How to use the command 'xcrun' (with examples)

The command ‘xcrun’ is a powerful tool in macOS that allows you to run or locate development tools and properties. It is commonly used by developers to access command-line tools and manage their SDKs and toolchains.

Use case 1: Find and run a tool from the active developer directory

Code:

xcrun swift --version

Motivation: The motivation for using this example is to check the version of the Swift programming language installed on the system.

Explanation: ‘xcrun’ is used to locate and run a tool, in this case ‘swift’. The “–version” argument is used to display the version of the tool.

Example output:

Apple Swift version 5.3.2 (swiftlang-1200.0.45 clang-1200.0.32.28)
Target: x86_64-apple-darwin20.2.0

Use case 2: Show verbose output

Code:

xcrun git clone <repository> --verbose

Motivation: The motivation for using this example is to see detailed output while cloning a Git repository.

Explanation: The “–verbose” argument is used to show detailed output when running the ‘git clone’ command using ‘xcrun’.

Example output:

Cloning into 'repository'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 100, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (100/100), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (75/75), done.
Receiving objects: 100% (100/100), 1.00 MiB | 1.76 MiB/s, done.
...

Use case 3: Find a tool for a given SDK

Code:

xcrun --sdk iphoneos clang --version

Motivation: The motivation for using this example is to check the version of the Clang compiler for the iPhoneOS SDK.

Explanation: The “–sdk iphoneos” argument is used to specify the SDK for which the tool should be found. The tool in this case is ‘clang’, and the “–version” argument is used to display its version.

Example output:

Apple clang version 12.0.0 (clang-1200.0.32.28)
Target: arm64-apple-darwin20.2.0
Thread model: posix
InstalledDir: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/bin

Use case 4: Find a tool for a given toolchain

Code:

xcrun --toolchain swift clang --version

Motivation: The motivation for using this example is to check the version of the Clang compiler for the Swift toolchain.

Explanation: The “–toolchain swift” argument is used to specify the toolchain for which the tool should be found. The tool in this case is ‘clang’, and the “–version” argument is used to display its version.

Example output:

Apple clang version 12.0.0 (clang-1200.0.32.28)
Target: x86_64-apple-darwin20.2.0
Thread model: posix
InstalledDir: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/bin

Use case 5: Display version

Code:

xcrun --version

Motivation: The motivation for using this example is to quickly check the version of ‘xcrun’.

Explanation: The “–version” argument is used to display the version of ‘xcrun’ itself.

Example output:

xcrun version 46

Use case 6: Display help

Code:

xcrun --help

Motivation: The motivation for using this example is to get help and information about the usage of the ‘xcrun’ command.

Explanation: The “–help” argument is used to display the help information for ‘xcrun’.

Example output:

Usage: xcrun [options] <toolname> [... <args>]
...

Conclusion:

The ‘xcrun’ command is a versatile tool for developers on macOS, allowing them to run or locate various development tools and properties. By using the examples provided, users can check versions, access tools from specific SDKs or toolchains, and get detailed output when needed. Understanding and utilizing the different arguments and options available with ‘xcrun’ can greatly enhance a developer’s workflow.