Xcode for Windows: Develop iOS Apps on PC

Written by Reinder de Vries on February 28 2020 in App Development

How can you run Xcode on Windows and develop iOS apps with a Windows PC? The short answer is: you can’t! You’ve got a few alternatives to get around that, however. In this tutorial, we’ll discuss how you can install Xcode on Windows to build iOS apps.

Here’s what we’ll get into:

• Rent a Mac in the cloud (starting at $20/mo)
• Run and compile Swift directly on Windows/Linux
• Learning to code with a Swift Sandbox
• Build your own “Hackintosh” by installing macOS on a PC
• Run Xcode on Windows by installing macOS on a virtual machine
• Develop iOS apps on Windows with cross-platform tools
• Get your hands on a second-hand Mac (starting at $300)

Xcode for Windows: What & Why

Xcode contains everything you need to build iOS apps, and it only runs on macOS!

That’s when the problems start. You want to make an iOS app with your Windows PC, but you can’t buy a PC or laptop with macOS pre-installed on it. Unlike Windows, Apple doesn’t license its operating system to other computer manufacturers. You can only use macOS on a Mac.

In fact, when you obtain a license to use macOS, which happens when you purchase a Mac computer, you have to agree to only run the operating system on Apple hardware. This effectively limits you to only develop apps on a Mac.

“It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.”
— Steve Jobs (1983)

But… it’s more fun to be a pirate, than to join the navy, right? Let’s discuss a few alternatives that’ll let you run Xcode on Windows and develop iOS apps on a Windows PC!

Rent a Mac in the Cloud

An even easier way to get your hands on macOS, albeit more expensive, is to rent a Mac “in the Cloud”. You can work with Xcode on Windows with this approach, because you’re essentially connected to a Mac that’s elsewhere.

Here’s how that works:

• Someone connects a bunch of Mac’s to the internet
• You sign in on one of those Macs via a Remote Desktop Connection (RDP)
• Done! You can use this Mac from Windows/Linux and build iOS apps

Services like MacinCloud and MacStadium offer affordable rent-a-Mac products, usually paid on a monthly basis. Prices typically start at $20/month and you can choose from several hardware options, including Mac Mini and Mac Pro.

Starting at	Type
MacinCloud	$20/month	Dedicated, Virtual, Server
MacStadium	$79/month	Dedicated, Enterprise
virtualmacosx.com	$9.75/month	Shared (timesharing)
Mac Cloud	$49/month	Virtual
Flow	Premium	Dedicated, Enterprise
HostMyApple	$25/month	Virtual, Dedicated

You connect to those cloud-based Macs via a Remote Desktop Connection (RDP). Windows includes a stock Remote Desktop Client you can use, and so do most Linux operating systems. Once you’re logged on, you can launch Xcode, and start building your iOS app. That way you’re effectively running Xcode on your Windows PC!

Cloud-based Macs usually come in 3 flavours:

• A dedicated Mac, which means you get access to a physical Mac located in a data center, as if you bought a Mac in the Apple Store and put it on your desk.
• A virtual Mac, which means you get access to a virtual Mac in a data center, much like the VirtualBox solution mentioned earlier. Your Mac won’t run on Apple hardware, but it will run macOS.
• A Mac Build Server, which is a specialized kind of Mac that can be used to compile iOS apps. You’ll create those apps on your Mac, and then instruct the Build Server to compile the app for you.

A dedicated Mac is the most convenient, and the most powerful option. A virtual Mac is OK too, but it typically does not perform as well as a physical Mac computer.

Running Xcode via a Mac in the cloud has a drawback: you can’t easily connect your iPhone to Xcode via USB! With Xcode on your local Mac you can run and debug your app on your own iPhone, via the USB/Lightning cable. This obviously won’t work when your Mac is in the cloud…

Don’t worry! There are plenty of solutions for that:

• A simple approach is to run your app on iPhone Simulator, right from within Xcode. You can launch iPhone Simulator in Xcode, and debug your app with it. This is perfect for the development phase of your project.
• An alternative solution are tools like Flexihub, NoMachine and USB Network Gate. They only work with dedicated Mac hardware, and you need to have a dedicated IP address.
• Install your iOS app on your iPhone via TestFlight, and debug it with a tool like Bugsnag. You can monitor and debug live crashes in your app.

An interesting use case for renting a Mac in the cloud comes from the latest developments in Apple’s hardware. Many designers, developers and desktop-publishers have voiced their concerns over Apple hardware lagging behind, offering low-spec computers for a fairly high price.

If you don’t want to take your $3.000 MacBook Pro with you in a coffee shop, or on your next trip to Thailand, why not purchase a low-end Windows or Linux laptop, and connect to your Mac in the cloud? You can either host it at home yourself, co-locate it in a data center, or rent a dedicated cloud-based Mac.

