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How to download and install Xcode on Mac

Xcode is Apple’s free app for building apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and it comes from the Mac App Store. Here is what your Mac needs, how to install Xcode and what the first launch adds to your disk.

Xcode

  • macOS 26.6 or later
  • Apple Silicon only
  • Free
Official Xcode websiteapps.apple.com ↗

The links go to the developer’s website (apps.apple.com). MacWashing is not affiliated with the developer and keeps no installers.

  1. Open developer.apple.com/download/all and sign in with your Apple Account (a free one works).
  2. Find the Xcode version you need and download its .xip file.
  3. Open the .xip in Downloads: macOS checks and unpacks it, which takes a while.
  4. Move Xcode to Applications and open it to install the components.

The .xip and the unpacked Xcode together need about twice Xcode’s size free. Delete the .xip once Xcode opens.

Before you download

The current Xcode needs macOS 26.6 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 or a newer chip. The App Store download is about 3 GB, but Xcode takes several times more once unpacked, and the platforms and simulators you add later take many gigabytes on top. Free up space first: the install stops if the disk runs out.

Need only Git, compilers and other command-line tools? Then you don’t need Xcode: the Command Line Tools are much smaller and install with: xcode-select --install

How to install Xcode

  1. Open the App Store and search for Xcode, or open Xcode’s page with the button on this page.
  2. Click Get, then Install. Sign in with your Apple Account if asked.
  3. Wait: the download and the unpacking take a while. Xcode appears in Applications when it’s done.
  4. Open Xcode and agree to the license. Enter your Mac password if Xcode asks to install additional components.
  5. Choose the platforms to download, such as iOS. Support for macOS is built in, and you can add the others later.

Beta and older versions of Xcode are on Apple’s developer site, developer.apple.com/xcode. Downloading them needs a sign-in with your Apple Account.

What to set up after the first launch

  • Platforms and simulators. Each platform, such as iOS or watchOS, and each simulator runtime takes several gigabytes. Add or remove them in Xcode › Settings › Components.
  • Your Apple Account. To run your apps on your own iPhone, add your Apple Account in Xcode › Settings › Accounts. A free account is enough for that. Publishing on the App Store needs the Apple Developer Program.
  • Build files. Xcode keeps build products and indexes in ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData. The folder grows with every project and is safe to delete while Xcode is closed.
  • Command-line tools. If Terminal tools should use this Xcode, choose it in Xcode › Settings › Locations › Command Line Tools.

To delete simulators that no installed Xcode can use any more, run:

xcrun simctl delete unavailable

If Xcode won’t install or open

  • The App Store says Xcode needs a newer macOS. Update macOS in System Settings › General › Software Update. If your Mac can’t run that version, an older Xcode from developer.apple.com may fit. Check its requirements there.
  • The install stalls or fails. Usually the disk is full: free up space and try again. Restarting the Mac and the download often helps too.
  • Xcode keeps failing after updates. Remove it with its caches and simulators and install it again: see how to uninstall Xcode on Mac.

Keep your Mac tidy

MacWashing, System Junk: Xcode junk, user caches, installers and logs found, 22.83 GB ready to be cleaned

Xcode builds up caches, build files and old simulators over time. System Junk in MacWashing finds the caches apps and developer tools build up, and the Uninstaller removes Xcode with its files if you no longer need it.

Download MacWashingHow it works

Free trial · macOS 14 or later

Questions and answers

Is Xcode free?

Yes. Xcode is free, and so is running your apps on your own devices with an Apple Account. Publishing on the App Store needs the paid Apple Developer Program.

Can I install Xcode without the App Store?

Yes. Apple’s developer site has Xcode as a .xip archive, betas and older versions included. You sign in with your Apple Account to download it. Open the .xip to unpack it and move Xcode to Applications.

Why does Xcode take so much space?

Besides the app itself, platforms, simulator runtimes, build files in DerivedData and archives of your apps grow over time. Xcode › Settings › Components and the DerivedData folder are the first places to free space.