnerabilities

license - permissive license

quality - confirmed to work

How are these scores calculated?

XcodeBuildMCP

Installation

Option A — Homebrew

Option B — npm / npx (Node.js 18+)

Client-specific setup

Requirements

Skills

Notes

Privacy

CLI

Documentation

Licence

Resources

Tools

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