xcodebuild(1) BSD General Commands Manual xcodebuild(1)
NAME
xcodebuild -- build Xcode projects and workspaces
SYNOPSIS
xcodebuild [-project name.xcodeproj]
[[-target targetname] ... | -alltargets]
[-configuration configurationname]
[-sdk [sdkfullpath | sdkname]] [action ...]
[buildsetting=value ...] [-userdefault=value ...]
xcodebuild [-project name.xcodeproj] -scheme schemename
[[-destination destinationspecifier] ...]
[-destination-timeout value]
[-configuration configurationname]
[-sdk [sdkfullpath | sdkname]] [action ...]
[buildsetting=value ...] [-userdefault=value ...]
xcodebuild -workspace name.xcworkspace -scheme schemename
[[-destination destinationspecifier] ...]
[-destination-timeout value]
[-configuration configurationname]
[-sdk [sdkfullpath | sdkname]] [action ...]
[buildsetting=value ...] [-userdefault=value ...]
xcodebuild -version [-sdk [sdkfullpath | sdkname]] [infoitem]
xcodebuild -showsdks
xcodebuild -showBuildSettings
[-project name.xcodeproj | [-workspace name.xcworkspace -scheme schemename]]
xcodebuild -list [-project name.xcodeproj | -workspace name.xcworkspace]
xcodebuild -exportArchive -archivePath xcarchivepath -exportPath
destinationpath -exportOptionsPlist path
xcodebuild -exportLocalizations -project name.xcodeproj -localizationPath
path [[-exportLanguage language] ...]
xcodebuild -importLocalizations -project name.xcodeproj -localizationPath
path
DESCRIPTION
xcodebuild builds one or more targets contained in an Xcode project, or
builds a scheme contained in an Xcode workspace or Xcode project.
Usage
To build an Xcode project, run xcodebuild from the directory containing
your project (i.e. the directory containing the name.xcodeproj package).
If you have multiple projects in the this directory you will need to use
-project to indicate which project should be built. By default,
xcodebuild builds the first target listed in the project, with the
default build configuration. The order of the targets is a property of
the project and is the same for all users of the project.
To build an Xcode workspace, you must pass both the -workspace and
-scheme options to define the build. The parameters of the scheme will
control which targets are built and how they are built, although you may
pass other options to xcodebuild to override some parameters of the
scheme.
There are also several options that display info about the installed ver-
sion of Xcode or about projects or workspaces in the local directory, but
which do not initiate an action. These include -list,
-showBuildSettings, -showsdks, -usage, and -version.
Options
-project name.xcodeproj
Build the project name.xcodeproj. Required if there are multiple
project files in the same directory.
-target targetname
Build the target specified by targetname.
-alltargets
Build all the targets in the specified project.
-workspace name.xcworkspace
Build the workspace name.xcworkspace.
-scheme schemename
Build the scheme specified by schemename. Required if building a
workspace.
-destination destinationspecifier
Use the destination device described by destinationspecifier.
Defaults to a destination that is compatible with the selected
scheme. See the Destinations section below for more details.
-destination-timeout timeout
Use the specified timeout when searching for a destination device.
The default is 30 seconds.
-configuration configurationname
Use the build configuration specified by configurationname when
building each target.
-arch architecture
Use the architecture specified by architecture when building each
target.
-sdk [sdkfullpath | sdkname]
Build an Xcode project or workspace against the specified SDK,
using build tools appropriate for that SDK. The argument may be an
absolute path to an SDK, or the canonical name of an SDK.
-showsdks
Lists all available SDKs that Xcode knows about, including their
canonical names suitable for use with -sdk. Does not initiate a
build.
-showBuildSettings
Lists the build settings in a project or workspace and scheme. Does
not initiate a build. Use with -project or -workspace and -scheme.
-list
Lists the targets and configurations in a project, or the schemes
in a workspace. Does not initiate a build. Use with -project or
-workspace.
-enableAddressSanitizer [YES | NO]
Turns the address sanitizer on or off. This overrides the setting
for the launch action of a scheme in a workspace.
-enableThreadSanitizer [YES | NO]
Turns the thread sanitizer on or off. This overrides the setting
for the launch action of a scheme in a workspace.
-enableUndefinedBehaviorSanitizer [YES | NO]
Turns the undefined behavior sanitizer on or off. This overrides
the setting for the launch action of a scheme in a workspace.
-enableCodeCoverage [YES | NO]
Turns code coverage on or off during testing. This overrides the
setting for the test action of a scheme in a workspace.
-testLanguage language
Specifies ISO 639-1 language during testing. This overrides the
setting for the test action of a scheme in a workspace.
-testRegion region
Specifies ISO 3166-1 region during testing. This overrides the set-
ting for the test action of a scheme in a workspace.
