# Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX: the Apple client for a self-hosted Parse Server > The Parse Apple SDK is the Objective-C and Swift client that connects iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS apps to a Parse Server backend. It installs through Swift Package Manager, and its version support is tied to Xcode release cycles rather than to a fixed platform minimum. **parse-community/Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX** — The Apple SDK for Parse Platform (iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS) - Repository: https://github.com/parse-community/Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX - Website: https://parseplatform.org - Stars: 2,807 · Forks: 865 - Language: Objective-C - License: NOASSERTION - Published: 2026-09-28 · Updated: 2026-09-28 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/parse-community-parse-sdk-ios-osx ## What Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX actually connects to This is a client library, not a backend. The README describes it as "a library that gives you access to the powerful Parse Server backend from your iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS app." Everything the SDK does is a call to a Parse Server instance you host or subscribe to. If you have no Parse Server running, the SDK has nothing to talk to. The audience is therefore narrower than the repository name suggests. It is for teams that have already chosen Parse Server as their backend and need an Apple-platform client. It is also for teams migrating an existing Objective-C app, since the primary language of the repository is Objective-C and the code sits in the Parse/ and ParseLiveQuery/ directories alongside a ParseStarterProject/ sample. Swift projects are supported too, but the codebase itself is not Swift-first, and the dependency list confirms that: Bolts for task management and OCMock for unit testing. ## The compatibility table is the real constraint The README carries a table mapping Xcode versions to SDK version ranges, and it is the most consequential thing on the page. Xcode 13 maps to SDK versions from 1.19.3 up to but not including 2.7.2. Xcode 14 maps to 2.7.2 through versions below 5.0.0. Xcode 15 covers 3.0.0 through 5.1.1. Xcode 16 requires 4.2.0 or later. Xcode 26 requires 6.2.0 or later. Each row also lists an End-of-Support date, with Xcode 16 and Xcode 26 marked tbd. That structure tells you how upgrades work in practice. The project follows Apple's annual Xcode release schedule and supports the current and previous major Xcode version, so a new Xcode generation can raise the minimum SDK version you must adopt. The table also shows an odd overlap: Xcode 15 is listed as supporting SDK 3.0.0 through 5.1.1, while Xcode 16 starts at 4.2.0, so the ranges are not a clean partition. Read the table as guidance about which SDK builds are exercised against which Xcode, not as a promise that every combination in a row has been validated. Parse Server compatibility is stated far more loosely. The table gives one row: SDK 1.0.0 and later is compatible with Parse Server 1.0.0 and later. That is a broad claim covering years of server releases, and the README does not break it down further. ## Installing via Swift Package Manager and making a first request The README names Swift Package Manager as the easiest install path and gives four steps: open Xcode, choose File > Add packages, add the package URL, then select the submodules you want. The URL is the repository itself. The README does not document a CocoaPods or Carthage command, even though cocoapods appears in the repository topics, so treat SPM as the path the project documents. In Xcode the sequence is: ```bash https://github.com/parse-community/Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX ``` Paste that URL into the package search field. Xcode resolves the package and shows the submodules; the README says to choose the ones you want rather than pulling everything. After the package resolves, the README points to the public documentation and API reference for actual usage, and does not include a code sample of its own. That is a real gap for a first run: the README tells you where to get the SDK and where to read about it, but the shortest path to a working call is the docs site, not the repository front page. The ParseStarterProject/ directory in the repository is the other place to look for a wired-up example. Note also that the repository's package.json is not the SDK's package manifest. It exists for release tooling (semantic-release and its plugins) and is marked "private": true. The Swift manifest is Package.swift at the repository root, and it is the file Xcode actually reads. ## Where this SDK is the wrong choice The clearest limitation is the platform list. The SDK targets iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS. Android is not among them, and people searching for the Android counterpart are looking at a different project. If your product ships on Android as well as iOS, this SDK covers only half of it. The second limitation is the coupling to Xcode. Because support is defined per Xcode generation and the project tracks the current and previous major version, an old Xcode install eventually falls outside the supported window. The table's End-of-Support column makes that explicit for Xcode 