Carthage review

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Carthage is an open-source command-line dependency manager for Cocoa applications and Apple development teams. It resolves dependencies declared in Cartfiles, checks out source repositories or downloads prebuilt binaries, and builds framework or XCFramework outputs using Xcode. Its supported Apple development targets include macOS, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS, while the tool itself runs on macOS. Carthage fits teams that prefer Git-based dependency declarations and direct control over how dependencies enter an Xcode project.

Carthage is free and open source, so there are no paid tiers to compare. Its feature set centers on dependency resolution and reproducible builds: Cartfile.resolved records selected versions, while support for dynamic and static frameworks, binary dependencies, Git submodules, and build caching gives teams several ways to manage delivery. It can use GitHub, Git, Homebrew, and MacPorts within the surrounding development workflow, and it includes Bash, Zsh, and Fish command completion. Private registry authentication is also supported.

The main trade-off is deliberate manual control. Carthage does not modify Xcode projects automatically or manage project-file and build-setting integration for developers, so teams must handle that part of the workflow themselves. It is also a macOS-hosted tool, even though its outputs target several Apple platforms. Choose Carthage when a focused, open-source manager with framework and XCFramework support matches an Apple team's Git workflow. Teams seeking automatic Xcode integration or a package manager that operates beyond the macOS toolchain should consider an alternative.

Carthage pros and cons

• Where it wins
  • Resolves Git, GitHub, and binary framework dependencies
  • Creates reproducible versions with Cartfile.resolved
  • Builds framework and XCFramework outputs with caching
• Where it doesn't
  • Runs as a macOS command-line tool
  • Leaves Xcode project and build-setting integration manual
  • Focused on Apple frameworks rather than broader package ecosystems

Carthage fact sheet, pricing and score →

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Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update