-derivedDataPath path
Overrides the folder that should be used for derived data when per-
forming an action on a scheme in a workspace.
-resultBundlePath path
Writes a bundle to the specified path with results from performing
an action on a scheme in a workspace.
-allowProvisioningUpdates
Allow xcodebuild to communicate with the Apple Developer website.
For automatically signed targets, xcodebuild will create and update
profiles, app IDs, and certificates. For manually signed targets,
xcodebuild will download missing or updated provisioning profiles.
Requires a developer account to have been added in Xcode's Accounts
preference pane.
-allowProvisioningDeviceRegistration
Allow xcodebuild to register your destination device on the Apple
Developer website if necessary. Requires -allowProvisioningUpdates.
-exportArchive
Specifies that an archive should be exported. Requires
-archivePath, -exportPath, and -exportOptionsPlist. Cannot be
passed along with an action.
-archivePath xcarchivepath
Specifies the path for the archive produced by the archive action,
or specifies the archive that should be exported when
-exportArchive is passed.
-exportPath destinationpath
Specifies the destination for the exported product, including the
name of the exported file.
-exportOptionsPlist path
Specifies options for -exportArchive. xcodebuild -help can print
the full set of available options.
-exportLocalizations
Exports localizations to XLIFF files. Requires -project and -local-
izationPath. Cannot be passed along with an action.
-importLocalizations
Imports localizations from an XLIFF file. Requires -project and
-localizationPath. Cannot be passed along with an action.
-localizationPath
Specifies a path to a directory or a single XLIFF localization
file.
-exportLanguage language
Specifies optional ISO 639-1 languages included in a localization
export. May be repeated to specify multiple languages. May be
excluded to specify an export includes only development language
strings.
action ...
Specify one or more actions to perform. Available actions are:
build Build the target in the build root
(SYMROOT). This is the default action, and
is used if no action is given.
build-for-testing Build the target and associated tests in the
build root (SYMROOT). This will also pro-
duce an xctestrun file in the build root.
This requires specifying a scheme.
analyze Build and analyze a target or scheme from
the build root (SYMROOT). This requires
specifying a scheme.
archive Archive a scheme from the build root
(SYMROOT). This requires specifying a
scheme.
test Test a scheme from the build root (SYMROOT).
This requires specifying a scheme and
optionally a destination.
test-without-building Test compiled bundles. If a scheme is pro-
vided with -scheme then the command finds
bundles in the build root (SRCROOT). If an
xctestrun file is provided with -xctestrun
then the command finds bundles at paths
specified in the xctestrun file.
install-src Copy the source of the project to the source
root (SRCROOT).
install Build the target and install it into the
target's installation directory in the dis-
tribution root (DSTROOT).
clean Remove build products and intermediate files
from the build root (SYMROOT).
-xcconfig filename
Load the build settings defined in filename when building all tar-
gets. These settings will override all other settings, including
settings passed individually on the command line.
-xctestrun xctestrunpath
Specifies test run parameters. Can only be used with the
test-without-building action. Cannot be used with -workspace or
-project. See <x-man-page://5/xcodebuild.xctestrun> for file for-
mat details.
-skip-testing:test-identifier, -only-testing:test-identifier
Constrain test actions. -only-testing: constrains a test action to
only testing a specified identifier, and excluding all other iden-
tifiers. -skip-testing: constrains a test action to skip testing a
specified identifier, but including all other identifiers. Test
identifiers have the form TestTarget[/TestClass[/TestMethod]]. The
TestTarget component of an identifier is the name of a unit or UI
testing bundle as shown in the Test Navigator. An xcodebuild com-
mand can combine multiple constraint options, but -only-testing:
has precedence over -skip-testing:.
-disable-concurrent-testing
Do not run test bundles in parallel on the specified destinations.
Testing will occur on each destination serially.
-maximum-concurrent-test-device-destinations number
Constrain the number of physical devices on which to test concur-
rently.
-maximum-concurrent-test-simulator-destinations number
Constrain the number of simulator devices on which to test concur-
rently.
-dry-run, -n
Print the commands that would be executed, but do not execute them.
-skipUnavailableActions
Skip actions that cannot be performed instead of failing. This
option is only honored if -scheme is passed.
buildsetting=value
Set the build setting buildsetting to value.
A detailed reference of Xcode build settings can be found at:
<https://help.apple.com/xcode/mac/current/#/itcaec37c2a6>
-userdefault=value
Set the user default userdefault to value.
-toolchain [identifier | name]
Use a given toolchain, specified with either an identifier or name.
-quiet
Do not print any output except for warnings and errors.
-verbose
Provide additional status output.
-version
Display version information for this install of Xcode. Does not
initiate a build. When used in conjunction with -sdk, the version
of the specified SDK is displayed, or all SDKs if -sdk is given no
argument. Additionally, a single line of the reported version
information may be returned if infoitem is specified.
