Accelerated Software Development

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Swift on Windows | Cross-Platform Swift Development

Written by

Anand Ethiraj

Published on

September 22, 2025

Swift on Windows | Build Cross-Platform iOS Apps

Key Takeaway

Programming with Swift on Windows allows teams to leverage a familiar language without switching to macOS, improving workflow efficiency.
Companies like IBM and Apple provide tools that make writing Swift code in Windows simple and compatible with popular IDEs.
Swift development on Windows supports rapid prototyping, testing, and integration with existing enterprise systems.
Choosing the right tools and experienced partners ensures smooth cross-platform app performance and faster delivery of Swift projects on Windows.

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Swift on Windows: Why US Business Care About

The US market presents a massive opportunity for cross-platform applications. Ignoring Windows means excluding nearly 70% of the desktop operating system share in the United States. For our clients, this represents a substantial segment of their potential user base that remains untapped by iOS-only strategies.

We recently advised a San Francisco-based fintech startup that maintained separate teams for iOS (Swift) and Windows (C#). The coordination overhead was slowing their release cycles. By transitioning their business logic to a shared Swift core, they reduced their Windows development timeline by 40% and achieved feature parity across platforms for the first time. This is the power of Swift development on Windows – it turns platform-specific development into a more efficient, unified process.

The strategic advantage is clear: write core business logic once in Swift, then implement native UIs for each platform. This approach maintains the performance and user experience standards that both Apple and Windows users expect, while dramatically reducing development and maintenance costs for US businesses.

Swift Development on Windows: The Practical Setup

Setting up a Swift environment on a Windows machine is not as simple as installing Xcode on a Mac, but it has become significantly more straightforward over the years. The process relies on community-driven toolchains and a few key components.

Essential Components

Swift Toolchain for Windows: This is the core package that includes the Swift compiler, standard library, and other necessary tools. The official Swift website hosts these builds.
Visual Studio 2019 or later: While you won't be writing C++ for your Swift code, Visual Studio's build tools are often required to compile Swift on Windows.
Visual Studio Code: This is the preferred IDE for most Swift development on Windows, thanks to the official Swift extension. It provides essential features like syntax highlighting, code completion, and debugging.

The Setup Process

Install the Swift Toolchain: Download the latest .exe installer from swift.org. The installation is guided and handles the necessary system path configurations.
Install Visual Studio Build Tools: You don't need the entire Visual Studio IDE. The "Desktop development with C++" workload is often sufficient.
Install VS Code and the Swift Extension: Download VS Code and then search for and install the "Swift" extension from the Extensions Marketplace. This is a critical step for a productive workflow.

Once these components are in place, you can open a terminal in VS Code and verify your installation by running swift --version. This confirms that the Swift compiler is recognized and ready to go. You can now begin writing and compiling Swift code in Windows.

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Programming with Swift on Windows Ecosystem: Reality vs. Hype

When we talk about using Swift on Windows, it's crucial to manage expectations. The ecosystem is not a one-to-one mirror of macOS. You are not going to be building SwiftUI or AppKit UIs directly on Windows.

The power of Swift development on Windows lies in a few key areas:

Command-Line Tools & Backend Services

This is where Swift truly shines on non-Apple platforms. Its performance and safety features make it an excellent choice for building:

Command-line utilities: Automate tasks, process data, and create developer tools.
Server-side applications: Frameworks like Vapor and Kitura, while still maturing on Windows, allow for high-performance, scalable web services.
Cross-platform libraries: Share core business logic (e.g., data models, validation rules) between your iOS, macOS, and Windows applications, all written in a single language. This is where the most significant efficiency gains are found.

Native Windows Application Development

This is the most challenging, yet promising, frontier. Swift on Windows integrates with the Win32 API and other native Windows APIs, allowing developers to build true native applications.
However, this is not a one-click process.
You need to use frameworks or wrappers, often community-maintained, that bridge Swift with the underlying Windows UI frameworks like WinUI or WPF.
A notable example is the work being done by The Browser Company with their Arc browser, which uses Swift for its Windows version.
This is a testament to what's possible, but it also highlights the immense effort required.
They had to create their own Swift bindings for Windows' UI framework, a massive undertaking for a small startup.

Performance & Stability

Swift is known for its speed, and this holds true on Windows.
When it comes to raw performance, Swift code compiles to native machine code, making it comparable to C++ in many scenarios.
However, the stability and developer experience can sometimes lag behind the mature Apple ecosystem.
As an iOS development company, we've seen firsthand that issues can arise with toolchain updates or when using cutting-edge features that are still in development on non-Apple platforms.

