Build And Run Screendrop

Build and Run Screendrop

This skill builds the Screendrop macOS application via xcodebuild, kills any running instance of the app (regardless of which scheme it was launched from), then launches the newly built app.

Steps

1. Pick a scheme. List the schemes available in the project:

DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcodebuild \
  -project "/Users/fayazahmed/Developer/fayazara/mac/Screendrop/Screendrop.xcodeproj" \
  -list 2>/dev/null | sed -n '/Schemes:/,$p' | tail -n +2

• If there is only one scheme, use it without asking.
• If there is more than one scheme, ask the user which one to build/run (via AskUserQuestion) before proceeding, unless the user already named a scheme in their request (e.g. "run the Dev scheme"). Don't assume - the schemes can point at different configurations, bundle IDs, and even different launch arguments (e.g. Screendrop Demo builds the same Screendrop.app as the plain scheme but launches it with --demo-mode).

2. Resolve build settings for the chosen scheme - don't hardcode the configuration or output path, since it varies per scheme:

DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcodebuild \
  -project "/Users/fayazahmed/Developer/fayazara/mac/Screendrop/Screendrop.xcodeproj" \
  -scheme "<SCHEME_NAME>" -showBuildSettings 2>/dev/null \
  | grep -E "^\s*(CONFIGURATION|BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR|FULL_PRODUCT_NAME|EXECUTABLE_NAME) "

Use CONFIGURATION for the -configuration flag in the build step, and BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR + FULL_PRODUCT_NAME to construct the .app path for the run step.

3. Build the project with the resolved scheme/configuration:

DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcodebuild build \
  -project "/Users/fayazahmed/Developer/fayazara/mac/Screendrop/Screendrop.xcodeproj" \
  -scheme "<SCHEME_NAME>" \
  -configuration "<CONFIGURATION>" \
  -destination "platform=macOS" \
  2>&1 | grep -E "(BUILD SUCCEEDED|BUILD FAILED|error:)" | head -20

If the output shows BUILD FAILED, stop here, read the error: lines, and help the user fix them. Do not proceed to run a broken build. If the output is empty or unclear, re-run without the grep filter to get full output for diagnosis.

4. Kill every running instance of the app, across all schemes - not just the one being launched. Different schemes can produce different executable names (Screendrop, Screendrop Dev), and leaving an old instance from another scheme running is confusing (duplicate menu bar icons, port/state conflicts, etc). Kill all known variants unconditionally before relaunching:

killall Screendrop 2>/dev/null
killall "Screendrop Dev" 2>/dev/null

(It's fine if these error because that variant wasn't running. If a new scheme is added later with a different EXECUTABLE_NAME, add its killall line here too - check with EXECUTABLE_NAME from step 2.)

5. Run the freshly built app using the path resolved in step 2:

open "<BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR>/<FULL_PRODUCT_NAME>"

For the Screendrop Demo scheme specifically, pass the demo launch argument (the scheme's LaunchAction sets --demo-mode, but open won't pass it automatically):

open "<BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR>/Screendrop.app" --args --demo-mode

When to Use

• User says "run it", "build and run", "try it out", "relaunch the app"
• After making code changes, when the user wants to see the change live rather than just verify it compiles (for compile-only checks, use build-screendrop instead)

Notes

• DerivedData paths are specific to this machine/checkout and can change between clean builds - always resolve BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR via -showBuildSettings (step 2) rather than assuming a fixed path.
• Screendrop Demo and plain Screendrop share the same Screendrop.app bundle and Screendrop executable name - they're only distinguished by the --demo-mode launch argument, not by build output.