xcode-select active developer directory error

xcode macos npm npm-install command-line-tool
tjmehta picture tjmehta · Jul 31, 2013 · Viewed 343.3k times · Source

Saw the following error when running an npm install which required node-gyp... but could be triggered by anything which requires xcode-select.

xcode-select: error: tool 'xcodebuild' requires Xcode, but active developer directory '/Library/Developer/CommandLineTools' is a command line tools instance

What is the problem?

Answer

tjmehta picture tjmehta · Jul 31, 2013

This problem happens when xcode-select developer directory was pointing to /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools, when a full regular Xcode was required (happens when CommandLineTools are installed after Xcode)

Solution:

  1. Install Xcode (get it from https://appstore.com/mac/apple/xcode) if you don't have it yet.
  2. Accept the Terms and Conditions.
  3. Ensure Xcode app is in the /Applications directory (NOT /Users/{user}/Applications).
  4. Point xcode-select to the Xcode app Developer directory using the following command:
    sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer

Note: Make sure your Xcode app path is correct.

  • Xcode: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
  • Xcode-beta: /Applications/Xcode-beta.app/Contents/Developer

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