We received many great questions from the community during Code-along: Experiment with coding intelligence in Xcode 26. Here are the highlights from the questions submitted by the audience during the event.
What models does coding intelligence features support In Xcode?
Xcode integrates directly with ChatGPT and Claude user accounts. You can also configure Xcode to integrate any model provider that supports the Chat Completions API, such as models that you access with an API key. You can also download and run a local model on a Mac with Apple silicon. Setting up coding intelligence provides all of the information you need to get started with Xcode’s direct integration with ChatGPT and Claude, as well as how to set up Xcode to access other providers.
Does Coding Intelligence have access to Apple API and developer documentation? How does it stay up to date with the latest SwiftUI API?
Coding agents are great because they talk to a model, generate code and fix errors, but they also have access to tools, which make a significant difference in their capabilities. Xcode provides tools for the agent to use, including the ability to search Apple’s documentation and, code snippets. As an example, you can ask for a new API that was released in iOS, and if the model doesn't have this knowledge, the agent will call the tool to search for the documentation and bring that context into the conversation.
As an organization, we do not have permission to share our codebase with any AI model due to security reasons. If we enable coding intelligence and give it access to our codebase, will the code be shared with Apple? Will OpenAI or Anthropic have access to my entire project?
Privacy is fundamental to our design. When you connect an AI subscription account (like an account with OpenAI or Anthropic), the connection is only between you and that service. Apple does not act as an intermediary, and never sees the code sent to these services. Because this interaction happens directly between the you and your provider, the security and privacy of your code is determined entirely by your existing agreement with your provider.
What exactly does the agent have access to? Only the files in the scope of the project?
By default, the agent works in the directory of your project, and can access all files in that directory. This includes code file, assets, and your Xcode project configuration file.
Does coding intelligence remember previous conversations?
Each time you start a new conversation window, it resets the context of the conversation, but you can always go back to a previous conversation you had and continue and iterate on a previous idea. If a result contains errors or did not go in a direction you are happy with, you can use the history to go back to any point in time. Writing code with intelligence in Xcode goes into detail on how you can use these features.
For command-line tools (Claude Code, OpenAI Codex), I can create guidelines as Markdown with rules or project descriptions. Does Xcode Agentic Coding take these into account, or should I define them differently?
You can add skills that you’ve created, hints about Xcode and your project to configuration files, and other files supporting your use of coding intelligence such as AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md files, to the respective Codex and Claude Agent directories that Xcode uses exclusively:
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/CodingAssistant/codex
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/CodingAssistant/ClaudeAgentConfig
For more information on configuring agentic coding tools that run inside Xcode, see Customize the Codex and Claude Agent environments.
How do you add a Model Context Protocol server for the Xcode agent to be able to access?
You can add additional Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers in Xcode with product-specific configuration files so the agents can use those MCP servers from within Xcode. Locate the files needed to configure those additional MCP servers in the same directory where you set other customizations for Codex or Claude Agent, listed above.
