xcrun: error: active developer path ("/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer") does not exist

Question

I'm having xcode issues when I try to use brew and git:

xcrun: error: active developer path ("/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer") does not exist, use xcode-select --switch path/to/Xcode.app to specify the Xcode that you wish to use for command line developer tools (or see man xcode-select)

I can type xcode-select and it shows that the command exists. When I type xcode-select -p it shows:

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer

but when I do which xcode-select, it gives me:

/usr/bin/xcode-select

I've tried to use the command switch and install again via Apple Developer site but none of these options have work so far... How can I fix this?

score 568 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 16 '18 at 21:15

568

I tried that and it didn't work but I found the answer. I just had to reset the developer's path:

$ sudo xcode-select --reset

Now everything is normal

edited Jul 16 '18 at 21:15

CopsOnRoad

109,635
30
367
257

answered Jan 27 '16 at 10:30

devB78

7,889
3
9
14

5

--reset normally this must be run as root – Benja Garrido Feb 14 '17 at 20:09
25

Thanks. I had uninstalled xcode and installed just the command line tools because I didn't need the whole xcode package on my mac with limited space. However, I was still unable to use commands such as gcc, but after running this command, it works like a charm – Anonymous Person Jun 22 '17 at 15:38
1

I just tried it; now I'm getting "SDK "macosx" cannot be located" lol – Jose Ramirez Dec 28 '17 at 21:02
2

`--reset` works well for me. I need only the xcode cli for php development. So I decided to remove the complete xcode from my mac, then I downloaded only the xcode CLI installer(about 170MB). After I upgrade the installed xcode CLI via `app store`, and applied `sudo xcode-select --reset`, I am able to use `brew`and other command line tools such as `git` like before. Thanks. – vikbert Feb 01 '18 at 11:38
Works for me also. Thanks – Iftakharul Alam Aug 04 '18 at 11:30
Boom, you save my day ;) – Mauro Sep 11 '18 at 21:55
2

Is there any danger in using --reset? – bananabanana Jun 02 '19 at 21:48
worked for me as well – Yustina Ivanova Jan 25 '21 at 10:57

Harjot Singh · Answer 2 · 2018-10-31T07:51:51.623

187

Mostly this error occurs when you have installed a newer version of xcode. And the command line tools are yet to be initialized.

To resolve this: Go under Xcode Preferences > Locations (tab) > And the bottom options is Command Line Tools. Please select the Xcode version for tools.

Example (For Xcode 10.0 (10A255) ): Go under Xcode Preferences > Locations (tab) > And the bottom options is Command Line Tools. Select Xcode 10.0 (10A255).

For more details please see the attached image. Hope it helps.

-- Thanks

edited Oct 31 '18 at 07:51

answered Nov 17 '16 at 06:21

Harjot Singh

5,719
1
35
32

2

this answer is best – Hoàng Vũ Anh Oct 31 '18 at 03:43
I already see it as shown in the above image, but I still see the same error on my setup. I even tried resetting. Any idea? I – Yoku Nov 12 '18 at 13:29
2

To do this programmatically (I had the error because I uninstalled Xcode), `sudo xcode-select --switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools` (needs to be run as root) – hbrannan Apr 15 '19 at 17:32

score 130 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 09 '20 at 21:51

130

In my case, I had uninstalled Xcode and then issues with git cli started. I solved the problem running the following commands:

$ sudo xcode-select -r
$ sudo xcode-select --switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools

and then validating new path with:

$ sudo xcode-select -p

Hope this helps!

answered Mar 09 '20 at 21:51

José Gil Ramírez

1,471
1
10
5

1

Worked for me after uninstalling xcode, saved my day – Ilan Levy Apr 24 '20 at 17:09
This one solved the issue for me, the more voted solutions didn't, thanks Jose! – Adrian E. Labastida Cañizares May 16 '20 at 09:02
You saved my day. Thanks a ton – Shalini Jun 29 '20 at 09:44
1

