Swift: Install Guide

About this Install Guide

Reading time:	10 min
Last updated:	28 Apr 2026
Ecosystem dashboard:	View

Reading time:

10 min

Last updated:

28 Apr 2026

Ecosystem dashboard:

View

Author:	Jason Andrews, Arm
Official docs:	View

Author:

Jason Andrews, Arm

Official docs:

View

This guide shows you how to install and use the tool with the most common configuration. For advanced options and complete reference information, see the official documentation. Some install guides also include optional next steps to help you explore related workflows or integrations.

Swift is an open-source programming language initially developed by Apple for use with Apple’s iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS operating systems. It has since gained popularity as a general-purpose language suitable for a wide range of Linux and Windows applications. Swift is known for its safety, speed, and expressiveness, making it ideal for both beginners and experienced programmers.

Swift is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux, including Arm Linux distributions. In this guide, you’ll learn how to install Swift on Ubuntu for Arm.

Before you begin

Confirm you are using an Arm machine by running:

    

        
        
uname -m

The output should be:

If you see a different result, you are not using an Arm computer running 64-bit Linux.

Required software packages

Before you install Swift on Ubuntu 24.04, install the following packages:

    

        
        
sudo apt update
sudo apt-get -y install \
          binutils \
          git \
          gnupg2 \
          libc6-dev \
          libcurl4-openssl-dev \
          libedit2 \
          libgcc-13-dev \
          libncurses-dev \
          libpython3-dev \
          libsqlite3-0 \
          libstdc++-13-dev \
          libxml2-dev \
          libz3-dev \
          pkg-config \
          tzdata \
          unzip \
          zlib1g-dev

Dwnload and install Swift

Download Swift for Arm Linux:

Note

The following commands use Swift version 6.3.1 on Ubuntu 24.04. The same commands work with other versions. Replace the file used in these steps with the file for your version of choice. To find all available versions, see Download Swift .

    

        
        
wget https://download.swift.org/swift-6.3.1-release/ubuntu2404-aarch64/swift-6.3.1-RELEASE/swift-6.3.1-RELEASE-ubuntu24.04-aarch64.tar.gz

Extract the archive:

    

        
        
sudo tar -xf swift-6.3.1-RELEASE-ubuntu24.04-aarch64.tar.gz -C /usr/local

Add the bin/ directory to your search path:

    

        
        
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/swift-6.3.1-RELEASE-ubuntu24.04-aarch64/usr/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Confirm Swift is working

To confirm Swift is working, print the version:

    

        
        
swift --version

The output is similar to:

    

        
        Swift version 6.3.1 (swift-6.3.1-RELEASE)
Target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu

You can also create and run a simple example program.

Use a text editor to create a new file named hello.swift and add the following code:

    

        
        
print("Hello from Swift on Arm Linux!")

Compile and run the program:

    

        
        
swift hello.swift

The output will be similar to:

    

        
        Hello from Swift on Arm Linux!

You can also compile and run the program using:

    

        
        
swiftc hello.swift -o hello
./hello

The output will be the same:

    

        
        Hello from Swift on Arm Linux!

You are now ready to use the Swift programming language on your Arm Linux computer.