/build-and-run

Build and run the current Xcode project.

Important: Run all xcodebuild commands as background tasks. Builds can take significant time (30s–5m+ depending on project size). Use Bash with run_in_background: true parameter to avoid blocking. Poll build completion and capture output for error analysis.

Workflow

Step 1: Find the Project

Look for .xcworkspace (preferred) or .xcodeproj in current directory. If multiple exist, ask the user which to use.

Step 2: Find the Scheme

Get available schemes with:

xcodebuild -workspace <workspace> -list -quiet

or

xcodebuild -project <project> -list -quiet

If multiple schemes exist, ask the user which to build. If scheme is provided as $1, use that.

Step 3: Build

Run as background task to avoid blocking.

For macOS projects, build for native architecture:

ARCH=$(uname -m)
xcodebuild -project <project> -scheme <scheme> -destination "platform=macOS,arch=$ARCH" -quiet build

For iOS projects, determine available simulator and build:

SIMULATOR=$(xcrun simctl list devices available -j | python3 -c "import sys,json; devs=[d for r in json.load(sys.stdin)['devices'].values() for d in r if d['isAvailable']]; iphones=[d for d in devs if 'iPhone' in d['name']]; print(iphones[-1]['name'] if iphones else '')")
xcodebuild -project <project> -scheme <scheme> -destination "platform=iOS Simulator,name=$SIMULATOR" -quiet build

When build completes (exit code 0 = success, non-zero = failure), proceed to Step 4 if errors, or Step 5 if successful.

Step 4: Fix Build Errors

If build fails, read error messages and fix each issue:

1. Read the file with the error
2. Identify and fix the issue
3. Re-run build
4. Repeat until build succeeds

Prioritize errors over warnings.

Step 5: Run the App

For macOS:

# Get native architecture and build output directory
ARCH=$(uname -m)
BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR=$(xcodebuild -project <project> -scheme <scheme> -destination "platform=macOS,arch=$ARCH" -quiet -showBuildSettings | grep ' BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR =' | awk '{print $3}')

# Kill previous instance and run
if [ -f .build.pid ]; then
  OLD_PID=$(cat .build.pid)
  kill -0 "$OLD_PID" 2>/dev/null && kill "$OLD_PID" 2>/dev/null
fi

open "$BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR/<app-name>.app"
sleep 1
pgrep -f "$BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR/<app-name>" > .build.pid

For iOS:

# Get bundle identifier from Info.plist or build settings
BUNDLE_ID=$(xcodebuild -project <project> -scheme <scheme> -quiet -showBuildSettings | grep ' PRODUCT_BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER =' | awk '{print $3}')

# Boot simulator and launch
xcrun simctl boot "$SIMULATOR" 2>/dev/null
xcrun simctl launch --terminate-running-process booted "$BUNDLE_ID"

Report success or errors to the user.

Troubleshooting: Clean Build Cache

If build issues persist or changes aren't being picked up, clean DerivedData and rebuild:

rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/*

Then rebuild from Step 3. This removes all cached build artifacts and forces a fresh build. Use sparingly—only when a rebuild doesn't pick up code changes or when encountering mysterious build failures.