Can I have multiple Xcode versions installed

Question

Is it possible to have more than one version of Xcode installed at the same time    If so  please post any tip  tricks  or potential issues to watch out for   EDIT   The reason I want to install multiple versions is to try out the new sdk beta  but if the new Xcode is buggy I want to be able to use the older version for my existing projects

User · Answer

It seems that Xcode really likes to be in the Applications folder and be called Xcode, especially when using xcodebuild (when building for Carthage for example) - and xcode-select doesn't always seem to cut it.

I have a client project that's still using Swift 2.2, and I'm stuck on Xcode 7 for that and using Xcode 8 for anything else.

So, in my Applications folder, I have Xcode 7 (renamed to Xcode_7) and Xcode 8 (renamed to Xcode_8). Then I rename whichever one I need to simply Xcode, and back again when done. It's a ball-ache, but seems to work.

This shell script simplifies it a bit…

xcode-version.sh

cd /Applications

if  [[ $1 = "-8" ]]
then 
    if [ -e Xcode_8.app ] 
    then            
        mv Xcode.app Xcode_7.app
        mv Xcode_8.app Xcode.app
        echo "Switched to Xcode 8"
    else
        echo "Already using Xcode 8"
    fi
elif  [[ $1 = "-7" ]]
then
    if [ -e Xcode_7.app ] 
    then            
        mv Xcode.app Xcode_8.app
        mv Xcode_7.app Xcode.app
        echo "Switched to Xcode 7"
    else
        echo "Already using Xcode 7"
    fi
else
    echo "usage: xcode-version -7/8"
fi

xcode-select --switch Xcode.app

User · Answer

Note that if you use the xcodebuild command line tool  then the last version of Xcode installed will become the default version   A symbolic link is installed in  usr bin   To use the xcodebuild for the other versions of Xcode you ll need to use the version in the  xcode install directory  usr bin directory   note To switch between different versions of the Xcode command-line tools  use the xcode-select tool mentioned by other commenters

User · Answer

All the updates for new version of xcode will be available in appstore if you have installed the version from appstore  If you just paste the downloaded version appstore will show install not update  Hence keep the stable version downloaded from appstore in your applications folder   To try new beta releases i usually put it in separate drive and unzip and install it there  This will avoid confusion while working on stable version    To avoid confusion you can keep only the stable version in your dock and open the beta version from spotlight Command   Space   This will place beta temporarily on dock  But it will make sure you don t accidentally edit your client project in beta version   Most Important - Working on same project on two different xcode might create some unwanted results  Like there was a bug in interface builder that got introduced in certain version of xcode  Which broke the constraints  It got fixed again in the next one   Keep track of release notes to know exactly what are additional features and what are known issues

User · Answer

Yes  you can install multiple versions of Xcode   They will install into separate directories   I ve found that the best practice is to install the version that came with your Mac first and then install downloaded versions  but it probably doesn t make a big difference   See http   developer apple com documentation Xcode Conceptual XcodeCoexistence Contents Resources en lproj Details Details html this Apple Developer Connection page for lots of details   lt - Page does not exist anymore

User · Answer

You may want to use the  xcode-select  command in terminal to switch between the different Xcode version in the installed folders

User · Answer

To have multiple Xcode instances installed you can put them to different folders for example  Developer5 0 2 Xcode  but to use them in CI or build environment command line  you need to setup some environment variables during the build  You can have more instructions here  So it is working not just with beta and fresh release  also it s working for the really old versions  you might need it to use with Marmalade or Unity plugins which is not support the latest Xcode versions yet some times it s happens

User · Answer

It s easy to have multiple Xcode installs   In the installer there s a pulldown for the location    you just need to pick a new location when you re installing the beta version   These instructions from an Apple dev tools evangelist have the full details  Apple dev username password required   https   devforums apple com message 40847 40847  Then grab yourself a custom icon for the Beta version of XCode you re using  so you can tell them apart in the dock  http   iphonedevelopment blogspot com 2009 03 multiple-developer-tool-installs html

User · Answer

Install Multiple Versions Of Xcode using the Xcode-Install Ruby Gem You can do this whole process a lot easier if you use the  xcode-install RubyGem   If you already have a working installation of the Xcode CommandLineTools and Ruby  I d suggest using Homebrew for installing Ruby  but I think it works with the Ruby supplied by macOS as well if you install the Gem either using sudo or as a user install   Details on the GitHub page  Basically         gem install xcode-install       xcversion list     6 0 1     6 1     6 1 1     6 2  installed      6 3       xcversion install 8                                                                              100 0      Please authenticate for Xcode installation         Xcode 8     Build version 6D570    To select a version as active  you ll run    xcversion select 8  To select a version as active and change the symlink at  Applications Xcode  you ll run    xcversion select 8 --symlink  xcode-install can also manage your local simulators using the simulators command   Read the instructions on the GitHub Project page for more info