I was facing issues on Android Studio after I uninstalled XCode. Worked for me. I also had to restart Android Studio after using these commands. – Amey Bhandarkar Jul 31 '20 at 08:37
Worked for me! Spotted this issue after uninstalling Xcode (OSX High Sierra). – Dmitry Demidovsky Sep 28 '20 at 15:45
Worked for me. Thanks !! – Alka Singla Feb 03 '21 at 11:27
This works for me after [having issue with node-gyp on macOS Catalina](https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp/blob/master/macOS_Catalina.md) – Seno Apr 30 '21 at 08:19

Bharath Kumar · Answer 4 · 2020-01-13T08:11:43.430

72

I have faced the same issue as I have uninstalled the XCode abruptly, running the below command (from Terminal) helped me to resolve this.

sudo xcode-select -switch /

edited Jan 13 '20 at 08:11

answered Jun 12 '19 at 09:15

Bharath Kumar

838
7
10

Check this link also if you have any other error. https://github.com/Homebrew/legacy-homebrew/issues/23500 – Narendra Solanki Jul 27 '19 at 07:28
1

This worked for me. The problem was I uninstalled xcode in my mac. The command line is somehow still tied to xcode. So I went to ~library/Developer and deleted all folders and ran this command. – santosh Feb 26 '20 at 07:56
This worked for me also. This is even a better solution for someone who does not want to install XCode – csakbalint Dec 11 '20 at 10:45

score 21 · Answer 5 · answered Jun 09 '18 at 18:43

21

Use this sudo xcode-select -switch /

This should solve the problem.

answered Jun 09 '18 at 18:43

bruceparker

935
1
13
29

1

Thank you @bruceparker this was the only option which worked for me on Mojave 10.14.2 – mturatti Dec 28 '18 at 21:00
Check this link also if you have any other error. https://github.com/Homebrew/legacy-homebrew/issues/23500 – Narendra Solanki Jul 27 '19 at 07:28
this was the only solution that worked for me on Catalina – Tyson Nero Mar 26 '21 at 00:56

score 15 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 26 '16 at 08:31

15

How about what the error suggests? Did you try that?

xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode.app

That should do the trick.

answered Jan 26 '16 at 08:31

Tobi Nary

4,387
4
26
48

3

`--switch` must be run as root – Sid Apr 03 '18 at 11:13

score 4 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 27 '19 at 10:59

4

For me it helps to install Xcode CLI xcode-select --install after uninstalling XCode (I don't develop for the OSx or iOS)

Then I could successfully build downloaded source with make

answered Jan 27 '19 at 10:59

Nikolay Ignatyev

93
8

This is what worked for me, after uninstalling Xcode. Many thanks! – Anis R. May 24 '21 at 17:56

score 4 · Answer 8 · answered May 29 '20 at 16:51

4

Try error suggestion :

sudo xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode.app

And Then test Git Executable Path.

answered May 29 '20 at 16:51

Mir Mahfuz

221
2
7

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Apr 25 '19 at 08:27

I had the same problem and had to remove completely Developer tools, and reinstall:

$ rm -rf /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools
$ xcode-select --install

Tip: because Xcode had been improperly uninstalled, I had to manually (re)move the Xcode app, too:

$ mv /Applications/Xcode.app/ /Applications/Xcode.app.bak

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Jan 28 '21 at 18:22

In my case such error occurred after I has tried to symbolicate crash report, and according to a manual, entered command export DEVELOPER_DIR=”/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer”

I tried some proposed here solutions but nothing helped.

Then I realized that I have added an environment variable DEVELOPER_DIR to my terminal and this led to error: "xcrun: error: missing DEVELOPER_DIR path:"

Then I've just reboot my terminal, that cleaned the environment variable and the error disappeared.

(FYI: environment variables may be checked with printenv command in terminal)

xcrun: error: active developer path ("/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer") does not exist

10 Answers10

Linked

Related