How can I install the Command Line Tools completely from the command line?

Question

I'd like to script the installation of the Xcode Command Line Tools.

On Mavericks,

xcode-select --install

will open a dialog prompting the user to install, but I'd like to trigger the install without the dialog, like using the softwareupdate command.

Is there a way to do this?

Edit:

Specifically, xcode-select --install launches an application that downloads and installs the tools without requiring the user to manually download them or have an Apple Developer account. It appears to use /System/Library/CoreServices/Install Command Line Developer Tools.app to do this.

I would like to use the same mechanism that Apple is, but without the GUI. I do not want to have to manually download the .dmg containing the tools as this seems fragile. Apple provides several other command-line tools, like softwareupdate and install that download or install software directly from Apple, and I'm looking to find the same for this type of distribution.

Answer 1

Wish I could claim credit for this one, but I found it buried in https://github.com/chcokr/osx-init/blob/master/install.sh

This worked on my 10.10 headless VM without a logged in UI. Updates applied for compatibility with at least 10.9-10.14

touch /tmp/.com.apple.dt.CommandLineTools.installondemand.in-progress;
PROD=$(softwareupdate -l |
  grep "\*.*Command Line" |
  head -n 1 | awk -F"*" '{print $2}' |
  sed -e 's/^ *//' |
  tr -d '\n')
softwareupdate -i "$PROD" --verbose
rm /tmp/.com.apple.dt.CommandLineTools.installondemand.in-progress

This presumes you only have 1 result to softwareupdate -l | grep "\*.*Command Line" - if this returns multiple versions, you might need more specific logic. (I dont have a repro case)

one variation that seems to work (limited testing) on 10.10-10.14 (10.9 doesn't return an osx version number in the cli tools name..so this doesn't work there):

PROD=$(softwareupdate -l |
 grep "\*.*Command Line.*$(sw_vers -productVersion|awk -F. '{print $1"."$2}')" |
 head -n 1 | awk -F"*" '{print $2}' |
 sed -e 's/^ *//' |
 tr -d '\n')

a few example results:

* Command Line Tools (OS X Mavericks)-6.2
* Command Line Tools (OS X 10.10) for Xcode-7.2
* Command Line Tools (macOS El Capitan version 10.11) for Xcode-8.2
* Command Line Tools (macOS High Sierra version 10.13) for Xcode-10.1
* Command Line Tools (macOS Mojave version 10.14) for Xcode-10.1

Answer 2

1. Download the Command Line Tools package from the Apple Developer site.

2. Mount the downloaded¹ DMG:

   hdiutil attach "command_line_tools_os_x_mountain_lion_for_xcode__october_2013.dmg"
   

3. Run the installer via the command line:

   cd "/Volumes/Command Line Tools (Mountain Lion)"
   installer -verbose -pkg "Command Line Tools (Mountain Lion).mkpg" -target /
   

4. When finished, unmount the DMG and delete the download.

   1. Eject the DMG².

      cd /
      hdiutil detach /dev/disk3s2
      

   2. Delete the DMG.

      rm "command_line_tools_os_x_mountain_lion_for_xcode__october_2013.dmg"
      

^{1 At the time of writing, the downloaded DMG and package name is accurate, however in the future, the name may change. Remember to alter the command (or use tab-completion) to fill in the relevant portion of the command.
2 If the command does not work, check the disk matches the name of the mount (as per mount).}

Answer 3

An attempt to clean up the accepted answer's style and logic, making it as version-independent as possible, using softwareupdate to its full capacity and introducing a re-usable os variable:

#!/bin/bash
# Requires root
os=$(sw_vers -productVersion | awk -F. '{print $1 "." $2}')
if softwareupdate --history | grep --silent "Command Line Tools.*${os}"; then
    echo 'Command-line tools already installed.' 
else
    echo 'Installing Command-line tools...'
    in_progress=/tmp/.com.apple.dt.CommandLineTools.installondemand.in-progress
    touch ${in_progress}
    product=$(softwareupdate --list | awk "/\* Command Line.*${os}/ { sub(/^   \* /, \"\"); print }")
    softwareupdate --verbose --install "${product}" || echo 'Installation failed.' 1>&2 && rm ${in_progress} && exit 1
    rm ${in_progress}
    echo 'Installation succeeded.'
fi

Answer 4

An alternative is to use this applescript I wrote:

https://gist.github.com/brysgo/9007731

do shell script "xcode-select --install"
do shell script "sleep 1"

tell application "System Events"
    tell process "Install Command Line Developer Tools"
        keystroke return
        click button "Agree" of window "License Agreement"
    end tell
end tell

---

xcode-select --install
sleep 1
osascript <<EOD
  tell application "System Events"
    tell process "Install Command Line Developer Tools"
      keystroke return
      click button "Agree" of window "License Agreement"
    end tell
  end tell
EOD

Answer 5

I found that if you install Home Brew, it will automatically install the command line tools.

