Xcode MCP Integration

Xcode ships a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes IDE tools to external AI clients — 54 of them on Xcode 27. This skill suite teaches Claude how to set up, connect, and use those tools effectively, from building and testing to rendering SwiftUI previews programmatically. On Xcode 27 the server can also run headless, with Xcode closed.

When to Use

Use these skills when:

• Setting up xcrun mcpbridge for the first time
• Running MCP headless, in CI or without keeping Xcode open
• Building, testing, or previewing your project via MCP tools
• Troubleshooting connection, permission, or hung-call problems
• Learning Xcode MCP workflow patterns (workspace bootstrap, BuildFix loop, TestFix loop)
• Looking up specific tool parameters and schemas

Example Prompts

Questions you can ask Claude that will draw from these skills:

• "How do I set up Xcode MCP with Claude Code?"
• "Build my project using MCP tools"
• "How do I run Xcode MCP without keeping Xcode open?"
• "My mcpbridge connection keeps failing"
• "What parameters does BuildProject take?"
• "Run just the failing test, not the whole suite"
• "Render the preview for my ContentView"
• "My MCP tool call just hangs and never returns"

What This Skill Provides

• Setup guides for 5 MCP clients (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, VS Code, Gemini CLI), in attached or headless mode
• Workflow patterns – workspace bootstrap, iterative BuildFix loops, TestFix loops, preview verification
• All 54 tool references – parameters, return schemas, and gotchas
• Workspace targeting – identifier management, and why it's required even with one project open
• Troubleshooting – hung calls, agent approval, empty tool lists, stale connections
• Conflict resolution – when to use MCP tools vs xcodebuild vs standard file tools

Skill Suite

This is a router skill with four sub-skills:

Skill	Type	Purpose
axiom-xcode-mcp	Router	Routes to the right specialized skill
xcode-mcp-setup	Discipline	Enable, connect, and troubleshoot per client
xcode-mcp-tools	Discipline	Workflow patterns, gotchas, workspace targeting
xcode-mcp-ref	Reference	All 54 tools with params, schemas, examples
axe-ref	Reference	AXe simulator input (tap/type/swipe), documented at AXe

The Xcode MCP Tools

The server lists all 54 tools whether or not a workspace is open, DocumentationSearch included — so a shorter list points at the server, not at a missing workspace. The full per-tool reference is in Xcode MCP Reference.

Category	Tools
Workspaces & Projects	XcodeListWorkspaces, XcodeOpenWorkspace, XcodeCloseWorkspace, XcodeNewProject, XcodeListTemplates, XcodeNewTarget, XcodeListTargets
File Read	XcodeRead, XcodeGlob, XcodeGrep, XcodeLS
File Write	XcodeWrite, XcodeUpdate, XcodeMakeDir
File Destructive	XcodeRM, XcodeMV
Build	BuildProject, GetBuildLog, XcodeRefreshCodeIssuesInFile, and build-settings tools
Run & Debug	RunProject, StopProject, GetConsoleOutput, InvokeDebuggerCommand, RunCodeSnippet
Test	RunAllTests, RunSomeTests, GetTestList, test-plan tools
Schemes & Destinations	XcodeListSchemes, XcodeSwitchScheme, XcodeListRunDestinations, XcodeSwitchRunDestination
Preview	RenderPreview
Device Interaction	DeviceInteractionStartSession, DeviceInteractionSynthesize, and session tools
Crash & Field Diagnostics	GetTopCrashIssues, GetCrashIssueLogs, and field-performance tools
Localization	LocalizationPlanner, StringCatalogRead, StringCatalogEdit, StringCatalogContext
Project Configuration	AddEntitlement, AddInfoPlist
Search	DocumentationSearch

Requirements

• Xcode 26.3+ with MCP enabled in Settings > Intelligence, and a project open
• Xcode 27 additionally supports headless operation with Xcode closed, after a one-time sudo xcrun mcp-server enable
• macOS with Xcode installed

Related

• Xcode Debugging – Environment-first diagnostics (Derived Data, zombie processes) — use when the issue is Xcode environment, not MCP
• Apple Documentation Access – Reads Xcode-bundled for-LLM guides — use for bundled docs, while DocumentationSearch MCP tool searches Apple's online corpus
• Build Debugging – Dependency resolution for CocoaPods/SPM — use for traditional build debugging without MCP