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Kabir Oberai e45e2873d5 XTool target -> xtool

DocC/SPI doesn’t like the target and product having diff names

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Installation (macOS)

Set up xtool for declarative, Xcode-free iOS app development on macOS.

Overview

This article outlines the steps to install xtool for declarative, SwiftPM-driven iOS app development on macOS.

Prerequisites

Xcode

Though we don't rely on the Xcode build system, you still need to install Xcode for the iOS SDK and toolchain. You'll want to install Xcode and launch it once, completing any installation prompts.

Confirm that Xcode is set up with the iOS SDK:

xcrun -sdk iphoneos -show-sdk-path
# /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS18.4.sdk

As well as Swift:

swift --version
# swift-driver version: 1.120.5 Apple Swift version 6.1 (swiftlang-6.1.0.110.21 clang-1700.0.13.3)
# Target: arm64-apple-macosx15.0

Installation

1. Build xtool

You currently have to build xtool from source on macOS, via Swift Package Manager.

git clone https://github.com/xtool-org/xtool
# Cloning into 'xtool'...
# Resolving deltas: 100% (1795/1795), done.
cd xtool
swift build -c release --product xtool
# Building for production...
# [503/503] Linking xtool
# Build of product 'xtool' complete! (67.64s)
sudo ln -s "$PWD/.build/release/xtool" /usr/local/bin/xtool

Important:

The SwiftPM build currently references relative libraries and resources. This means you can't just mv the built xtool binary, hence the usage of ln to symlink instead. Make sure you don't delete the directory where you cloned xtool.

The plan is to make macOS installation easier and more self-contained in the future by shipping xtool as a .app, Homebrew Cask, etc. If you would like to contribute, feel free to reach out via GitHub Issues.

Confirm that xtool is installed correctly:

xtool --help
# OVERVIEW: Cross-platform Xcode replacement
# ...

2. Configure xtool: log in

Perform one-time setup with

xtool setup

You'll be asked to log in:

Select login mode
0: API Key (requires paid Apple Developer Program membership)
1: Password (works with any Apple ID but uses private APIs)
Choice (0-1):

Choosing a login mode:

API Key: If you have a paid Apple Developer Program membership, this is the recommended option. It relies on the public App Store Connect API. You'll want to follow the instructions to generate a Team Key with the App Manager role.

Password: If you aren't enrolled in the paid developer program, you'll want to use password-based authentication. This relies on private Apple APIs to authenticate, so you may want to create a throwaway Apple ID to be extra cautious.

Once you select a login mode, you'll be asked to provide the corresponding credentials (API key or email+password+2FA). Needless to say, your credentials are only sent to Apple and nobody else (feel free to build xtool from source and check!)

Next steps

You're now ready to use xtool! See doc:First-app. (The tutorial is tailored to Linux, but it works the same on macOS.)

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