Build your first iOS app on Linux / Windows
20 comments
·June 25, 2025malloc-0x90
zombot
Exactly. Apparently Apple still finds enough idiots who perform that dance, but they've lost me. I can only hope others will follow and xtool looks like it can help.
lynx97
Do you call anyone who isn't of your opinion an idiot?
realusername
I hope you also have a good internet connection because even in 2025, MacOS is incapable of resuming downloads.
sureglymop
Can I sideload the app to test/debug it on device without having to log into any online account?
Can I sign the app bundle with my own debug keys?
If no, it's still not interesting to me.
TheDong
You have to accept Apple's licensing agreement as part of downloading XCode to run this tool (which relies on XCode's SDKs etc).
Quoting from the license agreement:
> You may not use the Apple Software, Apple Certificates, or any Services provided hereunder for any purpose not expressly permitted by this Agreement, including any applicable Attachments and Schedules. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple SDKs on any non-Apple-branded computer, and not to install, use or run iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS, and Provisioning Profiles on or in connection with devices other than Apple-branded products, or to enable others to do so.
Both xtool itself, and anyone who uses it, is violating this license agreement, and apple has shown itself in the past to be a real ass about this sort of thing.
I think this can fly under the radar as long as no one uses it, but as soon as people actually start using this tool in any significant amount, I wouldn't be surprised if apple comes for it.
gman83
These terms and services would also seem to make it a violation to run CI/CD services that enable Windows & Linux users to build React Native or Flutter apps for IOS?
wouldbecouldbe
You need a macOS Server or computer to build via CI/CD
m463
from what I have always understood...
running under windows/linux booted on apple hardware is fine.
running in a vm/container on apple hardware is fine.
I suspect apple's new container support (like docker supported by apple) is going to make this sort of thing common.
sockbot
So running on Asahi is ok?
scripturial
I’m curious, would Apple know if you are building on Linux on a Mac, or building on Linux on PC?
CharlesW
> Both xtool itself, and anyone who uses it, is violating this license agreement, and apple has shown itself in the past to be a real ass about this sort of thing.
Only with people dumb enough to build businesses on the back of Apple's IP (see: Corellium). Hobbyist/enthusiast use of Apple technologies (see: the Hackintosh community) has a long history of being tolerated.
paxcoder
Touched upon here: https://forums.swift.org/t/xtool-cross-platform-xcode-replac...
We need to get EU on this case.
Abishek_Muthian
I was one of the early mobile app developers and after nearly a decade of wrangling with the tools & environment of the duopoly I got fed up and quit mobile app development.
Recently I picked up Flutter and I really liked it. Apart from the declarative programming, not having to touch Android Studio and Xcode for building the app in Linux was the main contributor for the pleasant experience.
I plan to release the app soon so I’ve already paid the Apple Tax for dev license and hardware but I still dread having to use Xcode; hopefully tools like xtool will help in that regard.
lynx97
Please turn on JavaScript in your browser and refresh the page to view its content.
sherdil2022
Looks promising. But I am getting the following error when I run 'xtool dev':
> status: "409", code: "ENTITY_ERROR", title: "There is a problem with the request entity", detail: "You already have a current Development certificate or a pending certificate request."
I have even manually copied the development certificate and installed on the iPhone - but keep getting the same error when I do 'xtool dev'
I have searched but none of the solutions worked so far. Will keep trying.
Did anyone get this error and get past it? Please let me know how you got past this error.
iJohnDoe
Can someone explain what this?
yellow_lead
A tutorial showing how to use xtool to develop for iOS on Linux/Windows. Normally, it's limited to Mac OS only.
scripturial
It allows automated builds of an Xcode project on a CI machine, VPS, or docker instance.
Never built on Apple, last time I tried:
it asked me to update Xcode;
Xcode asked me to update the OS first;
and the OS asked me to buy a new 1300$€ MacBook hardware (with similar specs, the one I was using wasn't even that old/slow).
So to quote Rick and Morty i though: "That's just subscription with extra steps!" - and made a windows program and an Android app.