I have Xcode 26.1.1 (installed on a Mac Mini with Sequoia 15.7.2), which was installed from the Universal .xip file available from the Apple Developer site. This file is 2.7Gb. When Xcode is run, there is a menu item at Settings -> Components, and the top section "Platform Support" includes an option to "Get" the iOS SDK, which is an additional 10.3Gb download.[1][2]
I would like to either use command-line tools to obtain this iOS SDK component, or find where the downloaded package or its contents are installed on this Mac. This Apple Documentation some examples of using command-line tools to download components for Xcode. However, there is no specific documentation on how to separately download the iOS SDK. It seems that if possible, it could be done with "xcodebuild -downloadComponent", however I have tried a number of likely component names (ios, ios_sdk, ios26.1, ios_sdk26.1, iphoneos, iphoneos_sdk, iphoneos_sdk26.1), and none are valid. Does anyone know either where the SDK download can be found, or how to download it using command-line tools?
Background: I require this as I am managing a fleet of Mac Minis located in a data centre (used for iOS/Android builds), and Internet access is restricted - any action requiring Internet access needs the Mac to be removed from the machine room racks and taken to a build room, then connected to a mobile hotspot or similar. This access is slow, and the above 10.3Gb download can take over an hour. If I can download the SDK separately, I can distribute it to all of the Macs over the internal network overnight, in advance of visiting the DC for upgrade tasks.
[1] Various web sites say that the iOS SDK is "bundled with" Xcode. However, if that's the case a) how is a 10.3Gb download somehow included in a 2.7Gb file? And b) why do I still need to "Get" this component after installing Xcode from the 2.7Gb file?
[2] Note that I am not looking for the iOS Simulator, I have already downloaded the iOS 26.1 version of this. I am specifically looking for the iOS SDK as listed under "Platform Support" in the Xcode menu described above.
The SDKs for all of Apple's platforms are included in the main Xcode XIP image. By SDK here, I mean the textual files for the API interfaces, like header files and other supporting content. You can see them all if you peak inside the Xcode bundle under Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/<OSName>.platform/Developer/SDKs.
What you need to download isn't the SDK, it's the platform support components, which includes the simulator. While you always have the textual SDKs, you can't run a build without installing the platform support components, as they are used during the build process. So while you aren't downloading installing the textual part of the SDK content, the large extra component download enables builds using that SDK.
You found the right documentation article, and you want a command like this:
xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS -exportPath ~/Downloads
That will give you a DMG file, which you can then also install through the command line over night in your data center with:
xcodebuild -importPlatform "~/Downloads/PlatformContent.dmg"
Once that's done successfully, you should have no issue running the builds in your data center.
Does that clear up the confusion?
— Ed Ford, DTS Engineer
