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Programming with Swift

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to install Swift on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Windows Installation​

1. Install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)​

Swift doesn’t run natively on Windows. It requires WSL to run within a Linux environment on Windows.

  • Open PowerShell as an administrator.
  • Run the following command: 
    wsl --install
  • Once installed, restart your computer if prompted.

2. Install Swift on WSL​

  • Open WSL (Ubuntu).
  • Update package lists with: 
    sudo apt update
    sudo apt upgrade
  • Install the required dependencies: 
    sudo apt install clang libicu-dev
  • Download Swift from the official Swift website, selecting the latest stable release for Ubuntu.
  • Install Swift by running: 
    tar -xvzf swift-<version>-ubuntu.tar.gz
    sudo mv swift-<version>-ubuntu /usr/share/swift
    echo "export PATH=/usr/share/swift/usr/bin:$PATH" >> ~/.bashrc
    source ~/.bashrc

3. Verify Installation​

  • Open a new WSL Terminal window.
  • Run swift --version. The installed Swift version should be displayed.

Linux Installation​

1. Download Swift​

2. Install Swift​

  • Open the Terminal and navigate to the directory where the file was downloaded.
  • Extract the Swift file: 
    tar -xvzf swift-<version>-ubuntu.tar.gz
  • Move the extracted folder to /usr/share: 
    sudo mv swift-<version>-ubuntu /usr/share/swift
    echo "export PATH=/usr/share/swift/usr/bin:$PATH" >> ~/.bashrc
    source ~/.bashrc

3. Verify Installation​

  • Open a new Terminal window.
  • Run swift --version. The Swift version should be displayed.

macOS Installation​

Swift comes pre-installed with Xcode, the official IDE for Swift development.

  • Visit the Mac App Store and download Xcode.
  • Open Xcode and go to Preferences > Locations, then set the Command Line Tools to the latest Xcode version.

2. Alternative: Install Swift via Homebrew​

If you don’t want to use Xcode, you can install Swift via Homebrew.

  • Install Homebrew (if not installed): 
    /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
  • Install Swift: 
    brew install swift

3. Verify Installation​

  • Open Terminal.
  • Run swift --version. The Swift version should be displayed.

Note: Follow these steps to set up Swift for development on any of the platforms listed above.

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