Apple adds agents from Anthropic and OpenAI to its coding tool

Apple said it’s introducing agentic coding into its flagship coding tool called Xcode, throwing its weight behind one of the hottest trends in Silicon Valley.

With agent-powered coding, programmers have artificial intelligence software write code independently. Apple said its tool will support Anthropic’s Claude Agent and OpenAI’s Codex.

“Xcode and coding agents can now work together to handle complex multi-step tasks on your behalf,” an Apple representative said in a demo video on Tuesday, alongside the announcement.

Over the summer, Apple updated Xcode with support for OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Claude, but the latest update extends the relationship to agentic coding tools. In an email sent to developers, Apple said the agents will be able to build and test projects, search Apple documentation, and fix issues.

Individual programmers and companies have embraced agentic coding as a faster way to build software through a practice known as “vibe coding,” where humans prompt an AI and review the code it generates.

Apple Intelligence, the company’s consumer AI suite, has faced delays and management turnover. But in recent months, AI coding has gained traction among iPhone developers.

Users will have to connect their OpenAI or Anthropic accounts to Xcode via an API key. Apple said it uses an open standard that gives programmers the ability to use other compatible agents and AI tools with Xcode, in addition to the built-in Anthropic and OpenAI integrations.

Apple’s Xcode is the company’s developer environment for coders, and is used to build nearly every iPhone app. The new software, Xcode 26.3, is available in a beta version now for registered Apple developers, and will eventually be released on the App Store.

OpenAI released a version of its agentic coding application called Codex for Mac computers on Monday.

WATCH: Experimenting with AI vibe-coding