Can't install Command Line Tool, "xcode-select --install" doesn't work

Question

I don't know how to install the Command Line Tools on OSX Mavericks. Or better: I know how to do it (I just did it on another MacBook), but something goes wrong this time.

What happened:

• I Install Homebrew on OSX Mavericks
• Homebrew ask me to intall the CLT and run a GUI for that
• I make a mistake: I install XCode instead of CLT, but I find that the CLT was not installed with it

Now, when I write

brew doctor

I get this

Warning: No developer tools installed.
You should install the Command Line Tools.
Run `xcode-select --install` to install them.

I write what it says, but I get always

Usage: xcode-select -print-path
or: xcode-select -switch
or: xcode-select -version
Arguments:
-print-path                                             Prints the path of the current Xcode folder
-switch xcode_folder_path                     Sets the path for the current Xcode folder
-version                                                Prints xcode-select version information

I think I should instead see that GUI (screenshots) that I saw at the beginning and that let me install the CLT.

Does anyone know how can I run that GUI again?

Answer 1

Try downloading directly from the Apple Developer Tools site: https://developer.apple.com/downloads/index.action.
This requires signing in with a developer account.

Answer 2

I came across this issue when I removed Xcode from my laptop (Not enough disk space) and wanted to just install the commandline tools. It installed, but did not fix the Xcode-select path. Using the information above, I then ran:

xcode-select -s /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools

Homebrew is now working great with just the command line tools and I have 9 GB back! Therefore, if you have removed Xcode from your system and just installed the command line tools, you will have to manually run the above command line.

Answer 3

If you are not able to install the XCode CLI using terminal command

sudo xcode-select --install

Just download the command line tool from Apple developer website (below link)

https://developer.apple.com/download/more/

And install it manually.

Answer 4

The probem you're having might be that you have an old version of xcode-select which doesn't have the --install option. I had the same problem, and running xcode-select --version revealed I had version 2003, which is an old one.

What you probably need to do is to restore the original xcode-select system shim that came with your OSX Mavericks, so it will refer correctly to any new xcode or CLT versions you install, instead of being stuck on the old version forever.

This blog post details the problem a bit more: http://magnemg.tumblr.com/post/113251602430/how-to-completely-uninstall-osx-gcc-installer

Here is the torrent with the original OSX Mavericks system shims (extracted from the original installer), so you don't have to download and reinstall the entire OS again: https://archive.org/details/completely_uninstall_osx-gcc-installer

Hope this helps anyone else who might stumble upon this question.