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XcodeBuildMCP MCP Tools Reference

This document lists MCP tool names as exposed to MCP clients. XcodeBuildMCP provides 76 canonical tools organized into 15 workflow groups for comprehensive Apple development workflows.

Workflow Groups

Build Utilities (utilities)

Purpose: Utility tools for cleaning build products and managing build artifacts. (1 tools)

  • clean - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.

iOS Device Development (device)

Purpose: Complete iOS development workflow for physical devices (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro). (14 tools)

  • build_device - Build for device.
  • clean - Clean build products.
  • discover_projs - Scans a directory (defaults to workspace root) to find Xcode project (.xcodeproj) and workspace (.xcworkspace) files.
  • get_app_bundle_id - Extract bundle id from .app.
  • get_device_app_path - Get device built app path.
  • install_app_device - Install app on device.
  • launch_app_device - Launch app on device.
  • list_devices - List connected devices.
  • list_schemes - List Xcode schemes.
  • show_build_settings - Show build settings.
  • start_device_log_cap - Start device log capture.
  • stop_app_device - Stop device app.
  • stop_device_log_cap - Stop device app and return logs.
  • test_device - Test on device.

iOS Simulator Development (simulator)

Purpose: Complete iOS development workflow for both .xcodeproj and .xcworkspace files targeting simulators. (21 tools)

  • boot_sim - Defined in Simulator Management workflow.
  • build_run_sim - Build and run iOS sim.
  • build_sim - Build for iOS sim.
  • clean - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • discover_projs - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • get_app_bundle_id - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • get_sim_app_path - Get sim built app path.
  • install_app_sim - Install app on sim.
  • launch_app_logs_sim - Launch sim app with logs.
  • launch_app_sim - Launch app on simulator.
  • list_schemes - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • list_sims - Defined in Simulator Management workflow.
  • open_sim - Defined in Simulator Management workflow.
  • record_sim_video - Record sim video.
  • screenshot - Capture screenshot.
  • show_build_settings - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • snapshot_ui - Print view hierarchy with precise view coordinates (x, y, width, height) for visible elements.
  • start_sim_log_cap - Defined in Log Capture workflow.
  • stop_app_sim - Stop sim app.
  • stop_sim_log_cap - Defined in Log Capture workflow.
  • test_sim - Test on iOS sim.

LLDB Debugging (debugging)

Purpose: Attach LLDB debugger to simulator apps, set breakpoints, inspect variables and call stacks. (8 tools)

  • debug_attach_sim - Attach LLDB to sim app.
  • debug_breakpoint_add - Add breakpoint.
  • debug_breakpoint_remove - Remove breakpoint.
  • debug_continue - Continue debug session.
  • debug_detach - Detach debugger.
  • debug_lldb_command - Run LLDB command.
  • debug_stack - Get backtrace.
  • debug_variables - Get frame variables.

Log Capture (logging)

Purpose: Capture and retrieve logs from simulator and device apps. (4 tools)

  • start_device_log_cap - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • start_sim_log_cap - Start sim log capture.
  • stop_device_log_cap - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • stop_sim_log_cap - Stop sim app and return logs.

macOS Development (macos)

Purpose: Complete macOS development workflow for both .xcodeproj and .xcworkspace files. Build, test, deploy, and manage macOS applications. (11 tools)

  • build_macos - Build macOS app.
  • build_run_macos - Build and run macOS app.
  • clean - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • discover_projs - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • get_mac_app_path - Get macOS built app path.
  • get_mac_bundle_id - Extract bundle id from macOS .app.
  • launch_mac_app - Launch macOS app.
  • list_schemes - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • show_build_settings - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • stop_mac_app - Stop macOS app.
  • test_macos - Test macOS target.

MCP Doctor (doctor)

Purpose: Diagnostic tool providing comprehensive information about the MCP server environment, dependencies, and configuration. (1 tools)

  • doctor - MCP environment info.

Project Discovery (project-discovery)

Purpose: Discover and examine Xcode projects, workspaces, and Swift packages. Analyze project structure, schemes, build settings, and bundle information. (5 tools)

  • discover_projs - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • get_app_bundle_id - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • get_mac_bundle_id - Defined in macOS Development workflow.
  • list_schemes - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.
  • show_build_settings - Defined in iOS Device Development workflow.

Project Scaffolding (project-scaffolding)

Purpose: Scaffold new iOS and macOS projects from templates. (2 tools)

  • scaffold_ios_project - Scaffold iOS project.
  • scaffold_macos_project - Scaffold macOS project.

Session Management (session-management)

Purpose: Manage session defaults for project/workspace paths, scheme, configuration, simulator/device settings. (4 tools)

  • session_clear_defaults - Clear session defaults.
  • session_set_defaults - Set the session defaults, should be called at least once to set tool defaults.
  • session_show_defaults - Show session defaults.
  • sync_xcode_defaults - Sync session defaults (scheme, simulator) from Xcode's current IDE selection.

Simulator Management (simulator-management)

Purpose: Tools for managing simulators from booting, opening simulators, listing simulators, stopping simulators, erasing simulator content and settings, and setting simulator environment options like location, network, statusbar and appearance. (8 tools)

  • boot_sim - Boot iOS simulator.
  • erase_sims - Erase simulator.
  • list_sims - List iOS simulators.
  • open_sim - Open Simulator app.
  • reset_sim_location - Reset sim location.
  • set_sim_appearance - Set sim appearance.
  • set_sim_location - Set sim location.
  • sim_statusbar - Set sim status bar network.

Swift Package Development (swift-package)

Purpose: Build, test, run and manage Swift Package Manager projects. (6 tools)

  • swift_package_build - swift package target build.
  • swift_package_clean - swift package clean.
  • swift_package_list - List SwiftPM processes.
  • swift_package_run - swift package target run.
  • swift_package_stop - Stop SwiftPM run.
  • swift_package_test - Run swift package target tests.

UI Automation (ui-automation)

Purpose: UI automation and accessibility testing tools for iOS simulators. Perform gestures, interactions, screenshots, and UI analysis for automated testing workflows. (11 tools)

  • button - Press simulator hardware button.
  • gesture - Simulator gesture preset.
  • key_press - Press key by keycode.
  • key_sequence - Press a sequence of keys by their keycodes.
  • long_press - Long press at coords.
  • screenshot - Defined in iOS Simulator Development workflow.
  • snapshot_ui - Defined in iOS Simulator Development workflow.
  • swipe - Swipe between points.
  • tap - Tap coordinate or element.
  • touch - Touch down/up at coords.
  • type_text - Type text.

Workflow Discovery (workflow-discovery)

Purpose: Manage enabled workflows at runtime. (1 tools)

  • manage-workflows - Workflows are groups of tools exposed by XcodeBuildMCP. By default, not all workflows (and therefore tools) are enabled; only simulator tools are enabled by default. Some workflows are mandatory and can't be disabled.

Xcode IDE Integration (xcode-ide)

Purpose: Bridge tools for connecting to Xcode's built-in MCP server (mcpbridge) to access IDE-specific functionality. (3 tools)

  • xcode_tools_bridge_disconnect - Disconnect bridge and unregister proxied xcode_tools_* tools.
  • xcode_tools_bridge_status - Show xcrun mcpbridge availability and proxy tool sync status.
  • xcode_tools_bridge_sync - One-shot connect + tools/list sync (manual retry; avoids background prompt spam).

Summary Statistics

  • Canonical Tools: 76
  • Total Tools: 100
  • Workflow Groups: 15

This documentation is automatically generated by scripts/update-tools-docs.ts from the tools manifest. Last updated: 2026-02-08T12:09:33.648Z UTC