Swift Devcontainer

Build and sign iOS apps on Linux — no Mac, no Xcode.

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What's Included

Tool	Purpose
Swift 6.3.3	Compile Swift packages and iOS-targeted apps
xtool	Cross-compile Swift for iOS on Linux
zsign	Sign IPAs without Xcode
Theos	iOS tweak and app development
fetch-xcode	Download Xcode.xip from Apple CDN (via xcodereleases.com)

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Getting Started

Codespaces — click the button above. First build takes ~10-15 min, cached after that.

VS Code — clone the repo, open it, run Dev Containers: Reopen in Container.

Docker Compose — runs code-server on port 8080. Set your password first:

cp .env.example .env   # edit CODE_SERVER_PASSWORD
docker compose up -d

Port 2222 is also mapped for SSH access (used by Cursor Remote-SSH). Both ports are included in docker-compose.yml by default.

Note: CODE_SERVER_PASSWORD must be set in .env (or as an environment variable) before starting. Startup will fail clearly if it is not set — the image no longer ships with a default changeme password baked in.

Verify everything works:

swift --version && xtool --help && zsign -h && ls $THEOS

First-time onboarding

On first launch, an interactive guide walks you through setup step by step (passwords → Swift check → xtool setup → next commands). It starts automatically when you open a terminal or attach to the dev container.

onboard              # run the full walkthrough
onboard --status     # see what's configured
onboard --reset      # start over
configure-passwords --interactive   # change passwords later

You'll need an Apple Developer account and an Xcode.xip before the xtool step. Use the built-in downloader:

fetch-xcode              # download latest stable Xcode.xip
fetch-xcode --list       # see available versions
fetch-xcode --version 16.3  # specific version

See the xtool Linux install guide for more details.

Passwords: set CODE_SERVER_PASSWORD in .env (Docker Compose) or your shell before opening the dev container. Onboarding also prompts you to replace the default changeme password and optionally set an SSH password.

Set SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 to disable auto-start.

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Use in Your Own Repo

Copy .devcontainer/ into any repo and open a Codespace — your project builds with the same toolchain.

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Limitations

• No Xcode, no Simulator, no SwiftUI previews

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Troubleshooting

Blank screen behind dev tunnels — configure code-server with your proxy domain:

docker compose exec swift-dev bash -c "mkdir -p /home/vscode/.config/code-server && cat > /home/vscode/.config/code-server/config.yaml << 'EOF'
bind-addr: 0.0.0.0:8080
auth: password
password: changeme
cert: false
proxy-domain: your-tunnel-domain.devtunnels.ms
EOF"
docker compose restart

If issues persist, use VS Code's built-in tunnel instead of forwarding port 8080.

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License

Config files only. See upstream licenses: Swift · xtool · zsign · Theos

Questions? Open an issue or hit me on Discord at ayon1xw.