13, 14 and 15. A team that cannot move off an older Xcode is pinned to an older SDK range, and the README does not describe a long-term support branch for those rows. The third is the backend assumption. Nothing here works without a Parse Server. If you want a managed backend with no server to operate, this is the wrong layer of the stack, and the README offers no hosted alternative. One more thing the README does not document: rollback. There is no stated procedure for reverting an SDK upgrade if a version bump breaks a build, and no deprecation policy beyond the compatibility table. ## How it compares with writing your own REST client The obvious alternative is skipping the SDK and calling the Parse Server REST API directly with URLSession. The difference is what you take on. The SDK bundles Bolts for task management, which shapes how asynchronous work is composed, and it ships a separate ParseLiveQuery/ component for live queries. A hand-written client would have to reproduce the request signing, the object and query model, and the live-query connection handling itself. The trade-off runs the other way too. A direct REST client has no version window tied to Xcode, no transitive dependency on Bolts, and no release cadence to track. The SDK is worth its dependencies when you use enough of the object model and live queries to justify them. For a small app that reads a handful of objects, the SDK is a large surface to adopt for a small need, and the README does not offer a slimmed-down configuration beyond choosing submodules at install time. ## Maintenance, releases and the licence question The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-09-13. Recent releases are 6.1.1 on 2025-11-19, 6.1.0 on 2025-11-18 and 6.0.1 on 2025-11-17, three releases within three days, which is consistent with the automated release tooling configured in package.json and the .releaserc/ directory. The CHANGELOG.md at the repository root is where the per-release detail lives. Upgrade cost is dominated by the Xcode table rather than by the release notes. Each new Xcode generation can shift the minimum SDK version, so the practical work is re-resolving the package and confirming your project still builds under the new row. The README does not describe a migration guide for jumping between major SDK versions. On licensing, the repository's licence is reported as NOASSERTION, meaning GitHub could not classify it automatically. The README's badge links to a LICENSE file and labels it BSD, and a separate PATENTS file sits at the root. The README also links an Open Collective page for backers and sponsors, which is funding, not licensing. Read the LICENSE and PATENTS files themselves before you rely on either; this is not legal advice, and the badge text is not the licence. ## Conclusion Use Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX if you run or plan to run Parse Server and want one client for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV, and if your Xcode version is on the compatibility table. Do not adopt it if you have no Parse Server to talk to, or if you need a platform the SDK does not target. Before starting, confirm two things: the Parse Server version you run, and the Xcode row your project falls under, because the SDK's supported version window is defined by Xcode generation rather than by a single minimum OS number. ## FAQ ### What is Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX? It is the Apple SDK for the Parse Platform, described in the README as a library that gives iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS apps access to a Parse Server backend. The repository's primary language is Objective-C. ### How do I install Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX? The README's easiest path is Swift Package Manager: in Xcode choose File > Add packages, add the repository URL, add the package, then choose the submodules you want. The README does not give a CocoaPods command. ### What is SDK for iOS? In this project's case, the SDK is the client library that connects an Apple-platform app to Parse Server. It is not a backend and does not run on its own; the README states it provides access to a Parse Server backend. ### What is the latest iOS SDK version of Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX? The most recent release listed is 6.1.1, published on 2025-11-19. The README's compatibility table notes that Xcode 26 requires SDK 6.2.0 or later. ### Can I use Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX without a Parse Server? No. The README describes the SDK as a way to access a Parse Server backend, so a server instance has to exist for the SDK to talk to. The README does not document a hosted or serverless mode. ## Sources - [Issues](https://github.com/parse-community/Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX/issues) - [parse-community/Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX on GitHub](https://github.com/parse-community/Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX) - [Project website](https://parseplatform.org) - [README](https://github.com/parse-community/Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX/blob/master/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/parse-community/Parse-SDK-iOS-OSX/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/parse-community-parse-sdk-ios-osx