xcodeproj-mcp-server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for manipulating Xcode project files (.xcodeproj) using Swift.

Overview

xcodeproj-mcp-server is an MCP server that provides tools for programmatically manipulating Xcode project files. It leverages the tuist/xcodeproj library for reliable project file manipulation and implements the Model Context Protocol using the swift-sdk.

This server enables AI assistants and other MCP clients to:

• Create new Xcode projects
• Manage targets, files, and build configurations
• Inspect project structure including groups and hierarchies
• Modify build settings
• Add dependencies and frameworks
• Automate common Xcode project tasks

Use Cases

Project Creation and Setup

• Create projects from scratch: Generate new Xcode projects with custom configurations, bundle identifiers, and organization settings without opening Xcode
• Multi-target project scaffolding: Set up complex projects with multiple apps, frameworks, tests, and extensions in a single automated workflow

Development Workflow Automation

• Add new files to targets: After creating a new Swift file, automatically add it to the appropriate target's source files for compilation
• Add folder references: Include external resource folders or asset directories as synchronized folder references in your project, automatically reflecting any file system changes
• Add build phases: Integrate code formatters, linters, or custom build scripts into your targets (e.g., SwiftLint, SwiftFormat execution phases)
• Create frameworks and app extensions: Quickly scaffold new framework targets or app extensions for modularizing your codebase
• Add Widget Extensions: Automatically create and embed Widget Extension targets with proper configuration for iOS home screen widgets

Project Configuration Management

• Automate Info.plist setup: Programmatically configure Info.plist settings, entitlements, and provisioning profiles for different targets
• Build configuration management: Set up different build configurations with appropriate compiler flags, bundle identifiers, and deployment targets
• Dependency management: Add system frameworks, link libraries, and configure target dependencies without manual Xcode navigation

Available Tools

Project Management

• create_xcodeproj - Create a new Xcode project

  • Parameters: project_name, path, organization_name, bundle_identifier

• list_targets - List all targets in a project

  • Parameters: project_path

• list_build_configurations - List all build configurations

  • Parameters: project_path

• list_files - List all files in a specific target

  • Parameters: project_path, target_name

• list_groups - List all groups in the project with hierarchical paths, optionally filtered by target

  • Parameters: project_path, target_name (optional)

File Operations

• add_file - Add a file to the project

  • Parameters: project_path, file_path, target_name, group_path

• remove_file - Remove a file from the project

  • Parameters: project_path, file_path

• move_file - Move or rename a file within the project

  • Parameters: project_path, source_path, destination_path

• add_synchronized_folder - Add a synchronized folder reference to the project

  • Parameters: project_path, folder_path, group_name, target_name

• create_group - Create a new group in the project navigator

  • Parameters: project_path, group_name, parent_group_path

Target Management

• add_target - Create a new target

  • Parameters: project_path, target_name, type, platform, bundle_identifier

• remove_target - Remove an existing target

  • Parameters: project_path, target_name

• duplicate_target - Duplicate an existing target

  • Parameters: project_path, source_target_name, new_target_name

• add_dependency - Add dependency between targets

  • Parameters: project_path, target_name, dependency_name

App Extension Management

• add_app_extension - Add an App Extension target and embed it in a host app

  • Parameters: project_path, extension_name, extension_type, host_target_name, bundle_identifier, platform (optional), deployment_target (optional)
  • Supported extension types: widget, notification_service, notification_content, share, today, action, file_provider, intents, intents_ui, keyboard, photo_editing, document_provider, custom

• remove_app_extension - Remove an App Extension target and its embedding from the host app

  • Parameters: project_path, extension_name

Build Configuration

• get_build_settings - Get build settings for a target

  • Parameters: project_path, target_name, configuration_name

• set_build_setting - Modify build settings

  • Parameters: project_path, target_name, setting_name, value, configuration_name

• add_framework - Add framework dependencies

  • Parameters: project_path, target_name, framework_name, embed

• add_build_phase - Add custom build phases

  • Parameters: project_path, target_name, phase_type, name, script

Swift Package Management

• add_swift_package - Add a Swift Package dependency to the project

  • Parameters: project_path, package_url, requirement, target_name, product_name

• list_swift_packages - List all Swift Package dependencies in the project

  • Parameters: project_path

• remove_swift_package - Remove a Swift Package dependency from the project

  • Parameters: project_path, package_url, remove_from_targets

How to set up for Claude Desktop and Claude Code

Prerequisites

• Docker
• macOS (for running Xcode projects)

Installation using Docker

Pull the pre-built Docker image from GitHub Container Registry:

docker pull ghcr.io/giginet/xcodeproj-mcp-server

Configuration for Claude Code

claude mcp add xcodeproj -- docker run --pull=always --rm -i -v $PWD:/workspace ghcr.io/giginet/xcodeproj-mcp-server:latest /workspace

We need to mount the current working directory ($PWD) to /workspace inside the container. This allows the server to access your Xcode projects.

Recommended settings

Enabling ENABLE_TOOL_SEARCH in .claude/settings.json activates dynamic MCP tool loading. This prevents unused MCP tools from consuming context.

{
  "env": {
    "ENABLE_TOOL_SEARCH": "1"
  }
}

Configuration for Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xcodeproj": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-v",
        "${workspaceFolder}:/workspace",
        "ghcr.io/giginet/xcodeproj-mcp-server",
        "/workspace"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Path Security

The MCP server now supports restricting file operations to a specific base directory. When you provide a base path as a command-line argument:

• All project_path and file path parameters will be resolved relative to this base path
• Absolute paths are validated to ensure they're within the base directory
• Any attempt to access files outside the base directory will result in an error

This is especially useful when running the server in Docker containers or other sandboxed environments.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.