Install xcp with Homebrew, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• xcp

Project history

The GitHub repository was created on 2025-10-28, with the first public release, v0.9.1, published on 2025-10-30 and v1.0.0 following on 2025-11-14. The README describes the project as a fast, lightweight CLI for managing Xcode projects, built entirely in Swift and powered by Tuist's XcodeProj library.

The author announced the tool on the Swift Forums in November 2025, explaining that it was initially built for the xcodebuild.nvim Neovim plugin but could be used generally to automate Xcode project-file work. The v1.0.0 release added support for relative .xcodeproj paths and build-setting get/set commands, moving the tool from basic structure manipulation toward broader project automation.

Adoption history

Because xcp is newer and narrower than XcodeGen or xcodes, its adoption history is still early. Its visible niche is automation around existing .xcodeproj files, especially editor and scripting workflows where opening Xcode just to add a file, move a group, or tweak a build setting is unnecessary.

How it is used

Typical CLI usage calls xcp with subcommands for targets, groups, files, build settings, and assets. The same code can also be used as a Swift library, allowing macOS automation tools to open a project, manipulate groups or files, and save the pbxproj programmatically.

Compared with generators, xcp does not replace the .xcodeproj with a declarative spec. Its niche is smaller: script one operation against an existing project file, which is useful for editor integrations, refactoring scripts, and generated-file workflows.

Why package nerds care

xcp is significant as a small composable Unix-style tool for an otherwise GUI-heavy file format. For package catalogues it sits between low-level pbxproj libraries and high-level project generators: one executable, a focused command set, and an automation-friendly Swift library underneath.

Timeline

• 2025-10-28: Repository created on GitHub.
• 2025-10-30: v0.9.1 first public release.
• 2025-11-14: v1.0.0 release added relative project paths and build-setting commands.
• 2025-11-19: Author presented XcodeProjectCLI in the Swift Forums Community Showcase.
• 2025-11-22: v1.2.1 release published.

Related projects

• XcodeProj from Tuist is the underlying library named by the README as the foundation for XcodeProjectCLI.
• xcodebuild.nvim is related because the author said xcp was initially built for that Neovim-based iOS/macOS development workflow.

Sources

• https://forums.swift.org/t/xcodeprojectcli-lightweight-cli-tool-for-managing-xcode-projects/83311
• https://github.com/tuist/XcodeProj
• https://github.com/wojciech-kulik/XcodeProjectCLI
• https://github.com/wojciech-kulik/XcodeProjectCLI/releases
• https://github.com/wojciech-kulik/xcodebuild.nvim