Title: Check Xcode version in GitHub Actions and pick one
URL: https://codemany.com/problems/xcode-version-github-actions
Description: Check Xcode version in GitHub Actions, select the one your app needs, and stop builds breaking when macos-latest changes. Pin Xcode on your own Mac too.
All pages as Markdown: https://codemany.com/llms.txt

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# Wrong Xcode version in GitHub Actions

To check the Xcode version in a GitHub Actions job, run `xcodebuild -version` in a step. To pick one, select its path with `xcode-select`, or on your own Mac, ask for it with a runner label.

## The short answer

A build breaks on the wrong Xcode when the runner's default moves. You may see new compiler errors, missing SDKs or a Swift version that doesn't match your project. First check the Xcode version the job really used. Then pin it, so it can't change under you.

## Check which Xcode a job uses

Add this step to any macOS job. It shows what Xcode the job uses, where it lives, and which others are installed:

```
- name: Show Xcode
  run: |
    xcodebuild -version
    xcode-select -p
    ls -d /Applications/Xcode*
```

The log then shows lines like these:

```
Xcode 16.4
Build version 16F6
/Applications/Xcode_16.4.app/Contents/Developer
```

Run this step early in the job, so the answer sits at the top of the log. The same three commands find the Xcode version on your own Mac, in Terminal.

## Select a version with xcode-select

On GitHub's Macs, each Xcode lives at a path like `/Applications/Xcode_16.4.app`. Switch to one before you build:

```
- name: Use Xcode 16.4
  run: sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode_16.4.app
- run: xcodebuild -version
```

To skip `sudo`, set `DEVELOPER_DIR` for the job instead:

```
env:
  DEVELOPER_DIR: /Applications/Xcode_16.4.app/Contents/Developer
```

Pick a version the image really has. The list is in [GitHub's runner-images repo](https://github.com/actions/runner-images).

## Why macos-latest changes under you

`macos-latest` moves to a newer image over time. An image's default Xcode can change too. So a build that worked last week can break with no change from you. Pin both the image, such as `macos-15`, and the Xcode path. Watch the runner-images repo for notices before a big change lands.

## Pin Xcode with runner labels

On your own Mac, Codemany adds labels for Xcode. Every Mac with Xcode gets a plain `xcode`. It also gets one that follows the Xcode chosen with `xcode-select`, such as `xcode-26.0`.

```
runs-on: [self-hosted, codemany, xcode-26.0]
```

Ask for `xcode` when any Xcode will do. Pin `xcode-26.0` when the build needs that one. After a switch, jobs asking for the old one wait. They never build with the wrong toolchain. If no Mac has that Xcode, the job stays queued on GitHub. Install that Xcode, or change the label. All labels are in [Runner labels](https://codemany.com/docs/advanced#labels).

## Install another Xcode on your Mac

Download the Xcode `.xip` from Apple yourself. In the Codemany app, add it with **Add .xip…**. Codemany installs it at GitHub's path, `/Applications/Xcode_<version>.app`. Your other Macs copy it from that Mac, so you download each version once. Codemany checks your tools every 30 minutes, so new Xcode labels show up by themselves.

Then `sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode_16.4.app` in a job picks that Xcode for that job only. It needs no password, and other jobs keep their own Xcode. Codemany needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. Read [iOS and Xcode builds](https://codemany.com/docs/guides/ios-xcode), the [Mac runner guide](https://codemany.com/docs/guides/mac-runner) and [Mac runners](https://codemany.com/features/mac-runners). Builds are slow too? See [slow macOS jobs](https://codemany.com/problems/github-actions-macos-slow).

## Questions

### How do I check the Xcode version in a job?

Run xcodebuild -version in a step.

### How do I pick an Xcode version?

Use sudo xcode-select -s with the Xcode path, or a label such as xcode-26.0 on Codemany.

### Do I need Intel Macs for old Xcode?

Codemany needs Apple silicon; check that your Xcode runs there.

## Related

Read next: [iOS and Xcode builds](https://codemany.com/docs/guides/ios-xcode), [Mac runner guide](https://codemany.com/docs/guides/mac-runner), [Mac runners](https://codemany.com/features/mac-runners) and [runner labels](https://codemany.com/docs/advanced#labels).

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