I figured it out! The steps make it look like it will take more effort than it actually does.
These instructions are for creating a project from scratch. If you have existing Python scripts that you wish to include in this project, you will obviously need to slightly deviate from these instructions.
If you find that these instructions no longer work or are unclear due to changes in Xcode updates, please let me know. I will make the necessary corrections.
Note that if you open the "Utilities" panel, with the "Show the File inspector" tab active, the file type is automatically set to "Default - Python script". Feel free to look through all the file type options it has, to gain an idea as to what all it is capable of doing. The method above can be applied to any interpreted language. As of right now, I have yet to figure out exactly how to get it to work with Java; then again, I haven't done too much research. Surely there is some documentation floating around on the web about all of this.
If you do not have administrative privileges or are not in the Developer group, you can still use Xcode for Python programming (but you still won't be able to develop in languages that require compiling). Instead of using the play button, in the menu bar, click "Product" ? "Perform Action" ? "Run Without Building" or simply use the keyboard shortcut ^?R.
To change the text encoding, line endings, and/or indentation settings, open the "Utilities" panel and click "Show the File inspector" tab active. There, you will find these settings.
For more information about Xcode's build settings, there is no better source than this. I'd be interested in hearing from somebody who got this to work with unsupported compiled languages. This process should work for any other interpreted language. Just be sure to change Step 5 and Step 16 accordingly.
Try Editra It's free, has a lot of cool features and plug-ins, it runs on most platforms, and it is written in Python. I use it for all my non-XCode development at home and on Windows/Linux at work.
Another way, which I've been using for awhile in XCode3:
See steps 1-15 above.
The nice thing about this way is it will use the same environment to develop in that you would use to run in outside of XCode (as setup from your bash .profile).
It's also generic enough to let you develop/run any type of file, not just python.
This thread is old, but to chime in for Xcode Version 8.3.3, Tyler Crompton's method in the accepted answer still works (some of the names are very slightly different, but not enough to matter).
2 points where I struggled slightly:
Step 16: If the python executable you want is greyed out, right click it and select quick look. Then close the quick look window, and it should now be selectable.
Step 19: If this isn’t working for you, you can enter the name of just the python file in the Arguments tab, and then enter the project root directory explicitly in the Options tab under Working Directory--check the “Use custom working directory” box, and type in your project root directory in the field below it.
Procedure to get Python Working in XCode 7
Step 1: Setup your Project with a External Build System
Step 1.1: Edit the Project Scheme
Step 2: Specify Python as the executable for the project (shift-command-g) the path should be /usr/bin/python
Step 3: Specify your custom working directory
Step 4: Specify your command line arguments to be the name of your python file. (in this example "test.py")
Step 5: Thankfully thats it!
(debugging can't be added until OSX supports a python debugger?)
This Technical Note TN2328 from Apple Developer Library helped me a lot about Changes To Embedding Python Using Xcode 5.0.
I've created Xcode 4 templates to simplify the steps provided by Tyler.
The result is Python Project Template for Xcode 4.
Now what you need to do is download the templates, move it to /Developer/Library/Xcode/Templates/Project Templates/Mac/Others/
and then new a Python project with Xcode 4.
It still needs manual Scheme setup (you can refer to steps 12–20 provided by Tyler.)
Source: Stackoverflow.com