# Creating and Running a Playground Book Build a playground book from a template, and run it in Swift Playgrounds. ## Overview You use both a Mac running Xcode and an iPad to create a playground book. You download the [Swift Playgrounds Author Template](https://developer.apple.com/download/more/?=Swift%20Playgrounds%20Author%20Template) and open it in Xcode on a Mac. You then write pages for the book and package its resources into a `.playgroundbook` file that you share with an iPad. > Important: The Swift Playgrounds Author Template is deprecated and may not be compatible with future versions of Xcode. > You can continue working with Playground Books by editing their contents directly in Xcode and other tools. > In Finder, select and control-click on your Playground Book, and choose “Show Package Contents”. > For details on working with the structure and format, see . > For information on working with the Swift Playgrounds App and Swift Package formats, see and [Swift.org](https://www.swift.org/package-manager/).” ### Extract and Open the Template The Swift Playgrounds Author Template is packaged as a `.xip` archive. To open the template, navigate to it in Finder and double-click it to extract it into a folder called Swift_Playgrounds_Author_Template_for_Xcode. Navigate within that folder to the Template subfolder and open the Xcode project named PlaygroundBook. ### Build the Playground Book The template contains all the initial files and resources you need to start writing content for Swift Playgrounds. Choose `Product > Build` to compile these resources into a `.playgroundbook` file that you can share with an iPad. ### Run the Playground Book on Your iPad To run the built playground book, transfer it to Swift Playgrounds: 1. Open Finder and select AirDrop. 2. In the project navigator for the template in Xcode, open the Products folder. 3. Drag the `.playgroundbook` file over Finder and drop it on the icon representing your iPad. Swift Playgrounds automatically opens when you share a playground book. The following image shows the content from the template running in Swift Playgrounds.  --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)