XcodeBuild MCP

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/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:

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:

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"]
    }
  }
}

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.

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 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. 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.