I tested this using this vagrant image.

Run the following command to install Homebrew, and in doing so install the Command Line Tools.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

• I know the original question only asked how to install the Command Line Tools, but I don't know any mac these days that doesn't also have Home Brew installed on it.

Answer 6

This is what I use, partly based on brysgo's answer.

sudo sqlite3 /Library/Application\ Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db \
    "INSERT or REPLACE INTO access(service,client,client_type,allowed,prompt_count) VALUES('kTCCServiceAccessibility','com.apple.Terminal',0,1,1);"

if [[ "$(xcode-select -p)" == "" ]]; then
  printf "\n### Installing Xcode command line tools\n"
  xcode-select --install
  sleep 2
  osascript <<EOD
    tell application "System Events"
      tell process "Install Command Line Developer Tools"
        click button "Install" of window ""
        click button "Agree" of window "License Agreement"
        repeat until exists button "Done" of window ""
          delay 1
        end repeat
        click button "Done" of window ""
      end tell
    end tell
EOD
fi

update: Apple keeps adding new columns to the access database, you only need to specify values for the first 5, updated the code to reflect this.

Answer 7

EDIT (2021-2022): Apple's servers now respond with a 302 Redirect to https://developer.apple.com/unauthorized/

Post-apocalypt... er... post-2021 Solution

This short excerpt from my macOS bootstrap.sh script has been tested as of December 2021.

# Try the AppleScript automation method rather than relying on manual .xip / .dmg download & mirroring
# Note: Apple broke automated Xcode installer downloads.  Now requires manual Apple ID sign-in.
# Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20211210020829/https://techviewleo.com/install-xcode-command-line-tools-macos/
xcode-select --install
sleep 1
osascript <<-EOD
    tell application "System Events"
      tell process "Install Command Line Developer Tools"
        keystroke return
        click button "Agree" of window "License Agreement"
      end tell
    end tell
EOD

Old Solutions (pre-2021)

A couple more alternatives may be found at these answers:

• How to download the Command Line Tools for Xcode without the Downloads for Developers webpage?
• Fully Automated Xcode Installation

Download XCode Command Line Tools

You can download the XCode 4.x CLTools packages from their official download site via direct links.

Here is a script that will automate the install process for you ¹.

EDIT (2021-2022): Apple servers now respond with a 302 Redirect to https://developer.apple.com/unauthorized/ when trying to download the CLT packages. Based on this, Apple broke all unattended direct downloads without logging with an Apple ID first. The number of hoops that a script would need to jump through to login, store cookies, and download is prohibitive.

To find updated links for the tools, you can use this command:

curl -Lks https://devimages.apple.com.edgekey.net/downloads/xcode/simulators/index-3905972D-B609-49CE-8D06-51ADC78E07BC.dvtdownloadableindex | plutil -convert json -o - - | python -mjson.tool | less

EDIT (2021-2022): This URL now appears to have broken SSL certificates, and the latest version available is Xcode.CLTools.10.8 version 2014.4 (command_line_tools_for_osx_mountain_lion_april_2014.dmg)...

Note: The curl command above now has the -k flag added to work around this certificate validation issue. Be aware that the -k / --insecure command line option flag will bypass SSL certificate security checks. This is insecure and there is no way to verify using a PKI + CA chain of trust that this domain is trustworthy and still owned by Apple. It's recommended to use the alternative xcode-select --install + osascript solution above.

_{[1] Please don't abuse/overload their servers}

You may find that it is easier to first Login to the Apple Developer Download Site and download the latest Command Line Tools available there. You can then host the .dmg on your own package repo server and be able to reliably install the .dmg on many machines with hdiutil without having to login to developer.apple.com.

As of 06/10/2015, the link to the latest Command Line Tools dmg is:

http://adcdownload.apple.com/Developer_Tools/Command_Line_Tools_OS_X_10.10_for_Xcode_6.3.2/commandlinetoolsosx10.10forxcode6.3.2.dmg

EDIT (2021-2022): This URL no longer works... Apple's servers now respond with a 302 Redirect to https://developer.apple.com/unauthorized/ if you are not logged in with an Apple ID.

Please see alternative xcode-select --install + osascript solution above.

Answer 8

I had to modify the code slightly for Monterey 12.0.1.

#!/bin/bash
echo "Checking Xcode CLI tools"
# Only run if the tools are not installed yet
# To check that try to print the SDK path
xcode-select -p &> /dev/null
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
  echo "Xcode CLI tools not found. Installing them..."
  touch /tmp/.com.apple.dt.CommandLineTools.installondemand.in-progress;
  PROD=$(softwareupdate -l |
    grep "\*.*Command Line" |
    tail -n 1 | sed 's/^[^C]* //')
  softwareupdate -i "$PROD" --verbose;
else
  echo "Xcode CLI tools OK"
fi