Do you want to learn how to code iOS apps, but don’t want to invest money in a Mac? Rent a Mac in the cloud for the duration of the iOS development course you’re taking! It’s a great way to bootstrap learning iOS development, and you can always buy your own Mac later.

Learn how to code iOS apps

Get started with Xcode and Swift

Ready to get started with iOS development? Learn how to code iOS apps with Xcode and Swift with our immersive iOS development course. Works both on Mac and PC!

XCode on Windows: How to Develop for Mac or iOS on a PC

Would you like to develop software for Mac OS X or iOS? While it’s easy to develop apps for Linux and Windows on any platform, developing software for Mac requires a toolset called XCode, designed and built by Apple specifically for Mac OS X.

XCode is an incredibly powerful piece of software. Not only is it a complete toolset for developing Mac apps; it’s also an interface builder, testing application, and asset management toolkit.

In this simple guide, you’ll learn how to use XCode on Windows – something that’s normally impossible. All you’ll need is a Windows PC, a copy of Mac OS X, an Apple account, and an Internet connection.

Is this your first time using XCode? Learn how to program software for Mac and iOS with our 1 Hour XCode Introduction.

Installing a virtual PC application with Mac OS X

Since XCode only runs on Mac OS X, you’ll need to be able to simulate an installation of Mac OS X on Windows. This is surprisingly easy to do with virtualization software like VMWare or open source alternative VirtualBox.

For the purpose of this guide, we’ll be using VirtualBox. If you use a different virtual computer application, the process is much the same. Since VirtualBox is open source and free to use, it’s worth downloading it if you don’t already have a copy installed.

Have you never used VirtualBox before? Learn how to use this powerful virtual PC application by enrolling in our course, QuickStart! – Virtual Box. In addition to Mac OS X, VirtualBox can also be used to run Linux and other operating systems.

Running a virtual computer is quite a demanding process, and you’ll need to have a fairly powerful PC for it to operate successfully. You’ll also need a PC with hardware similar to that of a standard, Apple-constructed iMac, MacBook, or Mac Pro.

To successfully emulate a Mac using a Windows PC, you’ll need the following:

• A Dual Core Intel processor
• At least 2GB of RAM (4GB+ recommended)
• Hardware Virtualization

Is your PC too weak to emulate a Mac properly? Learn how to build a powerful PC for gaming, app development, and more with our Learn How to Build a Computer course.

You’ll also need an installation disc for Mac OS X. You can purchase this online from the Apple Store or, if you already own a MacBook, iMac, or Mac Pro, you can use the install disc you received with your computer.

Once you’ve installed VirtualBox, open the application and choose to install Mac OS X Server 64 Bit. Provide the virtual computer with at least 2GB of RAM (if you have more than 8GB of RAM, choose 4GB+) and more than 30GB of hard disk space.

VirtualBox will automatically configure the operating system, but you’ll still need to make a few changes manually. Open the Settings menu and carry out the following changes:

• On the System tab, uncheck Enable EFI
• On the Processor tab, select at least two CPUs
• On the Display tab, increase the video memory to at least 128MB

Installing Mac OS X and booting your virtual machine

Finally, you’ll need to download a Hackboot boot loader to install OS X. You can find a Hackboot install file by searching Google – in this case, you’ll need Hackboot 1 and Hackboot 2, as well as your OS X disc, to complete the installation.

Select your Hackboot 1 disc image, and then start the virtual machine. Your virtual machine will boot, and you’ll see an OS X screen. Using the menu at the bottom of the screen, launch the disc drive that contains your OS X installation disc.

From here, you’ll need to follow the installation instructions for Mac OS X. It takes several minutes to install the operating system. Once the process is finished, you’ll need to switch off your virtual machine and change your boot disc.

Reopen VirtualBox and, leaving all of your other settings the same, switch your boot disc from Hackboot 1 to Hackboot 2. You’ll boot into a screen with two icons. Select Mac OS X and press Enter to initiate the Mac OS X boot sequence.

During the Mac OS X configuration sequence, you’ll need to enter your Apple ID. This is necessary for downloading the XCode toolset later, so make sure you enter a valid Apple account when you configure your operating system.

Installing XCode on your Mac OS X virtual machine

Once you’ve configured your Mac OS X virtual machine, installing XCode is relatively easy. Before you install XCode, you’ll want to configure your virtual machine to your preferred resolution and settings using the System Preferences menu.

Is this your first time using Mac OS X? If you’re a PC user, finding your way around in the new interface can be a challenge. Enroll in Using Mac OS X for Windows Users to learn the basics of the OS X interface, from the Dock to features like Spotlight.

From here, installing XCode is simple. Open the App Store application from the dock and type XCode into the search bar. You might need to reenter your account details, or enter them for the first time if you didn’t do so during Mac OS X configuration.

