How to Rename an Xcode Project Without Losing Your Mind

Xcode 11 Demo at WWDC19

I was recently working on an iOS app when I found myself in need of renaming my project. This can be useful if you ever need to make a copy of one of your projects to serve as a basis for further development or want to completely overhaul your app’s branding. Unfortunately, the process of refactoring can get a bit complicated in Xcode 11, especially if you are using Cocoapods, additional libraries, or have several subfolders and schemas. In this short tutorial, I will explain how to comprehensively rename your Xcode project without breaking anything in 7 straightforward steps.

Step 1 — Renaming the project

1. If you are using Cocoapods in your project, close the workspace, and open the XCode project to complete the following steps.
2. Select the project you want to rename in the “Project Navigator” which can be found on the left side of the Xcode view.
3. On the right-hand side of the window, select the “File Inspector”. The name of your project should be in there under “Identity and Type”, change it to “NEW” and press Enter.

File inspector example

1. A dialog will display, listing the items in your project that can be renamed. Confirm everything looks right and click “Rename”

Example rename dialogue in Xcode (Source: digitalleaves.com)

Step 2- Renaming the schema

1. In the top bar (near “Stop” button), there is a scheme with your “OLD” name, click on it, then go to “Manage Schemes”. Alternatively, you can find “Manage Schemes” here: Product > Scheme > Manage Schemes
2. Click on the “OLD” name in the scheme, and it will become editable, change the name to “NEW”.
3. Quit Xcode.

Step 4 — Renaming the folder with your assets

1. Open your project folder and rename OLD.xcworkspace to NEW.xcworkspace.
2. In the correct named master folder, there will be a newly named .xcodeproj file with…