Member Avatar for fussballer

Hi,

I have a mac (Lion OS X) at work and was wondering if there is software available to connect to it remotely from my windows 7 Laptop at home?
I would like to use XCode from my home PC. Is this possible? What software do you recommend?

Thanks,

Sam

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  • 3 Months Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by dioioib

Dani AI

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Clarification and practical bottom line: Xcode is a macOS application and cannot run natively on Windows, so any “use Xcode from Windows” setup still needs the Mac to perform the build/run work. The options people suggested in-thread (full remote-GUI tools and VNC-style screen sharing) work, but for everyday development they tend to be slower and more fragile than a remote-build or remote-edit workflow. See Apple’s Xcode platform/requirements. Xcode — Apple Developer. (developer.apple.com)

Better workflows (short, actionable):

  • Remote-build / CI: keep source in Git, push from Windows, then run builds on the Mac (locally or via a CI/bot). The Mac can run command-line builds with xcodebuild so builds/tests/archives can be scripted and triggered over SSH or by a CI system. This avoids interactive GUI lag and keeps signing/profiles on the Mac. See Apple’s CLI build notes. Building from the command line (xcodebuild) — Apple. (developer.apple.com)
  • Remote-edit + remote tools: open the project on the Mac from Windows using a remote-edit extension (for example Visual Studio Code Remote‑SSH) so the editor runs locally while compiles/run happen on the Mac — a near-local editing experience without streaming a whole desktop. VS Code Remote - SSH docs. (code.visualstudio.com)

Security, connectivity and GUI tips:

Operational caution: iOS/macOS signing and provisioning live on the Mac — remote builds still need the certificates/profiles installed there (or a CI that handles signing). See Apple’s signing/provisioning overview. Preparing the development team / code signing — Apple. (developer.apple.com)

Summary: for occasional GUI access the screen-sharing tools mentioned in this thread are fine; for everyday Xcode work prefer remote-edit + remote-build or a CI (including Xcode Cloud) and secure networking (SSH or a mesh VPN) to keep latency, security, and signing management under control. (developer.apple.com)

Recommended Answers

All 11 Replies

Member Avatar for dimsums

Try Logmein for OSX, the client can be either PC or Mac based.

Member Avatar for ilmkidunya

logmein is better

Member Avatar for mikulucky

All macs have VNC, in the mac work this is called screen sharing. On the windows machine install a VNC client, enter the connection information username and password and so on. Then you will be able to use your mac full screen on your windows computer.

Here is a link to a Windows VNC Client

Member Avatar for kanyonb38

You could download TeamViwer. It's free and amazing. I use it!

Member Avatar for Pjieter

You could download TeamViwer. It's free and amazing. I use it!

But with Teamviewer you always have to create a new session, with an other ID and password every time. I think Logemin will be a better idea in this particular case

Member Avatar for dioioib

I agree using a VNC client is the way to go but you might want to setup an encrypted reverse SSH tunnel to run it through.

More information can be found here:

You might also find it easier to use a dynamic DNS (DDNS) service like http://dyn.com/dns/ which allows for 2 free DDNS names. This will make it easy to access your system from home using a simple domain name rather than needing to know the IP address which is difficult when you don't have a static IP issued from your ISP.

Edited by dioioib because: added details about DDNS
Member Avatar for jbennet

But with Teamviewer you always have to create a new session, with an other ID and password every time.

No you dont, I connect from Linux to windows, and I just double click it in the list of machines, and enter my normal OS logon details.

Member Avatar for jbennet

You might also find it easier to use a dynamic DNS (DDNS) service like http://dyn.com/dns/ which allows for 2 free DDNS names. This will make it easy to access your system from home using a simple domain name rather than needing to know the IP address which is difficult when you don't have a static IP issued from your ISP.

You wont need that if you use TeamViewer. Also, in my experience, TV and RDP work much better than the extremely laggy VNC.

Member Avatar for dioioib

You are right you will get a lagging session with VNC but you can use compression.

If you are going to pay for software and you are using windows you could also look at Citrix.
http://store.citrix.com/store/citrixus/en_US/pd/productID.194911600
I have set a number of these up and there is no lag with these clients but like jbennet suggested with TeamViewer you are looking at $900+ for 5 licensees.

To be honest a lot of this is totally moot if I reread the initial post why not just use GNUstep at home on your Windows machine and just bring your code to work to compile it on your Mac later.

http://www.gnustep.org/

I am going to try RDP out tonight thanks for the tip jbennet.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Citrix costs a small fortune though, but then again, i suppose so do Windows Terminal Services CAL's... P.S did you know they own logmein?

Member Avatar for dioioib

Yeah Citrix is a small fortune. I had no idea. I remember LogMeIn was big when the iPhone came out. I hate paying for any software so I usually look for a OSS or FOSS alternative if I don't have time to write something myself.

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