Why You May Need to Download Old Versions of Xcode

Regardless of your reason, the good news is that you can download old versions of Xcode (and a lot of other tools) from the Apple Developer Center. If you're struggling with an older project and need to upgrade it to newer versions of Swift, or if you simply want to compare your previous experience with what things used to be like, then downloading an older version of Xcode could be just what you need.

For instance, I recently needed to update the exercise files for my Core Data Fundamentals with Swift course on Pluralsight. When I opened the project in Xcode 12, a popup informed me that I needed to update the exercise files. Grabbing an older version of Xcode could have helped me here.

There are two main reasons why you may need an old version of Xcode: To upgrade a very old project to newer versions of Swift, or to rule out a prior version of Xcode as the culprit when something doesn't work anymore. Perhaps you're just wanting to see what things 'used to be like'.

To download older versions of Xcode, simply head into the official Apple site and follow the link to the Apple Download Center. Here, you can choose your desired Xcode version and download it. Once downloaded, you'll need to rename the Xcode.app in your finder to something else, like Xcode-12.5.app.

Instead of downloading an older version from the Apple Developer Center, you can also download the dmg of the required Xcode version from your apple developer account and install it directly.

Xcode 12.4 download link