Download the latest version of Xcode from the Apple developer website or get it using the Mac App Store. Once you have Xcode installed, open a terminal, run xcode-select -install, and click the Install button to install the required command line developer tools.

This wikiHow teaches you how to install Xcode on a Mac or a Windows PC running VirtualBox. Since Xcode is only available for macOS, you need to download a virtual machine to emulate a Mac. Xcode is a complete developer toolset for creating apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Xcode brings user interface design, coding, testing, debugging, and submitting to the App Store all into a unified workflow. Downloading and updating Xcode. The current release of Xcode is available as a free download from the Mac. Select Mac OS X and press Enter to initiate the Mac OS X boot sequence. During the Mac OS X configuration sequence, you’ll need to enter your Apple ID. This is necessary for downloading the XCode toolset later, so make sure you enter a valid Apple account when you configure your operating system. Installing XCode on your Mac OS X virtual machine. Apple Silicon is Apple's new lineup of processors for the Mac platform. It was announced in 2020 with the first Macs appearing at Apple's 'One More Thing' event in November 2020.

With an all-new design that looks great on macOS Big Sur, Xcode 12 has customizable font sizes for the navigator, streamlined code completion, and new document tabs. Xcode 12 builds Universal apps by default to support Mac with Apple Silicon, often without changing a single line of code.

Designed for macOS Big Sur.

Xcode 12 looks great on macOS Big Sur, with a navigator sidebar that goes to the top of the window and clear new toolbar buttons. The navigator defaults to a larger font that’s easier to read, while giving you multiple size choices. New document tabs make it easy to create a working set of files within your workspace.

Document tabs.

The new tab model lets you open a new tab with a double-click, or track the selected file as you click around the navigator. You can re-arrange the document tabs to create a working set of files for your current task, and configure how content is shown within each tab. The navigator tracks the open files within your tabs using strong selection.

Navigator font sizes.

The navigator now tracks the system setting for “Sidebar icon size” used in Finder and Mail. You can also choose a unique font size just for Xcode within Preferences, including the traditional dense information presentation, and up to large fonts and icon targets.

Code completion streamlined.

A new completion UI presents only the information you need, taking up less screen space as you type. And completions are presented much faster, so you can keep coding at maximum speed.

Redesigned organizer.

An all-new design groups all critical information about each of your apps together in one place. Choose any app from any of your teams, then quickly navigate to inspect crash logs, energy reports, and performance metrics, such as battery consumption and launch time of your apps when used by customers.

SwiftUI

SwiftUI offers new features, improved performance, and the power to do even more, all while maintaining a stable API that makes it easy to bring your existing SwiftUI code forward into Xcode 12. A brand new life cycle management API for apps built with SwiftUI lets you write your entire app in SwiftUI and share even more code across all Apple platforms. And a new widget platform built on SwiftUI lets you build widgets that work great on iPad, iPhone, and Mac. Your SwiftUI views can now be shared with other developers, and appear as first-class controls in the Xcode library. And your existing SwiftUI code continues to work, while providing faster performance, better diagnostics, and access to new controls.

Ilife Mac Store

Universal app ready.

Xcode 12 is built as a Universal app that runs 100% natively on Intel-based CPUs and Apple Silicon for great performance and a snappy interface.* It also includes a unified macOS SDK that includes all the frameworks, compilers, debuggers, and other tools you need to build apps that run natively on Apple Silicon and the Intel x86_64 CPU.

Updated automatically

When you open your project in Xcode 12, your app is automatically updated to produce release builds and archives as Universal apps. When you build your app, Xcode produces one binary “slice” for Apple Silicon and one for the Intel x86_64 CPU, then wraps them together as a single app bundle to share or submit to the Mac App Store. You can test this at any time by selecting “Any Mac” as the target in the toolbar.

Test multiple architectures.

On the new Mac with Apple Silicon, you can run and debug apps running on either the native architecture or on Intel virtualization by selecting “My Mac (Rosetta)” in the toolbar.

Multiplatform template

New multiplatform app templates set up new projects to easily share code among iOS, iPadOS, and macOS using SwiftUI and the new lifecycle APIs. The project structure encourages sharing code across all platforms, while creating special custom experiences for each platform where it makes sense for your app.

Improved auto-indentation

Swift code is auto-formatted as you type to make common Swift code patterns look much better, including special support for the “guard” command.

StoreKit testing

New tools in Xcode let you create StoreKit files that describe the various subscription and in-app purchase products your app can offer, and create test scenarios to make sure everything works great for your customers — all locally testable on your Mac.

Get started.

Download Xcode 12 and use these resources to build apps for all Apple platforms.

Xcode is a complete developer toolset for creating apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Xcode brings user interface design, coding, testing, debugging, and submitting to the App Store all into a unified workflow.

Downloading and updating Xcode

The current release of Xcode is available as a free download from the Mac App Store. The Mac App Store will notify you when an update is available or you can have macOS update automatically as it becomes available.

The latest beta version and previous versions of Xcode can be downloaded from the Downloads page. To download Xcode, simply sign in with your Apple ID.Apple Developer Program membership is not required.

Using Xcode

Get step-by-step guidance on how to use Xcode to build, test, and submit apps to the App Store.

Submitting apps to the App Store using Xcode

Mac App Store Xcode

If you’re an Apple Developer Program member, Xcode provides an integrated workflow to prepare and submit apps to App Store. You should use the latest version of Xcode available on the Mac App Store to submit your apps, or when available, the latest GM seed release from the Downloads page.

Do not submit apps built using beta software, as beta versions of Xcode, Operating Systems, and SDKs are for development and testing only.

Learning about changes to Xcode

To learn about the latest features and capabilities in Xcode, see What’s New in Xcode. For update details in the latest released versions, including each beta release, see the Xcode Release Notes.

Minimum requirements and supported SDKs

Legend

Minimum OS Required: The version of macOS required to install this version of Xcode.

SDK: The version of SDKs included in this version of Xcode.

Architecture: The architectures supported for development by this version of Xcode.

OS: The iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS versions supported by this version of Xcode for developing, installing, and debugging applications.

Simulator: Versions of iOS, tvOS, and watchOS simulators supported for development by this version of Xcode.

Swift: Version of Swift supported for development by this version of Xcode.

Providing feedback and reporting bugs

Your feedback goes a long way towards making Xcode even better. With Feedback Assistant, you can report issues or request enhancements to APIs and tools. Include detailed information about issues, including the system and developer tools version information, and any relevant crash logs or console messages. To ask questions and find answers by Apple engineers and other developers, visit the Apple Developer Forums.

Invalid private key and certificate pairing

If you received an error message saying, 'Xcode could not find a valid private-key/certificate pair for this profile in your keychain.' This error message indicates that the Keychain Access application on your Mac is missing either the public or private key for the certificate you are using to sign your app.

This often happens when you are trying to sign and build your app from a different Mac than the one you originally used to request your code signing certificate. It can also happen if your certificate has expired or has been revoked. Ensure that your app’s provisioning profile contains a valid code signing certificate, and that the Keychain Access application on your Mac contains that certificate, the private key originally used to generate that certificate, and the WWDR Intermediate Certificate.

For instructions on how to resolve this and other code signing errors, review the Code Signing Support page.

Xcode Mac Requirements

Apple security updates

Xcode Mac Sierra

For information on the security content of Xcode updates, visit the Apple security updates page.