Swift on Windows vs. Other Cross-Platform Stacks

Feature	Swift on Windows	React Native/Flutter	C# (.NET)
Core Strength	High-performance, native code for CLI & backend. Best for sharing logic with existing iOS apps.	Rapid UI development and deployment across mobile platforms.	Mature ecosystem for enterprise Windows applications and services.
UI Development	Requires custom bindings or community-driven wrappers. Manual effort is high.	Uses a single codebase for UI, with performance overhead. Excellent tooling.	Native UI frameworks (WinUI, WPF) and a vast library of UI controls.
Performance	Excellent. Natively compiled.	Generally good, but can have performance dips and larger app sizes.	Excellent. Mature, highly-optimized runtime.
Ecosystem	Growing but still niche. Community-driven, with less official support than on Apple platforms.	Massive, vibrant, and well-supported by Google and Meta. Abundant libraries and tools.	One of the most mature ecosystems for Windows development. Backed by Microsoft.
Best For	U.S. development teams with existing Swift expertise looking to share core logic with a new Windows application.	Startups needing to ship a mobile app to iOS and Android quickly with a single team.	Enterprises building complex, business-critical applications on the Windows platform.

Swift Programming Language on Windows: What's Available and What's Missing

Understanding the capabilities of the current Swift development on Windows toolchain helps set realistic expectations for your US development teams.

Core Components Ready for Production

The Swift ecosystem on Windows provides a solid foundation for many types of applications:

Full Language Support: The Swift compiler, standard library, and core libraries (Dispatch, Foundation, XCTest) are fully available, enabling you to write powerful applications without worrying about low-level system details.
Swift Package Manager: The primary command-line tool for building Swift projects, managing dependencies, and running tests is fully supported on Windows.
Debugging with LLDB: The toolchain includes LLDB, which implements Microsoft's Debug Adapter Protocol, enabling seamless debugging integration within VS Code.
Testing with XCTest: Write and run unit tests using the same XCTest framework familiar to iOS developers, with both command-line and VS Code test explorer integration.

Areas Still Evolving

While the core development experience is robust, some components continue to mature:

Advanced Debugging Features: The swift-inspect tool for examining live Swift processes doesn't yet have concurrency inspection enabled on Windows.
ARM64 Support: Official ARM64 toolchain builds are still in development, though preview builds are available for experimentation.

Building Windows Desktop Applications with Swift

Framework	Approach	Best For	Current Status
SwiftWinRT	Direct WinUI 3 projection	Native Windows applications	Experimental, used by Arc browser
SwiftWin32	Win32 API wrapper	Traditional desktop applications	Community project with examples
Electron	Web technologies with Swift backend	Teams familiar with JavaScript	Production-ready, used by Spark
wxSwift	wxWidgets wrapper	Cross-platform consistency	Alpha stage, limited functionality

The Future of Swift on Windows

The momentum behind Swift on Windows continues to grow. The Swift project's commitment to making the "full ecosystem available on the platform" ensures that the development experience will only improve . With companies like The Browser Company investing heavily in the Windows Swift ecosystem and sharing their tools as open source, US-based development teams have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage their Swift expertise beyond Apple's platforms.

For US iOS development companies, now is the ideal time to begin experimenting with Swift on Windows. Start by cross-compiling your core business logic libraries, then gradually explore UI frameworks as the ecosystem matures. The strategic advantage goes to teams that master cross-platform Swift development early.

FAQs

Can I use Swift on Windows for production applications?

Yes, Swift is production-ready for Windows, particularly for business logic and server-side components. Companies like Readdle and The Browser Company are already shipping production Windows applications built with Swift

What is the best editor for Swift development on Windows?

Visual Studio Code with the official Swift extension provides the best experience, offering code completion, debugging, testing integration, and intelligent editor features through sourcekit-lsp

How does Swift on Windows handle GUI application development?

Several options are available, with SwiftWinRT (WinUI 3) being the most promising for native applications. Electron integration is also production-ready for teams preferring web technologies

Can I reuse my iOS Swift code on Windows?

Yes, pure Swift modules often work "right out of the box" with minimal adjustments, primarily excluding AppKit/UIKit references. The core language and many libraries cross-compile successfully

Is Swift on Windows suitable for US-based development teams?

Absolutely, with the substantial Windows market share in the United States, Swift on Windows represents a strategic opportunity for iOS shops to expand their service offerings and client value without maintaining separate technology stacks.