Xcode Cloud

Sign up for the beta

As of August 2021, Xcode Cloud is still in beta. In order to try out this feature, you'll need to sign up at this link. Make sure that you're under the Apple Developer Program, as it is free to all Apple Developer Program members. Once you're approved in the beta, Apple will send you an email that lets you know your account has been enabled.

Sign up for Xcode Cloud beta

What is Xcode Cloud?

Xcode Cloud lets you create workflows so you can automate the building, analyzing, archiving and/or testing process of your application. It's accessible through App Store Connect and Xcode itself, in the Cloud tab of the Report Navigator.

Xcode Cloud accessed through App Store Connect

When connected to Github, the build process can automatically be triggered every time a push has been made to your branch, or a pull request has been merged. Xcode Cloud will also send you notifications to let you know if the build succeeded or failed, meaning you can easily pinpoint the code that caused an issue.

Moreover, Xcode Cloud is connected to TestFlight and App Store. Once a build has successfully been archived, Xcode Cloud can automatically distribute your application to TestFlight users or to the App Store.

Lastly, you can create tests that are ran while your app is being built on the Cloud, to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Xcode has also many other features that can't be covered in one section. You can learn more by heading to the Xcode Cloud's web page, watching the Meet Xcode Cloud or the Explore Xcode Cloud workflows WWDC21 sessions.

Meet Xcode Cloud

In short, Xcode Cloud frees up your time and your Mac's CPU usage by automating and moving everything to the Cloud. Therefore, you can work more on developing awesome apps and features, without having to worry about building, testing, analyzing, archiving and distributing your application. Everything can now be automated!

Connect to Github

First and foremost, in order to build from Xcode Cloud, you'll need to connect to Github. Usually, when you navigate for the first time to Xcode Cloud on App Store Connect, you'll see a warning box that tells you to connect to Github. If you're not sure if you're already connected to Github, under the Xcode Cloud tab, click on Settings and you'll see if you're connected to your Github repository.

Xcode Cloud Settings

Create a workflow

You can create a workflow through App Store Connect or Xcode itself. In Xcode, on the menu at the top, select Product > Xcode Cloud > Create Workflow. Select your application, then click on Next.

In my case, I prefer to use App Store Connect, so I'll head over to App Store Connect and select the application I'm currently developing. Next to the TestFlight tab, select the Xcode Cloud tab, and then on Manage Workflows.

Manage Xcode Cloud Workflows dashboard

If you already have workflows created, you'll see them here. Next to the Manage Workflows title, click on the little blue + icon to add a new workflow. For each workflow, there are 4 mandatory sections to fill in: the General section, the Start Condition, the Environment, and Actions. If you wish to distribute your app to TestFlight or App Store, you can also fill in the Post-Actions section.

New Xcode Cloud workflow form

General settings

Under General, give your project a name and a description. If you wish to restrict the editing of the current workflow to only Admins and App Managers, check the Restrict Editing box. Next, select the Project repository - the Github repository - associated with your app. For the Project or Workspace row, select the .xcodeproj file inside of your Github repository.

Xcode Cloud General

Start condition

The start condition section is where you specify what event you want to observe before triggering a build in Xcode Cloud. It can be Every change to a branch, Every change to a pull request, Every change to a tag or On a schedule.

Next, select the branch you want Xcode Cloud to be looking after. Usually, it's the base branch, like main. For Files and Folders, leave it to the default Start If Any File Changes. You can check the Auto-cancel Builds if you wish Xcode to cancel all other builds when a new one is being built on the same branch.

Xcode Cloud Start Condition

Environment

Select the Xcode version and the macOS version you want to use in order to build your application. If you wish to clean the build folder before building, check the Clean box. This box must be checked if you plan on distributing to TestFlight External users or the App Store. Note that by checking the Clean box, it'll take longer to build your application. Finally, if you have environment variables (API Keys and access tokens, for example) in your project, you can add them in the Environment variables section.

Xcode Cloud Environment

Actions

Xcode Cloud offers four possible actions: Build, Analyze, Test or Archive. In this tutorial, we'll focus on archiving in order to publish to TestFlight, so select Archive. The Platform is for what OS you want to develop: iOS, macOS, tvOS or watchOS. Set the Scheme you want to build on. For example, if I want to build my iOS app, I'll select iOS. Finally, select the Deployment Preparation you want - either None, TestFlight (Internal Only) or TestFlight and AppStore. In this tutorial, since we want to publish to TestFlight external users, we'll select the last option, TestFlight and AppStore.

Xcode Cloud Actions

Post-Actions

Post-Actions are actions that you want to run after your application has successfully built. You can select from 3 choices: TestFlight External Testing, TestFlight Internal Testing or Notify. Let's select TestFlight External Testing. The Artifact is Archive - iOS, which is the action we added to the Actions section. Under Groups, select the TestFlight testers group you want to add to test out this version of your app. And finally, you can leave the Individual Testers section as is, or add the individual testers you wish.

Xcode Cloud Post-Actions

Test your workflow

Now's the time to test your workflow! You can test it by making a change to the branch you targeted, or manually trigger a build. To manually do so, head over to Xcode Cloud and click on Start build, at the top right corner.

If you're on Xcode, select Product > Xcode Cloud > ProjectName > Start build.

Once the build has started, we just need to wait. If your build has succeeded, congratulations! If not, look at the error message on the build's page, or the logs of that specific build. Please note that Xcode Cloud has a time limit of 60 minutes to build and archive your application. Passed this limit, your build will fail and you'll need to build it again.