A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server and CLI that provides tools for agent use when working on iOS and macOS projects.
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/xcodebuildmcpbrew 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@latestxcodebuildmcp --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.
Cursor
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 \"${workspaceFolder}\" && exec npx -y xcodebuildmcp@latest mcp" ] } }}
Or use the quick install link:
Claude Code
Run:
claude mcp add XcodeBuildMCP -- npx -y xcodebuildmcp@latest mcp
Codex CLI
Run:
codex mcp add XcodeBuildMCP -- npx -y xcodebuildmcp@latest mcp
Or add to ~/.codex/config.toml:
[mcp_servers.XcodeBuildMCP]command = "npx"args = ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"]
Claude Desktop
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } }}
VS Code / VS Code Insiders
Add to your VS Code settings JSON:
"mcp": { "servers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } }}
Or use the quick install links:
Kiro / Kiro CLI
Workspace-level (applies only to the current workspace): add .kiro/settings/mcp.json in your project root:
{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } }}
User-level (applies globally across all workspaces): add to ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json:
{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } }}
Windsurf
Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:
{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } }}
Trae
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Trae/User/mcp.json:
{ "mcpServers": { "XcodeBuildMCP": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "xcodebuildmcp@latest", "mcp"] } }}
Xcode (Codex Agent)
Requires Xcode 26.3 or later. Codex agent must be installed and configured in Xcode Settings -> Intelligence -> Open AI.
The only way at the time of writing to add an MCP server is to use a project scoped .codex/config.toml file in the root of your project workspace:
/path/to/your/project/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.XcodeBuildMCP]args = ["-lc","PATH=/opt/homebrew/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin; export NVM_DIR=\"$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 = truetool_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.
Xcode (Claude Code Agent)
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.
AdaL CLI
Run the following command inside the AdaL CLI prompt:
/mcp add XcodeBuildMCP --command npx --args "-y,xcodebuildmcp@latest,mcp"
For other installation options see Getting Started.
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 with a global binary:
xcodebuildmcp init
Or install directly via npx without a global install:
npx -y xcodebuildmcp@latest init
For further information on installing skills, 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 internal runtime error telemetry only. For details and opt-out instructions, 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 globallynpm install -g xcodebuildmcp@latest # Start the MCP server (for MCP clients)xcodebuildmcp mcp # List available toolsxcodebuildmcp tools # Build for simulatorxcodebuildmcp simulator build --scheme MyApp --project-path ./MyApp.xcodeproj
Check for updates and upgrade in place:
xcodebuildmcp upgrade --checkxcodebuildmcp upgrade --yes
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. For third-party licensing notices see the THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES file for details. For npm package attributions see the THIRD_PARTY_PACKAGE_LICENSES file for details.