Xcode Selector

Status bar scheme, configuration, and destination picker for Xcode projects in VS Code.

This extension helps you quickly select:

• The active Xcode scheme
• The build configuration (Debug / Release)
• The active destination (simulator or physical device)

Selections are persisted in VS Code workspace state and exposed to build/launch tasks via ${command:...} variable substitution (environment variables).

Features

• Three status bar controls:
  • Scheme picker ($(tools))
  • Configuration picker ($(gear))
  • Destination picker ($(device-mobile))
• Auto-detects an .xcworkspace in the workspace root
• Optional manual workspace path configuration
• Fast QuickPick behavior with in-memory cache and refresh command
• Destination ID normalization for xcrun workflows:
  • Simulator IDs from xcrun simctl
  • Physical device IDs from xcrun devicectl

Commands

• Xcode: Select Scheme (xcode-selector.selectScheme)
• Xcode: Select Configuration (xcode-selector.selectConfiguration)
• Xcode: Select Destination (xcode-selector.selectDestination)
• Xcode: Refresh Schemes & Destinations (xcode-selector.refresh)

Task Variable Commands

These commands return plain strings for use with ${command:...} substitution in tasks.json:

Example task using variable substitution

{
  "type": "shell",
  "label": "xcode: build",
  "command": "Scripts/xcode-build.py",
  "options": {
    "env": {
      "XCODE_SCHEME": "${command:xcode-selector.getScheme}",
      "XCODE_DESTINATION_ID": "${command:xcode-selector.getDestinationId}",
      "XCODE_CONFIGURATION": "${command:xcode-selector.getConfiguration}"
    }
  }
}

Configuration

Setting:

• xcode-selector.workspacePath (string, default: empty)

Behavior:

• If empty, the extension scans the workspace root and uses the first .xcworkspace it finds.
• If set, it can be:
  • A relative path from workspace root (recommended)
  • An absolute path

Example in .vscode/settings.json:

{
 "xcode-selector.workspacePath": "SafePilot.xcworkspace"
}

Usage

1. Open a folder containing an Xcode workspace.
2. Click the scheme item in the status bar and choose a scheme.
3. Click the configuration item to toggle between Debug and Release.
4. Click the destination item in the status bar and choose a device/simulator.
5. Use the refresh command after plugging in a new device or changing simulator availability.

Requirements

• macOS with Xcode command line tools installed
• xcodebuild available on PATH
• For full device/simulator resolution:
  • xcrun simctl
  • xcrun devicectl

Troubleshooting

No workspace found

If you see:

xcode-selector: no .xcworkspace found. Set xcode-selector.workspacePath in settings.

Set xcode-selector.workspacePath to your workspace path in settings.

No destinations found

• Ensure a scheme is selected first.
• Confirm the scheme supports your target platform.
• Run the refresh command after simulator/device changes.

Device identifiers look inconsistent

Different tools can report different IDs for the same physical device. The extension attempts to normalize IDs by matching selected destinations with xcrun output.

Development

npm install
npm run compile

Watch mode:

npm run watch

Then open this folder in VS Code and run the extension in an Extension Development Host (F5).

Packaging

If you use vsce, typical flow:

npm run compile
npx @vscode/vsce package

This produces a .vsix file for local install/testing.