KXBuild — iOS Development for VS Code

English · 简体中文

Build, run and debug iOS apps on a real iPhone from VS Code — on Windows, Linux and macOS. Press F5 and your app is built, signed, installed on the iPhone connected over USB, and stopped at your breakpoint.

Press F5: the app starts on the iPhone, a tap stops it at a breakpoint in VS Code

Features

Run and debug on a real iPhone. F5 builds, signs and installs the app, then attaches the debugger. Set breakpoints in Swift and Objective-C, step through code, inspect variables (SwiftUI @State included) and use the Debug Console.

Pick a device and a configuration. The KXBuild view shows your license, the connected iPhone (USB or Wi-Fi), the Debug / Release configuration and the project's targets. Click a row to change it.

The KXBuild view and the device picker

Create a project in a few steps. KXBuild: New Project offers SwiftUI, UIKit, Objective-C, React Native, Flutter, Expo and other templates, and opens the new project ready to run.

New Project: pick a template, a name and a bundle identifier

Code completion before the first build. Swift, Objective-C, C and C++ completion, go to definition and find references work as soon as the project opens.

Swift completion in a SwiftUI view

Build errors in Problems. Compiler errors and warnings land in the Problems panel; click one to jump to the line.

A compile error in Problems, pointing at its line

Release builds to an .ipa. Switch to Release and click Build. The signed .ipa is written to the project's build folder, ready for App Store Connect and TestFlight.

Run tests on the iPhone. XCTest and Swift Testing tests appear in the Testing view. Run a test, a class or a whole target on an iOS 17 or later device, with failures shown at the source line.

Visual editors for Xcode project files


Info.plist, entitlements and privacy manifests: edit keys, types and values in a table
String Catalogs (.xcstrings) and .strings tables: languages with translation progress, plural and device variations, sync with source code
Project settings: targets, General and Build Settings with Basic / Customized / All, Combined and Levels views
Asset catalogs (.xcassets): app icons, colors and images; fill an app icon from one 1024×1024 image

Icon Composer .icon files open in their own editor too.

Supported projects

Project	What you get
Swift / SwiftUI / UIKit, Swift packages	Build, run, breakpoints, completion, all editors
Objective-C and mixed Objective-C / Swift	Same as Swift
React Native	F5 starts Metro, Fast Refresh on save, React Native DevTools for JavaScript, native breakpoints
Godot (exported Xcode project)	Build, run and debug the exported project on the iPhone
Flutter	Dart breakpoints, hot reload on save, native breakpoints
Expo, uni-app, Unity, CocoaPods, cocos2d-x, Cordova, Kotlin Multiplatform	Build, run and debug on the iPhone

Objective-C — stop at a breakpoint and look at self:

Objective-C breakpoint with the variables of self

React Native — save App.tsx and Fast Refresh updates the phone:

React Native Fast Refresh on the iPhone

Godot — run an exported Godot game on the iPhone:

A Godot 3D scene running on the iPhone

Step-by-step video tutorials for each stack are on kxbuild.net.

Getting started

The Get Started with KXBuild walkthrough opens after you install the extension. It has four steps:

Set up the toolchain. Click Install KXBuild, then run KXBuild: Doctor to check and fix your environment.
Activate your license. Activate this machine with a code, or start a free trial.
Create or open a project. Run KXBuild: New Project, or open a folder with an .xcodeproj, .xcworkspace or Package.swift.
Select a device, build and debug. Connect your iPhone over USB, tap Trust This Computer, turn on Developer Mode (Settings → Privacy & Security), and press F5.

For signing, put your .p12 certificate, its password file and the .mobileprovision profile in a keychain folder in the project. See Signing.

Get Started with KXBuild

FAQ

Can I develop iOS apps on Windows? Yes. KXBuild builds, signs, installs and debugs iOS apps on Windows 10 / 11, on Linux (including WSL) and on macOS. Your Xcode project stays as it is and still opens in Xcode.

Do I need an Apple Developer account? You need a signing certificate (.p12) and a provisioning profile from your Apple Developer account to install apps on an iPhone and to publish them. Without them, the project still builds, unsigned.

Which iPhones and iOS versions work? Any iPhone that runs a supported iOS version, connected over USB. KXBuild is tested on iOS 16 through iOS 26. Debugging on iOS 16 and later needs Developer Mode turned on, and running tests needs iOS 17 or later.

Can I debug Swift with breakpoints? Yes. Breakpoints, stepping, variables and the Debug Console work for Swift and Objective-C, including SwiftUI @State values.

Does it work with React Native and Godot? Yes. For React Native, F5 starts Metro, saves apply with Fast Refresh, and React Native DevTools debugs the JavaScript. For Godot, export the project for iOS in the Godot editor, open the exported folder in VS Code and press F5.

Can I publish to the App Store? Yes. A Release build makes a signed .ipa. Upload it to App Store Connect with Transporter or any other upload tool.

Is the extension free? Yes, the extension is free. Builds run on the KXBuild toolchain, which has its own license with a free trial. You can start the trial, activate a license and check its status from the KXBuild view in VS Code.

KXBuild — iOS Development for VS Code

kxbuild

KXBuild — iOS Development for VS Code

Features

Visual editors for Xcode project files

Supported projects

Getting started

FAQ

Links