Story
Building and shipping Mac and iOS apps without ever opening Xcode
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Overview
Mac and iOS apps can be built and shipped without using Xcode by utilizing alternative coding methods. Pre-work can enable developers to create apps without directly interacting with the Xcode interface.
Summary from scottwillsey.com.
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Community reactions
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Hacker News · scottwillsey.com
Hacker News discussion ↗
Historical count: 5 · 5 saved in sample · Historical sample
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Based on 5 sampled comments from this thread. Analyzed 2026-07-14.
- Praise: The ease of building and testing iOS apps on Linux has impressed many, showing that you can sidestep Xcode and still get your app onto your iPhone effortlessly.
- Praise: Using Axiom with its LLM tools is a game-changer for Apple OS development, making complex tasks like signing and notarizing apps a breeze without touching Xcode.
- Praise: Expo is touted as the superior long-term choice for app development, with its command-line automation making iOS submission as simple as one command.
- Concern: Running the agent on your Mac instead of a sandbox raises serious security concerns, especially after xAI's mishap with sensitive data uploads.
- Concern: Some commenters are skeptical about the reliability of AI tools for generating build scripts, noting inconsistencies that could lead to failures in development.