Xcode 4.6 and Xcode 5 installed together

Question

Can we install Xcode 4.6 and xcode 5 on same machine without upgrading from xcode 4.6 to xcode 5?

Answer 1

Yes, you can install multiple versions of Xcode. They will install into separate directories. I've found that the best practice is to install the version that came with your Mac first, and then install downloaded versions, but it probably doesn't make a big difference. See this Apple Developer Connection page for lots of details.

It's easy to have multiple XCode installs.

In the installer there's a pulldown for the location... you just need to pick a new location when you're installing the beta version.

These instructions from an Apple dev tools evangelist have the full details (Apple dev username/password required): https://devforums.apple.com/message/40847#40847

Then grab yourself a custom icon for the Beta version of XCode you're using, so you can tell them apart in the dock: http://iphonedevelopment.blogspot.com/2009/03/multiple-developer-tool-installs.html

Answer 2

I prefer to create separate folders for different versions of Xcode, which I find provides a little more organization than renaming each Xcode release.

My folder layout looks as follows:

/Applications/Xcode.app
/Applications/Xcode4.6/Xcode.app
/Applications/Xcode5.0/Xcode.app

Simply create the necessary folders and drag/drop the relevant Xcode version into the same. You can also download older versions of Xcode from http://developer.apple.com/downloads/ and follow the same idea.

With the folder structure approach, from within a script (e.g. bash shell) you can move between versions of XCode with the xcode-select command line utility by simply specifying the desired folder:

$sudo xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode4.6/Xcode.app

Change the release number in the command line to switch to a different version.