Xcode version issue

[williambuchanan2]

Description

Once again the builds (.NET Maui iOS) seem to have just stopped working in Azure Devops, seemingly for no reason.

Just started getting this error:

error : This version of .NET for iOS (26.2.10191) requires Xcode 26.2. The current version of Xcode is 26.1.1. Either install Xcode 26.2, or use a different version of .NET for iOS.

So, I try to update the XCode version to 26.2, but it seems this version is not available on the runners.

xcode-select: error: invalid developer directory ''

It feels like someone should have anticipated that Xcode 26.2 would have been needed with this latest update, or am I missing something?

Platforms affected

• Azure DevOps
• GitHub Actions - Standard Runners
• GitHub Actions - Larger Runners

Runner images affected

• Ubuntu 22.04
• Ubuntu 24.04
• Ubuntu Slim
• macOS 14
• macOS 14 Arm64
• macOS 15
• macOS 15 Arm64
• macOS 26 Arm64
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2025

Image version and build link

Current image version: '20251210.0072.1'

Is it regression?

No

Expected behavior

Build works

Actual behavior

Error 1:

6.2.10191/targets/Xamarin.Shared.Sdk.targets(2370,3): error : This version of .NET for iOS (26.2.10191) requires Xcode 26.2. The current version of Xcode is 26.1.1. Either install Xcode 26.2, or use a different version of .NET for iOS. See https://aka.ms/xcode-requirement for more information. [/Users/runner/work/1/s/NetCore/Client/REDSIX/PDS.App.RedSix.csproj::TargetFramework=net10.0-ios]

Error 2:
xcode-select: error: invalid developer directory ''

Repro steps

N/A

So, I try to update the XCode version to 26.2, but it seems this version is not available on the runners.

For macos 15 image xcode 26.2 will be available only in january #13424 (comment)

[erik-bershel]

Hey @williambuchanan2!

Xcode 26.2 is unavailable on macOS 15 due to disk space issues. It will be available in the second half of January after deprecation of some older simulator runtimes that take up large amounts of disk space. Until then, please use .NET builds that support iOS 26.1.1 or earlier.

I'll keep this issue open to raise awareness.

Related issues:

• [macOS] Deprecation of simulator runtimes for Xcode 16.3 and older on macOS 15 on January 12th, 2026. #13392
• Add Xcode 26.2 #13424

[williambuchanan2]

Ok, so what is the course of action for now? I hadn't made any changes and it just started telling me I need Xcode 26.2. How do I get back to it not telling me I need Xcode 26.2?

[erik-bershel]

You have several options:

• Roll back to .NET 10.0.100 - it uses Xcode 26.1 + iOS 26.1
• Roll back to .NET 9.0.308 - it uses Xcode 16.4 + iOS 18.4

To do this, you will need to install the required .NET 10.0.100 workloads at runtime if you choose the first option, and in any case, lock the project to one of the specified .NET versions in global.json at the project root. Read more here.

{
  "sdk": {
    "version": "10.0.100",
    "rollForward": "disable"
  }
}

[williambuchanan2]

You have several options:

• Roll back to .NET 10.0.100 - it uses Xcode 26.1 + iOS 26.1
• Roll back to .NET 9.0.308 - it uses Xcode 16.4 + iOS 18.4

That doesn't seem to work. I have done the following:

    - task: UseDotNet@2
      displayName: 'Set .NET SDK Version'
      inputs:
        packageType: 'sdk'
        version: '10.0.100'
    
    - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
      displayName: 'Install MAUI 10.0.100 Workload'
      inputs:
        command: 'custom'
        custom: 'workload'
        arguments: 'install maui@10.0.100'

Still getting this error:

/Users/runner/hostedtoolcache/dotnet/packs/Microsoft.iOS.Sdk.net10.0_26.0/26.0.10970-net10-rc.2/targets/Xamarin.Shared.Sdk.targets(2333,3): error : This version of .NET for iOS (26.0.10970-net10-rc.2) requires Xcode 26.0. The current version of Xcode is 26.1.1. Either install Xcode 26.0, or use a different version of .NET for iOS. See https://aka.ms/xcode-requirement for more information. [/Users/runner/work/1/s/NetCore/Client/PDSX/PDS.App.PDSX.csproj::TargetFramework=net10.0-ios]

I have attached some files relevant to the build...

Is this documented somewhere? I.e. a page that details what we need to do to fix our builds once changes are made? I imagine i'm not the only one who has lost a few days this week trying to get my builds working again...

BuildiOS.txt
BuildYaml.txt
InstallMaui.txt
SetNetVersion.txt

[williambuchanan2]

Uh ok I just realised that 10.0.100 actually needs Xcode 26.0 - not 26.1. Once I installed that it works.

Again, would be good to know if this is all documented somewhere so we don't have to spend days working it out...

[Kartik018]

You have several options:

• Roll back to .NET 10.0.100 - it uses Xcode 26.1 + iOS 26.1
• Roll back to .NET 9.0.308 - it uses Xcode 16.4 + iOS 18.4

To do this, you will need to install the required .NET 10.0.100 workloads at runtime if you choose the first option, and in any case, lock the project to one of the specified .NET versions in global.json at the project root. Read more here.

{
"sdk": {
"version": "10.0.100",
"rollForward": "disable"
}
}

I tried applying this solution, but .NET 10.0.100 still gets stuck, and the build continues to fail with the reported error.

[error]/Users/runner/hostedtoolcache/dotnet/packs/Microsoft.iOS.Sdk.net10.0_26.2/26.2.10191/targets/Xamarin.Shared.Sdk.targets(2370,3): Error : This version of .NET for iOS (26.2.10191) requires Xcode 26.2. The current version of Xcode is 26.0.1. Either install Xcode 26.2, or use a different version of .NET for iOS. See https://aka.ms/xcode-requirement for more information.

Is there any alternate solution? @erik-bershel

[erik-bershel]

Your project continues to use the latest version of the .NET 10 SDK. Until you configure the project to use an older version, builds will fail due to the lack of Xcode 26.2. Installing Xcode at runtime is quite a complex task, and I wouldn't even consider it a workaround. An alternative is to switch to GitHub Actions, where a macOS 26 image with the required Xcode 26.2 is available, which is also difficult to consider as a workaround.
Ultimately, it all boils down to the fact that until mid-January, only the .NET 10.0.100 SDK and earlier versions will work on the macOS 15 image.

[Kartik018]

Your project continues to use the latest version of the .NET 10 SDK. Until you configure the project to use an older version, builds will fail due to the lack of Xcode 26.2. Installing Xcode at runtime is quite a complex task, and I wouldn't even consider it a workaround. An alternative is to switch to GitHub Actions, where a macOS 26 image with the required Xcode 26.2 is available, which is also difficult to consider as a workaround. Ultimately, it all boils down to the fact that until mid-January, only the .NET 10.0.100 SDK and earlier versions will work on the macOS 15 image.

  - task: UseDotNet@2
            inputs:
              packageType: 'sdk'
              version: '10.0.100'
  - script: |
              dotnet workload install maui-android maui-ios 
            displayName: 'Install MAUI Workloads'

I am still wondering why, even after specifying version 10.0.100, it is still asking for Xcode 26.2.