Installing an older simulator runtime with xcodebuild: invalid option -buildVersion?

I want to install an older simulator runtime with command line using xcodebuild, following instructions from this article: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/installing-additional-simulator-runtimes

As of October 2024, this article provides an example:

xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS -buildVersion 16.0 -exportPath ./SimulatorRuntimes/

However when I run this command in the terminal, it fails with error:

xcodebuild: error: invalid option '-buildVersion'

Has this option been removed? What's the correct way to install an arbitrary non-latest simulator runtime with command line?

I know I can download the runtime from the website and then import it, or I can use Xcode's GUI for that, but my eventual goal is to automate it with a single shell script.

I'm using Xcode 16.0 (16A242d) on macOS Sequoia 15.0.1.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Answered by DTS Engineer in 808197022

I'm using Xcode 16.0 (16A242d) on macOS Sequoia 15.0.1.

The -buildVersion argument is available in Xcode 16.1 beta 3 or later. From Xcode 16.1 Beta 3 Release Notes

  • xcodebuild’s download platforms command now supports an optional -buildVersion argument to request a specific released simulator runtime. The can be a build update number or the release number. Simulator runtime version that are supported versions are iOS 16.0+, watchOS 9.0+, tvOS 16+, visionOS 1.0+.

Example usage, to download, install and export the iOS 16.0 simulator runtime:

xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS -buildVersion 16.0 -exportPath ./SimRuntimeImages/ xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS -buildVersion 20A360 -exportPath ./SimRuntimeImages/ (135989441) (FB15126412)

Accepted Answer

I'm using Xcode 16.0 (16A242d) on macOS Sequoia 15.0.1.

The -buildVersion argument is available in Xcode 16.1 beta 3 or later. From Xcode 16.1 Beta 3 Release Notes

  • xcodebuild’s download platforms command now supports an optional -buildVersion argument to request a specific released simulator runtime. The can be a build update number or the release number. Simulator runtime version that are supported versions are iOS 16.0+, watchOS 9.0+, tvOS 16+, visionOS 1.0+.

Example usage, to download, install and export the iOS 16.0 simulator runtime:

xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS -buildVersion 16.0 -exportPath ./SimRuntimeImages/ xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS -buildVersion 20A360 -exportPath ./SimRuntimeImages/ (135989441) (FB15126412)

Installing an older simulator runtime with xcodebuild: invalid option -buildVersion?
 
 
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