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Building iOS Apps with Kiro CLI and Xcode's Agentic Coding Tools

In this post, I'll walk you through building a complete iOS app called "YenGuru" - a multi-purpose news and information aggregator - using Kiro CLI connected to Xcode.

Mani Chandrasekaran

These are exciting times. If you were always hesitant to create an iOS app and were intimidated by the tooling, Xcode, and Swift, now is the time.
Apple has opened up Xcode to external agentic coding tools through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling AI assistants to directly interact with your Xcode projects. While the built-in support is for OpenAI Codex and Anthropic Claude as documented in Apple's Coding Intelligence setup guide , you can leverage other powerful tools like Kiro CLI as mentioned in Apple's blog on giving agentic coding tools access to Xcode .
In this post, I'll walk you through building a complete iOS app called "YenGuru" - a multi-purpose news and information aggregator - using Kiro CLI connected to Xcode.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have:
  • macOS with the latest version of Xcode installed
  • Kiro CLI installed and configured (download from kiro.dev ), I'm using version 4.6 as my model in Kiro CLI

Enable Xcode Tools MCP Server

Before any external tool can connect, you need to enable the MCP server in Xcode:
  1. Open Xcode/Settings and select Intelligence in the sidebar
  2. Under Model Context Protocol, switch Xcode Tools on to enable MCP connections from external tools.

Setting Up the Xcode MCP Server in Kiro

First, configure Kiro CLI to connect to Xcode by adding the MCP server configuration. Add this to your Kiro CLI MCP servers configuration:
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{
"mcpServers": {
"xcode": {
"command": "xcrun",
"args": [
"mcpbridge"
],
"disabled": false
}
}
}
This configuration tells Kiro CLI to use Apple's mcpbridge tool (available via xcrun) to communicate with Xcode.
You will get a popup from Xcode asking for permission to allow kiro CLI to access xode, please allow it.

Starting Your Development Session

Launch Kiro CLI:
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kiro-cli
Once inside, verify the Xcode MCP server is connected:
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/tools
You should see Xcode-related tools available in the list, confirming successful integration.

Building YenGuru: From Concept to App

With everything set up, I started with a single comprehensive prompt:
Use an app screenshot in the current directory for the look and feel for the iOS app UI. I would like to have three options, one for news which pulls the latest tech news from reddit and hacker news, another for stocks data - for now pull feeds for amzn, msft, goog, amagi, pine labs, and another for a local news from a city of choice, lets start with bengaluru - pull data from deccan herald, I love crime news and local events, and lastly like a scratch pad where I can put stuff that I like restaurant reviews, parking, thoughts etc. have a button to refresh, and an option to save some news items which I want to review later.
Kiro CLI, working through the Xcode MCP bridge, immediately began:
  • Creating the project structure
  • Setting up SwiftUI views
  • Implementing data models
  • Configuring API integrations
  • Building the UI based on the reference screenshot

Iterative Refinement

The beauty of this workflow is the conversational refinement. After the initial implementation, I requested several enhancements:
This is a good first attempt, but I need some changes: 1/ I need an app name, call it "YenGuru" which should show in all screens 2/ The white color is too plain, use the color and font as shared in the folder in the image called new-ios-screen.jpg 3/ There are screen shots of the screens in the current folder 4/ The Tech news screen, when I click the link its not taking me to the page, need it to be a hyperlink 5/ Instead of Bengaluru, make it Local news and add a settings option where the user can specify a city or pick up the current location from iOS 6/ For the stocks, also this should be configurable in settings. Not all stock information is coming, try to get a live feed from say yahoo finance public api, and finally get current weather also in the local news
Kiro CLI understood the context, accessed the project files through Xcode, and made all the necessary changes:
  • Branded the app as "YenGuru" across all screens
  • Applied custom colors and fonts from the reference image
  • Fixed hyperlink functionality in the tech news section
  • Made location configurable with iOS location services integration
  • Added settings for stock ticker customization
  • Integrated Yahoo Finance API for live stock data
  • Added weather information to the local news section
That's it, after this, I had a nice looking iOS application, which had most of the functionality that I needed.

Beyond MCP: Agent Client Protocol (ACP) Support

Kiro CLI also supports the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), allowing integration with ACP-compatible IDEs like JetBrains and Zed. With the 1.25.0 release , you can run kiro-cli acp to start Kiro as an ACP-compliant agent that communicates over stdin/stdout using JSON-RPC. This means you can use Kiro's capabilities directly within your favorite IDE, whether it supports MCP or ACP.

Why This Matters

This workflow represents a fundamental shift in iOS development:
  1. Lower Barrier to Entry: You don't need to be a Swift expert to build functional iOS apps
  2. Rapid Prototyping: Go from idea to working prototype in minutes, not hours
  3. Iterative Development: Refine your app through natural language conversations
  4. Context Awareness: The AI understands your project structure, existing code, and design assets
  5. Best Practices: Kiro CLI applies iOS development best practices automatically
  6. IDE Flexibility: Works with multiple protocols (MCP and ACP) across different development environments

Getting Started

Ready to try it yourself? Here's what to do:
  1. Install the latest Xcode from the Mac App Store
  2. Download and set up Kiro CLI from kiro.dev 
  3. Configure the Xcode MCP server as shown above
  4. Start building!
For detailed documentation, visit kiro.dev/docs .
The combination of Xcode's powerful IDE capabilities with Kiro CLI's intelligent assistance creates a development experience that's both productive and accessible. Whether you're a seasoned iOS developer looking to accelerate your workflow or a newcomer wanting to build your first app, this tooling makes iOS development more approachable than ever.
Of course, this is the first step, you have many more steps to go before this application can get published in the Apple app store. But hey, this is not bad for an hours time spent on a Friday afternoon before lunch break !! Have a great weekend

References

Skills & Technologies:
  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • Agent Client Protocol (ACP)
  • Xcode and iOS Development
  • SwiftUI
  • Kiro CLI
  • Agentic Coding Tools
  • AI-Assisted Development
  • Anthropic Claude
  • API Integration (Reddit, Hacker News, Yahoo Finance)
  • iOS Location Services
Documentation:
Have you tried building iOS apps with agentic coding tools? Share your experience in the comments below!
Any opinions in this article are those of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of AWS.
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