XcodeBuildMCP can optionally proxy Xcode’s built-in “Xcode Tools” MCP service via Xcode 26’s xcrun mcpbridge.

This enables IDE-only tools (e.g. Preview rendering, Issue Navigator queries, documentation search, project navigator operations) that are not available via xcodebuild.

Add xcode-ide to enabledWorkflows in .xcodebuildmcp/config.yaml:

schemaVersion: 1
enabledWorkflows: ["simulator", "debugging", "xcode-ide"]

If the workflow is not enabled, XcodeBuildMCP does not start the bridge.

Proxied tools are registered dynamically, based on whatever Xcode advertises via tools/list:

• Remote: XcodeListWindows
• Local proxy: xcode_tools_XcodeListWindows

These tools are stable and do not depend on Xcode’s tool catalog, but they are intentionally hidden unless you enable debugging (debug: true) because they are primarily for troubleshooting:

• xcode_tools_bridge_status: Shows mcpbridge availability, connection state, last error, and proxied tool count.
• xcode_tools_bridge_sync: One-shot connect + re-sync (use this if Xcode prompts blocked startup sync).
• xcode_tools_bridge_disconnect: Disconnect and unregister proxied xcode_tools_* tools.

Xcode may show trust/allow prompts when the bridge connects and/or when tools are invoked.

Recommended flow:

1. Launch Xcode.
2. Start XcodeBuildMCP with xcode-ide enabled.
3. If you don’t see any xcode_tools_* tools, temporarily set debug: true and call xcode_tools_bridge_sync after approving any prompts.

If you need to scope the bridge to a specific Xcode instance, XcodeBuildMCP forwards these environment variables to the bridge:

• XCODEBUILDMCP_XCODE_PID → MCP_XCODE_PID
• XCODEBUILDMCP_XCODE_SESSION_ID → MCP_XCODE_SESSION_ID

For manual verification against a real Xcode install:

npx tsx scripts/probe-xcode-mcpbridge.ts