User · Answer

First  remove the current Xcode installation from your machine  You can probably skip this step but I wanted to start fresh  Plus     Xcode was behaving a little weird lately so this is a good opportunity to do that  Install Xcode 8 from the App Store  Make sure project files   xcodeproj  and workspace files   xcworkspace  can be opened with the new Xcode installation  remember to select the Later option whenever prompted   Download the Xcode 7 3 1 dmg file from Apple  Double-tap the newly downloaded dmg file in order to get the standard    Drag to install Xcode in your Applications folder     Don   t do that  Instead  drag the Xcode icon to the desktop  Change the file name to Xcode 7 3 1  Now drag it to the Applications folder    Now you have two versions of Xcode installed on your machine  Xcode 7 3 1 and Xcode 8   Details  Install Xcode 7  amp  Xcode 8 side by side

User · Answer

Staring with Xcode 9  the beta Xcode is labeled  Xcode-beta app  and is designed to live side by side with the production version  Info can be found in the Xcode release notes here   Not using direct link because it breaks often    From Apple      Xcode 9 beta 4 can coexist with previous versions of Xcode  Prerelease   versions of Xcode are made available from developer apple com    packaged in a compressed XIP file  To install Xcode during the beta   period  download the XIP file  double-click the file to expand it in   place  then drag Xcode-beta app to the Applications folder

User · Answer

Can I have multiple Xcode versions installed  Solution  Actually as many of the above answers says  it is possible  Even according to the following Oracle Mobile Platform Blog  you can install more than one XCodes in the same Mac  The reason why you need to do that may vary according to you  Scenario  You might have installed only one version of XCode for now  Mostly the one release behind the latest XCode version which is available through App Store  mine I ve Xcode 6 3 2 and I needed to keep it and also install Xcode 7 which is available through App Store   For Ex -  You have already installed XCode 6 x  and App Store has XCode 7 already given by App Store  For any reason you need to keep that Older XCode 6 x as you know it is stable for some time now  and also you need to install and try out new XCode 7  So number one question might be  How and Where could you download the Mac OS X installable DMG file for XCode 7  or may be if you wanna try out an older XCode version   Ok  here is the direct link apple downloads  you might have to log into Apple Developer account before viewing this link correctly   or else following is a StackOverflow Q amp A link which gives the answer to where to download DMG files for XCode IDEs   So now let s assume that you have obtained any of the DMG file for the XCode version you require to install as secondarily  Steps  Follow the steps given bellow which I got from the above given first link of Oracles Mobile Platform Blog   Close Xcode if running Rename  Applications Xcode app to  Applications Xcode 6 x app Enter the admin password when prompted Double click the DMG file of your required  pre-downloaded Xcode and install it Once installed it  before running it  change the new  Applications Xcode app that was just installed to  according to my above given example   Application Xcode 7 app  Note    Please patiently read this section until the next Note  When you have two versions of Xcode installed  your workstation has two versions of Command Line Tool  xcodebuild  installed too  The question is what your Terminal and Xcode build command will use to when you are building your iOS App  Because along with the Command Line Tool  iOS SDK which is being used to build your app also depends on  My experience was I ve had two Xcode versions  Xcode 10  Old one with iOS12 0 - iphoneos12 0   and Xcode 10 1  New one with iOS 12 1 - iphoneos12 1   So obviously the settings for Command Line Tool was selected to use xcodebuild tool from the Old app  I had to manually select it in Xcode preference window  Where to set Command Line Tool in Xcode Preference Window   Select the Locations tab and there  you can select all the installed versions of Command Line Tools  which is xcodebuild    How to figure out which version of iOS SDK is being used to build your iOS App   On your Terminal issue following command    gt  xcodebuild -showsdks Above command should print out all the SDK details which your current Xcode configuration uses to build your Apps  And by seeing the results you will understand that your iOS iphoneos SDK version depends on changing Command Line Tool  xcodebuild  setting on your Xcode   Note    Above given Apple Downloads link and Oracles MPF blog post links might change and or unavailable in the future  So I hope that my this answer might be helpful to somebody else out there  Cheers

User · Answer

Whatever advice path you go down  make a copy of your project folder  and rename the external most one to reflect what XCode version it is being opened in   Your choice on whether you want it to update syntax or not  but the main reason for all this bovver is your storyboard will be altered just by looking  It may be resolved by the time a new reader coming across this in the future  or

[xcode] Can I have multiple Xcode versions installed?

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