Apple introduces a JSON-based format for Xcode project configuration, replacing the legacy property-list format starting with Xcode 27.2 to cut merge conflicts and improve AI tooling compatibility.

The JSON format offers a stable, human-readable representation of project configurations with a clear commit history and comparison view that mirrors actions in Xcode, reducing merge conflicts.

Before migrating, developers should check ecosystem tool compatibility and assess implications for existing CI/CD workflows.

The format emphasizes human-readable names and paths over opaque identifiers, while still using identifiers for build products and targets to support cross-file references.

Apple released a Swift package for encoding and decoding the new format, detailing how targets, file trees, build configurations, build settings, and external dependencies are represented at the top level and how node relationships are modeled.

Migration path lets projects switch by replacing project.pbxproj with project.xcproj, with a caveat to verify support from tools like fastlane, CocoaPods, and Tuist before migrating.

A code example shows how to parse a project’s JSON to list targets, illustrating practical usage of the new format.

The new format, named xcode-project-format, is open-sourced and aims to improve readability, maintenance, and inspection by automated tools and AI coding agents.

Early industry feedback from senior iOS developers points to quality-of-life improvements and a potential long-term reduction in merge conflicts.