-license
Show the Xcode and SDK license agreements. Allows for accepting the
license agreements without launching Xcode itself, which is useful
for headless systems. Must be run as a privileged user.
-checkFirstLaunchStatus
Check if any First Launch tasks need to be performed.
-runFirstLaunch
Install packages and agree to the license.
-usage
Displays usage information for xcodebuild.
Destinations
The -destination option takes as its argument a destination specifier
describing the device (or devices) to use as a destination. A destina-
tion specifier is a single argument consisting of a set of comma-sepa-
rated key=value pairs. The -destination option may be specified multiple
times to cause xcodebuild to perform the specified action on multiple
destinations.
Destination specifiers may include the platform key to specify one of the
supported destination platforms. There are additional keys which should
be supplied depending on the platform of the device you are selecting.
Some devices may take time to look up. The -destination-timeout option
can be used to specify the amount of time to wait before a device is con-
sidered unavailable. If unspecified, the default timeout is 30 seconds.
Currently, xcodebuild supports these platforms:
macOS The local Mac, referred to in the Xcode interface as
My Mac, and which supports the following key:
arch The architecture to use, either x86_64 (the
default) or i386.
iOS An iOS device, which supports the following keys:
id The identifier of the device to use, as shown in
the Devices window. A valid destination speci-
fier must provide either id or name, but not
both.
name The name of the device to use. A valid destina-
tion specifier must provide either id or name,
but not both.
iOS Simulator A simulated iOS device, which supports the following
keys:
id The identifier of the simulated device to use,
as shown in the Devices window. A valid destina-
tion specifier must provide either id or name,
but not both.
name The name of the simulated device to use. A valid
destination specifier must provide either id or
name, but not both.
OS When specifying the simulated device by name,
the iOS version for that simulated device, such
as 6.0, or the string latest (the default) to
indicate the most recent version of iOS sup-
ported by this version of Xcode.
watchOS A watchOS app is always built and deployed nested
inside of an iOS app. To use a watchOS device as your
destination, specify a scheme which is configured to
run a WatchKit app, and specify the iOS platform des-
tination that is paired with the watchOS device you
want to use.
watchOS Simulator A watchOS Simulator app is always built and deployed
nested inside of an iOS Simulator app. To use a
watchOS Simulator device as your destination, specify
a scheme which is configured to run a WatchKit app,
and specify the iOS Simulator platform destination
that is paired with the watchOS Simulator device you
want to use.
tvOS A tvOS device, which supports the following keys:
id The identifier of the device to use, as shown in
the Devices window. A valid destination speci-
fier must provide either id or name, but not
both.
name The name of the device to use. A valid destina-
tion specifier must provide either id or name,
but not both.
tvOS Simulator A simulated tvOS device, which supports the following
keys:
id The identifier of the simulated device to use,
as shown in the Devices window. A valid destina-
tion specifier must provide either id or name,
but not both.
name The name of the simulated device to use. A valid
destination specifier must provide either id or
name, but not both.
OS When specifying the simulated device by name,
the tvOS version for that simulated device, such
as 9.0, or the string latest (the default) to
indicate the most recent version of tvOS sup-
ported by this version of Xcode.
Some actions (such as building) may be performed without an actual device
present. To build against a platform generically instead of a specific
device, the destination specifier may be prefixed with the optional
string "generic/", indicating that the platform should be targeted gener-
ically. An example of a generic destination is the "Generic iOS Device"
destination displayed in Xcode's UI when no physical iOS device is
present.
Testing on Multiple Destinations
When more than one destination is specified with the -destination option,
xcodebuild tests on those destinations concurrently. In this mode,
xcodebuild automatically chooses the number of devices and simulators
that are used simultaneously. All enabled tests in the scheme or
xctestrun file are run on each destination.
Exporting Archives
The -exportArchive option specifies that xcodebuild should export the ar-
chive specified by -archivePath using the options specified by
-exportOptionsPlist. xcodebuild -help can print the full set of avail-
able inputs to -exportOptionsPlist. The exported product will be placed
at the path specified by -exportPath.
Environment Variables
The following environment variables affect the execution of xcodebuild:
XCODE_XCCONFIG_FILE
Set to a path to a file, build settings in that file will
be loaded and used when building all targets. These set-
tings will override all other settings, including set-
tings passed individually on the command line, and those
in the file passed with the -xcconfig option.
Exit Codes
xcodebuild exits with codes defined by sysexits(3). It will exit with
EX_OK on success. On failure, it will commonly exit with EX_USAGE if any
options appear malformed, EX_NOINPUT if any input files cannot be found,
EX_IOERR if any files cannot be read or written, and EX_SOFTWARE if the
commands given to xcodebuild fail. It may exit with other codes in less
common scenarios.
