> One thing I don't understand is why Apple didn't just symlink the various binaries into the Xcode app if the Xcode app is installed, instead of having to down

> One thing I don't understand is why Apple didn't just symlink the various binaries into the Xcode app if the Xcode app is installed, instead of having to download another 170MB file. Probably consistency. If Xcode symlinked its binaries, then either the CLI Tools team and the Xcode team have to sync all of their releases up, or what version of the tools you have will depend on whether you installed Xcode or the CLI Tools (or, if you installed both, the order in which you installed them), and projects like Homebrew would have to account for both scenarios. Far easier to have everyone using the CLI tools using the version the CLI team is putting out, and letting the Xcode team just worry about shipping the versions they need for Xcode, and not supporting other usage scenarios. edit: even if the CLI Tools never ship a release except at the same time as an Xcode release, it's still one fewer scenario to QA.