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I am an iOS developer and I want to implement continuous integration in Xcode.

I have received the following email from Apple:

As an iOS developer, you can now take advantage of continuous integration in Xcode by creating bots with OS X Server for Mavericks that automate the process of building, analyzing, testing, and archiving your apps. As the bots do their work on the remote Mac, Xcode on your development machine displays the build and test reports. Bots can generate a regular release for your QA team, be configured to execute on every check-in, and even test your apps on connected iOS devices.

I have downloaded OS X Server for Mavericks and its looks like an application.

My question is can I install OS X Server on my development iMac machine and implement continuous integration? Or do I have to have a separate Mac for OS X server to run Xcode Service?

M K
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Irfan DANISH
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2 Answers2

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The short answer is, yes, you can install OS X Server and the Xcode Service on your development iMac. You do not need another Mac for the server.

In detail, there are two parts to this question:

1. Can you install OS X Server on your development Mac?

Yes, you can install OS X Server on your development iMac. You do not need another Mac for the server. From the time of OS X Lion, OS X Server is just another application you buy from the Mac App Store and install. You can install it on any Mac that already has the OS X client version.

The requirements to run OS X Mavericks Server are:

Mac computer running OS X Mavericks.
2GB of memory.
10GB of available disk space; some features require additional disk space.

2. Can you install the Xcode Service on the development Mac (without using another Mac as a server)?

Yes, you can install the Xcode Service on your development Mac. The Xcode Continuous Integration Guide states (emphasis mine):

Note: A continuous integration workflow typically relies on one or more development Mac computers running Xcode and on a separate server running the Xcode service. However, you can install OS X Server and run the Xcode service on your development Mac. Such a configuration can be helpful for evaluating how to adopt continuous integration. Afterward, you’ll find it more useful to have a dedicated server running the Xcode service, hosting your repositories, and remotely performing integrations.

Julius Baer
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M K
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    thanx alot, I am actually evaluating Xcode continuous integration for learning perspective and you gave me a greate answer. – Irfan DANISH Oct 28 '13 at 07:01
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In short, you can, but it will hog up xcodebuild and force your Xcode into waiting. I used to use my development Mac to CI but now I have a dedicated virtual machine (on my VM host server) for that.

Maxthon Chan
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