apple-platform-build-tools

Apple Platform Build Tools Claude Code Plugin

Build, test, and archive Swift packages and Xcode projects for Apple platforms with Claude Code.

About

Apple Platform Build Tools Claude Code Plugin is a Claude Code plugin with an Agent Skill and a Subagent for building Apple platform products.

• Agent Skill: Reference documentation for the xcrun developer tool ecosystem — xcodebuild, swift build, simctl, devicectl, code signing, profiling, distribution, and binary tools.
• Subagent: Discovers schemes, manages simulators and devices, runs builds, and returns results. Uses the Agent Skill.

Usage

Delegate build and test commands to the Subagent from your main programming agent. It reports results without exposing build logs, keeping the main agent's context window clean.

Use the Agent Skill directly when you need to understand xcodebuild, swift, simctl, devicectl, or other xcrun tool options, debug build failures, or construct commands with more control than the Subagent gives you.

Automatic

Both the Agent Skill and Subagent are exposed to Claude Code with descriptions of when to use them. Claude should read the Agent Skill when composing a complex xcodebuild command, or invoke the Subagent when a build needs to run. This is nondeterministic in practice and may change across Claude models and Claude Code versions.

Manual

To explicitly invoke the Agent Skill or Subagent, use natural language in Claude Code.

e.g.

use the builder agent to build the app

check with the builder agent that the tests pass

use the build skill to help me write an xcodebuild command for CI

What's Included

Agent Skill: building-apple-platform-products

Quick-reference tables and detailed documentation for:

• xcrun tool resolution and Xcode version switching
• Project discovery (schemes, targets, configurations)
• Swift Package Manager commands
• xcodebuild commands (build, test, archive)
• Destination specifiers for all Apple platforms
• Simulator management (simctl — lifecycle, app install, permissions, screenshots, location)
• Physical device deployment (devicectl — iOS 17+, install, launch, file transfer)
• Test filtering, parallel execution, coverage
• Code signing (certificates, provisioning, CI keychain setup)
• Profiling and results (xctrace, xcresulttool, xccov)
• Distribution (IPA export, notarization, App Store upload)
• Binary tools (lipo, otool, dsymutil, atos, plutil, docc)
• CI/CD patterns (GitHub Actions, log capture, complete pipelines)
• Troubleshooting common errors

Subagent: builder

Build executor that:

• Discovers project structure
• Constructs commands for the project type
• Manages simulators and deploys to physical devices
• Archives, exports, and distributes builds
• Profiles performance and extracts test results
• Inspects binaries and debug symbols
• Handles errors using troubleshooting guidance
• Returns success/failure with relevant details
• Uses the building-apple-platform-products skill

Installation

Claude Code

Personal Usage

To install for personal use:

1. Add the marketplace:

   /plugin marketplace add kylehughes/apple-platform-build-tools-claude-code-plugin
   

2. Install the plugin:

   /plugin install apple-platform-build-tools@apple-platform-build-tools-claude-code-plugin
   

Project Configuration

To provide this plugin to everyone working in a repository, add it to .claude/settings.json:

{
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "apple-platform-build-tools@apple-platform-build-tools-claude-code-plugin": true
  },
  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
    "apple-platform-build-tools-claude-code-plugin": {
      "source": {
        "source": "github",
        "repo": "kylehughes/apple-platform-build-tools-claude-code-plugin"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code will prompt team members to install the plugin when they open the project.

Manual Installation

The Agent Skill and Subagent files are in this repository's skills/ and agents/ directories.

Contributions

Apple Platform Build Tools Claude Code Plugin is not accepting source contributions at this time. Bug reports will be considered.

Author

Kyle Hughes

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