Install Swift on Ubuntu

Step 1: Update the system

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

• apt update refreshes the package list.
• apt upgrade installs newer versions of the installed packages.

Step 2: Install the dependencies

sudo apt install clang libpython3-dev libncurses-dev libxml2-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libedit-dev libsqlite3-dev

clang is the compiler Swift uses. The other packages are libraries the toolchain needs. Check the Swift site for the exact list for your release.

Step 3: Download Swift

Get the toolchain for your Ubuntu version from swift.org. This example uses Swift 5.10.1 for Ubuntu 22.04:

wget https://download.swift.org/swift-5.10.1-release/ubuntu2204/swift-5.10.1-RELEASE/swift-5.10.1-RELEASE-ubuntu22.04.tar.gz

Step 4: Extract the archive

tar -xzf swift-5.10.1-RELEASE-ubuntu22.04.tar.gz

Step 5: Move it to a system folder

sudo mv swift-5.10.1-RELEASE-ubuntu22.04 /usr/share/swift

Step 6: Add Swift to PATH

echo 'export PATH=/usr/share/swift/usr/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc

Load the change:

source ~/.bashrc

Step 7: Check the version

swift --version

Quick recap

• Install clang and the libraries.
• Download and extract the toolchain, then move it to /usr/share/swift.
• Add its usr/bin folder to PATH and run swift --version.