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iOS - Tools and Software

This page lists every piece of software you need installed on your Mac before you can build and run the DevApp. Most of what you need comes bundled with a single download — Xcode — so for many users this section is shorter than it looks.

Not an engineer?

Some teams assign a non-engineer (a project manager or IT staff member) to handle the initial machine setup before handing it off to a developer. This page is written so that you can complete every step without prior iOS experience. Each tool below includes a download link and an explanation of what it does.

Required software​

The following three items are required on every developer Mac. The first one (Xcode) installs most of them automatically.

1. Xcode (required)​

What it is: The official Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for iOS and macOS development. This is the application your developers will spend most of their time in. It also includes the iOS Simulator, the Swift compiler, and Swift Package Manager — no additional downloads required for those.

Download: https://developer.apple.com/xcode/

Xcode can be installed directly from the Mac App Store or by downloading a .xip archive from the Apple Developer portal.

What it includes (so you don't need to install these separately):

  • The iOS SDK — the frameworks used to build iOS apps.
  • The iOS Simulator — a virtual iPhone or iPad you can run on your Mac.
  • Swift Package Manager (SPM) — the dependency manager the DevApp uses to fetch Q2's SDK libraries and partner modules.
  • Swift compiler and toolchain — everything needed to compile Swift and Objective-C code.
Required version

The DevApp requires Xcode 16 or later. Install the latest stable release from the Mac App Store or the Apple Developer portal to ensure compatibility.

Xcode download size

Xcode is a large download (10–15 GB). Plan for this, especially if your organization routes developer traffic through a proxy — see Network and Firewall for proxy configuration guidance.

2. Git (required)​

What it is: The version-control tool used to clone the DevApp repository from Q2's GitLab server.

Already installed? macOS includes Git via the Xcode Command Line Tools. After installing Xcode, open a terminal and run git --version — if you see a version number, you are done.

If Git is missing: Accept the prompt to install Command Line Tools the first time you run a git command, or install them explicitly:

xcode-select --install

3. A way to run the app (required)​

You need either a physical iOS device or the iOS Simulator (bundled with Xcode) to run the DevApp.

Option A — Simulator (recommended for most development):

  • Comes with Xcode. Launch from Xcode → Open Developer Tool → Simulator, or manage simulator runtimes from Xcode → Settings → Platforms.
  • Choose any iPhone model and iOS version supported by the current DevApp release.

Option B — Physical device:

  • Any iPhone or iPad running iOS 16.0 or newer.
  • Requires an Apple Developer account to provision the device. See Accounts and Access for details.

Most developers use both — the Simulator for fast iteration, a real device for verifying features that depend on real hardware (camera, biometrics, push notifications).

Optional tools​

These are not required, but many Q2 developers find them useful.

Node.js — Q2 Mobile CLI​

The Q2 Mobile CLI is a Node.js tool that automates module scaffolding, test builds, and release tagging. It is not needed to get the DevApp running, but you will use it once you start building modules.

https://nodejs.org/en

See Q2 Mobile CLI Setup for installation and usage instructions.

Command-line Git client (GitHub Desktop, Fork, etc.)​

Xcode has built-in Git integration that handles all common workflows. A separate Git client is purely a matter of preference.

Verifying your installation​

After installing the items above, confirm everything is in place by running these commands in a terminal:

# Confirm Xcode Command Line Tools and Git are available
git --version
xcodebuild -version

# Confirm Swift is on your PATH
swift --version

You should see version numbers for all three commands.

What's next​

Software installed? Move on to Network and Firewall to confirm your network can reach the hosts Xcode and SPM need to download dependencies.