visionOS simulator no longer available

[NachoSoto]

Description

Something broke today:

xcodebuild: error: Unable to find a destination matching the provided destination specifier:
		{ generic:1, platform:visionOS }

	Available destinations for the "" scheme:
                   ...
		{ platform:visionOS Simulator, variant:Designed for [iPad,iPhone], id:B56B9168-2D7A-4CCD-8F95-097240BF9A96, OS:1.2, name:Apple Vision Pro }
		{ platform:visionOS Simulator, variant:Designed for [iPad,iPhone], id:D20DB2BA-6B5A-484E-8F86-F143B898FA74, OS:2.0, name:Apple Vision Pro }
		{ platform:visionOS Simulator, variant:Designed for [iPad,iPhone], id:66CBDFFE-AF6C-4505-8ADD-6C0BE1C7215B, OS:2.1, name:Apple Vision Pro }
		{ platform:visionOS Simulator, variant:Designed for [iPad,iPhone], id:AD3793C0-37ED-4EF9-8830-602E8AA69352, OS:2.2, name:Apple Vision Pro }

	Ineligible destinations for the "" scheme:
		{ platform:visionOS, id:dvtdevice-DVTiOSDevicePlaceholder-xros:placeholder, name:Any visionOS Device, error:visionOS 2.2 is not installed. To use with Xcode, first download and install the platform }

That's despite it being listed as available in the runner image.

Platforms affected

• Azure DevOps
• GitHub Actions - Standard Runners
• GitHub Actions - Larger Runners

Runner images affected

• Ubuntu 20.04
• Ubuntu 22.04
• Ubuntu 24.04
• macOS 13
• macOS 13 Arm64
• macOS 14
• macOS 14 Arm64
• macOS 15
• macOS 15 Arm64
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2025

Image version and build link

Image: macos-15-arm64
Version: 20250127.616
Included Software: https://github.com/actions/runner-images/blob/macos-15-arm64/20250127.616/images/macos/macos-15-arm64-Readme.md
Image Release: https://github.com/actions/runner-images/releases/tag/macos-15-arm64%2F20250127.616

Is it regression?

Yes

Expected behavior

visionOS simulator is available

Actual behavior

Simulator is gone.

Repro steps

Use 'macos-15' + Xcode 16.2 and attempt a build with -destination "generic/platform=visionos

[susmitamane]

Hi @NachoSoto

We will investigate the issue and keep you posted on further updates.

Thank you.

[susmitamane]

Hi @NachoSoto

• We have tested several workflows and successfully reproduced the issue. It appears that generic does not work when selecting a specific OS. Instead, we need to provide the correct details in the following format:

 -destination "platform=visionOS Simulator,name=Apple Vision Pro,OS=2.1" 
 -destination "platform=visionOS Simulator,name=Apple Vision Pro,OS=2.3"

• Below are the tested workflows please check once:

• generic is designed for real devices or macOS builds but not for simulators.It won’t resolve to an actual simulator like iOS Simulator or visionOS Simulator.You must explicitly provide either a device name, OS version, or find the available simulator dynamically.

[NachoSoto]

Build does support providing a generic device: https://mokacoding.com/blog/xcodebuild-destination-options/

Looks like the missing platform was fixed a few days ago though?

[susmitamane]

Hi @NachoSoto, I noticed that visionOS is not listed among the supported platforms. I tested generic destinations with the other listed platforms, and they all work fine. However, for visionOS, it doesn't seem to be fully functional yet.

The supported platforms are:
OS X, your Mac
iOS, a connected iOS device
iOS Simulator
watchOS
watchOS Simulator
tvOS
tvOS Simulator

I tried with above simulators generic is working fine. If you want to use xcodebuild with visionOS then as mentioned earlier you have to specify the details as -destination "platform=visionOS Simulator,name=Apple Vision Pro,OS=2.1" that will work as per tested workflows.

[susmitamane]

Thank you and if you face related issue, feel free to open a new issue

[ladvoc]

+1

[NachoSoto]

Opened another issue: #11741

[NachoSoto]

@susmitamane could you please look at this again?