Swift

Swift is an open-source programming language developed by Apple. It was initially created for use with Apple’s iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS operating systems, but 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.

What do I need to install Swift?

Swift is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux, including Arm Linux distributions.

This guide provides a quick solution to install Swift on Ubuntu for Arm.

Confirm you are using an Arm machine by running:

    

        
        
uname -m

    

The output should be:

    

        
        aarch64

        
    

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

What software packages are needed?

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

    

How do I download and install Swift?

This guide uses Swift version 6.0.1 on Ubuntu 24.04.

You can get more information about other versions and platforms from Download Swift .

Download Swift for Arm Linux:

    

        
        
wget https://download.swift.org/swift-6.0.1-release/ubuntu2404-aarch64/swift-6.0.1-RELEASE/swift-6.0.1-RELEASE-ubuntu24.04-aarch64.tar.gz

    

Extract the archive:

    

        
        
sudo tar -xf swift-6.0.1-RELEASE-ubuntu24.04-aarch64.tar.gz -C /usr/local

    

Add the bin/ directory to your search path:

    

        
        
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/swift-6.0.1-RELEASE-ubuntu24.04-aarch64/usr/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

    

How can I confirm Swift is working?

You can print the version with:

    

        
        
swift --version

    

The expected output is:

    

        
        Swift version 6.0.1 (swift-6.0.1-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:

    

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