Navigate to the XCode app and click Install Now to download it. If you don’t have an Apple account, you’ll need to create one in order to download the XCode toolset for your virtual machine.

XCode is quite a large application, and downloading it could take anywhere from a minute to several hours, depending on your Internet connection speed. Once your download is finished, open Applications and click XCode to launch the installer.

Once the installation process is complete, you’ll be able to use XCode within your virtual machine to program apps for Mac OS or iOS. You can also download other Mac apps to use on your virtual machine, although they may not run smoothly.

Developing iOS Apps and more using XCode

XCode is an incredibly powerful toolkit for app development. It’s also refreshingly easy to use, especially for developers accustomed to cumbersome and complicated programming software for PC.

Learn more about how to use XCode by reading our iOS programming tutorial. It’s a great overview of the XCode interface, the programming characteristics of iOS, and much more.

Xcode for Windows (12 Ways to Build iOS Apps on PC)

I wish I had known this when I first started because I delayed myself for 3 years before biting the bullet and buying a Mac.

Had I known about running Xcode on Windows or about the solutions below, I might’ve started building iPhone apps much earlier!

Rent a Mac

Before committing to buying a new Mac, you can actually “rent” one for development. You’ll remotely access the Mac and Xcode through your PC.

It’ll be like having the Mac desktop in a window on your Windows Desktop.

The really nice thing about this option is that the cost is really low and it’s the fastest option to get up and running.

If you decide that app development isn’t for you, you just cancel your plan.

1. MacStadium
These guys were featured in the recent Apple keynote when they introduced the updated Mac Mini! They have the newest Macs available.

(Use coupon code “CODEWITHCHRIS” for 50% off your first month. If you do, please let me know in the comments below. I’ll get a small kick back at no extra expense to you so thank you for supporting my site!)

If you go down this route for iOS app development, make sure you get my Xcode cheatsheet with references and keyboard shortcuts for Windows users.

There are a couple other companies that provide this service:

2. MacInCloud
This is the most well known service out of the three. You won’t have to install Xcode because it comes preinstalled. You can also do pay-as-you-go so it’s a pretty low commitment. Some people complain that it’s slow but you can try it out for yourself since it’s only about a buck an hour!

3. XcodeClub
XcodeClub is run by Daniel who is a passionate developer himself. From the reviews I see, the service is fast and friendly. The pricing is less flexible than MacInCloud and you’ll have to commit to at least a month.

Virtualize MacOS

If you’re a little more technically savvy, you can use virtualization software and run a “virtual Mac” on your PC.

The services above are essentially doing the same thing on their servers and then they charge you a fee to access the virtual machine.

By setting it up yourself on your own PC, you essentially cut the middle man out of the equation.

Unfortunately it does take a little bit of technical know-how to get this up and running.

The two most popular pieces of software to do virtualization are VirtualBox and VMWare Workstation.

You can download them below and then use Google to find a guide on how to install the latest MacOS (Mojave) with either VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation.

After that, spin up your new virtual Mac and download Xcode. This is as close as you’ll get to running actual Xcode on Windows!

4. VirtualBox
VirtualBox is open source software which means that it’s free. That probably explains why it’s a lot more popular than VMWare Workstation when it comes to running MacOS on your Windows machine!

5. VMWare Workstation
Unfortunately you’ll have to pay for this piece of software and at the time of this writing, a license costs about half the price of a brand new Mac Mini which is perfectly suitable for iOS app development. I would recommend you try VirtualBox first or try to buy a used Mac Mini.

Build a “Hackintosh”

You can also build a “Hackintosh” which is a PC that has been customized to run MacOS.

This requires the most effort out of all the options presented so far but it can work for someone who wants a separate physical computer running MacOS.

6. Hackintosh.com
A great resource for all things Hackintosh. The first How-To section contains links to a number of great tutorials for building your own Hackintosh and installing High Sierra.

7. Hackintosh Subreddit
I love looking for Reddit communities on anything that I’m interested in because there are always interesting conversations happening. Reddit provides a way to have a dialogue with like minded individuals, to get help and to help others!

8. Hackintosh Articles on 9to5mac.com
I included this link because it contains up to date news and articles for Hackintosh builds.

Third Party Solutions

Lastly, there are many third party solutions that you can use to do iOS development on Windows.

You won’t be using Xcode in these solutions but you’ll be able to generate an app that can run on iOS devices.

Check out these great Xcode alternatives:

9. React Native
Use JavaScript to build native mobile apps.

10. Xamarin
Use C# to build a mobile app that you can deploy natively to Android, iOS and Windows.

11. Appcelerator
Build native mobile apps using JavaScript.

12. PhoneGap
Build hybrid cross-platform mobile apps using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.