EXAMPLES
xcodebuild clean install
Cleans the build directory; then builds and installs the first
target in the Xcode project in the directory from which
xcodebuild was started.
xcodebuild -project MyProject.xcodeproj -target Target1 -target Target2
-configuration Debug
Builds the targets Target1 and Target2 in the project
MyProject.xcodeproj using the Debug configuration.
xcodebuild -target MyTarget OBJROOT=/Build/MyProj/Obj.root
SYMROOT=/Build/MyProj/Sym.root
Builds the target MyTarget in the Xcode project in the directory
from which xcodebuild was started, putting intermediate files in
the directory /Build/MyProj/Obj.root and the products of the
build in the directory /Build/MyProj/Sym.root.
xcodebuild -sdk macosx10.6
Builds the Xcode project in the directory from which xcodebuild
was started against the macOS 10.6 SDK. The canonical names of
all available SDKs can be viewed using the -showsdks option.
xcodebuild -workspace MyWorkspace.xcworkspace -scheme MyScheme
Builds the scheme MyScheme in the Xcode workspace
MyWorkspace.xcworkspace.
xcodebuild archive -workspace MyWorkspace.xcworkspace -scheme MyScheme
Archives the scheme MyScheme in the Xcode workspace
MyWorkspace.xcworkspace.
xcodebuild build-for-testing -workspace MyWorkspace.xcworkspace -scheme
MyScheme -destination generic/platform=iOS
Build tests and associated targets in the scheme MyScheme in the
Xcode workspace MyWorkspace.xcworkspace using the generic iOS
device destination. The command also writes test parameters from
the scheme to an xctestrun file in the built products directory.
xcodebuild test-without-building -workspace MyWorkspace.xcworkspace
-scheme MyScheme -destination 'platform=iOS
Simulator,name=iPhone 5s' -destination 'platform=iOS,name=My
iPad'
Tests the scheme MyScheme in the Xcode workspace
MyWorkspace.xcworkspace using both the iOS Simulator and the
device named iPhone 5s for the latest version of iOS. The com-
mand assumes the test bundles are in the build root (SYMROOT).
(Note that the shell requires arguments to be quoted or other-
wise escaped if they contain spaces.)
xcodebuild test-without-building -xctestrun MyTestRun.xctestrun
-destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone 5s'
-destination 'platform=iOS,name=My iPad'
Tests using both the iOS Simulator and the device named iPhone
5s. Test bundle paths and other test parameters are specified
in MyTestRun.xctestrun. The command requires project binaries
and does not require project source code.
xcodebuild test -workspace MyWorkspace.xcworkspace -scheme MyScheme
-destination 'platform=macOS,arch=x86_64'
Tests the scheme MyScheme in the Xcode workspace
MyWorkspace.xcworkspace using the destination described as My
Mac 64-bit in Xcode.
xcodebuild test -workspace MyWorkspace.xcworkspace -scheme MyScheme
-destination 'platform=macOS,arch=x86_64' -only-
testing:MyTests/FooTests/testFooWithBar
Tests the scheme MyScheme in the Xcode workspace
MyWorkspace.xcworkspace using the destination described as My
Mac 64-bit in Xcode. Only the test testFooWithBar of the test
suite FooTests, part of the MyTests testing bundle target, will
be run.
xcodebuild -exportArchive -archivePath MyMobileApp.xcarchive -exportPath
ExportDestination -exportOptionsPlist 'export.plist'
Exports the archive MyMobileApp.xcarchive to the path
ExportDestination using the options specified in export.plist.
xcodebuild -exportLocalizations -project MyProject.xcodeproj
-localizationPath MyDirectory -exportLanguage zh-hans
-exportLanguage es-MX
Exports two XLIFF files to MyDirectory from MyProject.xcodeproj
containing development language strings and translations for
Simplified Chinese and Mexican Spanish.
xcodebuild -exportLocalizations -project MyProject.xcodeproj
-localizationPath MyDirectory
Export a single XLIFF file to MyDirectory from
MyProject.xcodeproj containing only development language
strings. (In this case, the -exportLanguage parameter has been
excluded.)
xcodebuild -importLocalizations -project MyProject.xcodeproj
-localizationPath MyLocalizations.xliff
Imports localizations from MyLocalizations.xliff into
MyProject.xcodeproj. Translations with issues will be reported
but not imported.
SEE ALSO
ibtool(1), sysexits(3), xcode-select(1), xcrun(1), xed(1)
Xcode Builds Settings Reference <https://help.apple.com/xcode/mac/
current/#/itcaec37c2a6>
macOS June 20, 2016 macOS
Mac OS X 10.13.1 - Generated Sun Nov 5 18:55:02 CST 2017