Can't install Command Line Tool, "xcode-select --install" doesn't work

Question

I don't know how to install the Command Line Tools on OSX Mavericks. Or better: I know how to do it (I just did it on another MacBook), but something goes wrong this time.

What happened:

• I Install Homebrew on OSX Mavericks
• Homebrew ask me to intall the CLT and run a GUI for that
• I make a mistake: I install XCode instead of CLT, but I find that the CLT was not installed with it

Now, when I write

brew doctor

I get this

Warning: No developer tools installed.
You should install the Command Line Tools.
Run `xcode-select --install` to install them.

I write what it says, but I get always

Usage: xcode-select -print-path
or: xcode-select -switch
or: xcode-select -version
Arguments:
-print-path                                             Prints the path of the current Xcode folder
-switch xcode_folder_path                     Sets the path for the current Xcode folder
-version                                                Prints xcode-select version information

I think I should instead see that GUI (screenshots) that I saw at the beginning and that let me install the CLT.

Does anyone know how can I run that GUI again?

Radicand

Presumably you have re-booted. What version of Xcode is installed? – Mallorca

Yes I have rebooted many times. The version of Xcode is 5.0.2 (5A3005). – Radicand

Answer 1

Try downloading directly from the Apple Developer Tools site: https://developer.apple.com/downloads/index.action.
This requires signing in with a developer account.

Mallorca

Thanks Zaph! I downloaded the Command Line Tools from Apple Developer Tools site, then I updated the path of CLT via Terminal: sudo xcode-select -switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools. Now when I write brew doctor I get Your system is ready to brew. – Radicand

@giovanni - how did you know what path to use for the --switch statement? – Botryoidal

The switching of the path is what I've been missing and got me stuck for a while. +1 for the comment – Peculiarity

Did you need to restart your computer? – Eddra

@Erik Sorry, I don't remember/know. – Mallorca

it's odd, when I clicked the link above, the apple developer login gave me [email protected], an email i have never used ... – Palmetto

So, how do we do this without giving Apple our birth date? – Sou

Answer 2

I came across this issue when I removed Xcode from my laptop (Not enough disk space) and wanted to just install the commandline tools. It installed, but did not fix the Xcode-select path. Using the information above, I then ran:

xcode-select -s /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools

Homebrew is now working great with just the command line tools and I have 9 GB back! Therefore, if you have removed Xcode from your system and just installed the command line tools, you will have to manually run the above command line.

Cedar

I have similar problem, but when I run this command it gives me: xcode-select: error: invalid developer directory '/Library/Developer/CommandLineTools' – Beehive

@Beehive Install Command Line Tools for Xcode 13.2 (or whatever the latest version is) from developer.apple.com/download/all then run this command. I had to run it as root sudo xcode-select -s /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools – Harewood

Answer 3

If you are not able to install the XCode CLI using terminal command

sudo xcode-select --install

Just download the command line tool from Apple developer website (below link)

https://developer.apple.com/download/more/

And install it manually.

Risibility

Answer 4

The probem you're having might be that you have an old version of xcode-select which doesn't have the --install option. I had the same problem, and running xcode-select --version revealed I had version 2003, which is an old one.

What you probably need to do is to restore the original xcode-select system shim that came with your OSX Mavericks, so it will refer correctly to any new xcode or CLT versions you install, instead of being stuck on the old version forever.

This blog post details the problem a bit more: http://magnemg.tumblr.com/post/113251602430/how-to-completely-uninstall-osx-gcc-installer

Here is the torrent with the original OSX Mavericks system shims (extracted from the original installer), so you don't have to download and reinstall the entire OS again: https://archive.org/details/completely_uninstall_osx-gcc-installer

Hope this helps anyone else who might stumble upon this question.

Educative