[BUG] .NET MAUI endlessly stuck on 'Xcode: verifying environment'

Describe the Issue

I am not able to start debugging my .Net Maui project due to the .Net Maui never finishing initialization. It remains endlessly stuck on the notification 'Xcode: verifying environment' When trying "Run and Debug", the .Net Maui Debugger isn't even available:

Opening the same project with Visual Studio for Mac, I have no problem building and deploying it to either a simulator or my iPad. Running the task 'Refresh Apple environment' yields an error: But I have no idea what to do about it. I had adhered to the installation instructions, but the error remains. Xcode 15.2 meanwhile is installed:

And as I said: Visual Studio for Mac still happily compiles the solution with the aid of Xcode.

Steps To Reproduce

Open a Maui project
Extension endlessly gets stuck on 'Xcode: verifying environment'

Expected Behavior

I'd hope to be able to run & debug my Maui app with the help of the extension

Environment Information

MacOS Sonoma (14.4.1)
dotnet --version -> 8.0.202

dotnet workload list output:

Installed Workload Id      Manifest Version       Installation Source
---------------------------------------------------------------------
maui-ios                   8.0.7/8.0.100          SDK 8.0.200        
wasi-experimental          8.0.4/8.0.100          SDK 8.0.200        
ios                        17.2.8053/8.0.100      SDK 8.0.200        
maui                       8.0.7/8.0.100          SDK 8.0.200        
android                    34.0.95/8.0.100        SDK 8.0.200

xcode-select -p --> /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
xcode-select --install --> note: Command line tools are already installed. Use "Software Update" in System Settings or the softwareupdate command line interface to install updates
.Net Maui Extension: 0.12.17
C# Dev Kit extension: v1.6.8

Output of .NET MAUI tab in VS Code:


Java SDK path to be used: /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/microsoft-21.jdk/Contents/Home
Android SDK path to be used: /Users/ddhschmidt/Library/Developer/Xamarin/android-sdk-macosx

Android components:

Java SDK: installed version '21.0.3'

Android SDK recommended required components:
platforms/android-34: installed version '1'
build-tools/34.0.0: installed version '34.0.0'
platform-tools: installed version '35.0.1'
cmdline-tools/11.0: installed version '12.0'

Android SDK recommended optional components:
emulator: installed version '31.2.7'
system-images/android-34/google_apis/x86_64: installed version '8'

Whenever I try to execute the task 'Refresh Apple environment' the output gets appended one line: "Apple platform failed with an unexpected error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.. Please verify the Xcode installation." | VS Bug 2095190

I had the same issue - deleting almost all my simulators in Xcode seems to have resolved it (Window|Devices and Simulators|Simulators) - select old ones and right-click to delete. I had lot there.

I debugged by going to ~/Library/Application Support/Code/logs and deleting all the log folders, then launching vs-code, waiting for it to hang on Xcode: verifying environment and searching the logs for Xcode. This took me to 0240526T093247/window1/exthost/ms-dotnettools.csdevkit/ServiceHub/4B2C793E-Microsoft.VisualStudio.Maui.Devices.AppleDeviceManager-60217-elwty2to-1.log and the last lines were

05/26/2024 09:32:55 Central European Standard Time : Information : [AppleDeviceManager] Process: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/xcodebuild -license check
05/26/2024 09:32:55 Central European Standard Time : Information : [AppleDeviceManager] Start Watching, initial refresh...
05/26/2024 09:32:55 Central European Standard Time : Information : [AppleDeviceManager] Refreshing devices (WaitForNetwork=False)
05/26/2024 09:32:55 Central European Standard Time : Information : [AppleDeviceManager] Process: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/xcdevice list --timeout=2

So I decided that the listing of the devices/simulators might be the issue - which led me to deleting almost all my simulators. And that worked.

If you decide to try this, perhaps save the results of executing /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/xcdevice list --timeout=2 to help the team debug (too late for me).

Edit: I had the same problem on another device: xcdevice list --timeout=2 output attached, prior to trimming xdevice list.txt

I've been experiencing this for over a month and the solution provided by @DamianMehers finally solved it!

In my case, the system is stuck on /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/simctl list, and calling that returns a list of devices including ones that maps to old sdk which has already been deleted from my system. While I have no idea how to verify this, My suspicion is that this reference to deleted old sdk might be the cause of this issue.

-- Unavailable: com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-15-5 --
    iPhone 8 (72848836-62C4-43E7-82CB-411777907839) (Shutdown) (unavailable, runtime profile not found using "System" match policy)
    iPhone 8 Plus (37548187-0D86-4EBE-8CF6-124A03EEAC3B) (Shutdown) (unavailable, runtime profile not found using "System" match policy)
    iPhone 11 (83E79B53-DFC5-43F6-A094-9B55120BAAA5) (Shutdown) (unavailable, runtime profile not found using "System" match policy)
    iPhone 11 Pro (D0B2ECBC-1B52-4A95-AEA9-4F6D746B7D2D) (Shutdown) (unavailable, runtime profile not found using "System" match policy)
== Device Pairs ==
34B08431-A7DF-4E8F-B930-A05E4F62B761 (unavailable)
    Watch: Apple Watch Series 5 - 40mm (944FBC7D-4077-4340-8BBF-E18A063786AD) (Shutdown)
    Phone: iPhone 11 Pro (CE9BBCA8-6592-4E3F-89E2-C5D02A375073) (Shutdown)

After cleaning up the old simulator devices and restarting computer, the extension finally completed resolving the issue

I have the same issue and will try the proposed solution in near future. Unitil then here is my list of simulators produced by /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/xcdevice list --timeout=2:

2024-05-28 09:57:55.751 xcdevice[42552:1116143] DVTDeviceOperation: 00008301-08966291020BC02E: skipping implicit preparation because autoConnectStyle == onDemand 2024-05-28 09:57:55.751 xcdevice[42552:1116215] DVTDeviceOperation: 00008120-0012149A1433401E: skipping implicit preparation because autoConnectStyle == ignored 2024-05-28 09:57:55.752 xcdevice[42552:1116216] DVTDeviceOperation: 00008103-001554562607C01E: skipping implicit preparation because autoConnectStyle == ignored 2024-05-28 09:57:55.753 xcdevice[42552:1116216] DVTDeviceOperation: 00008103-001554562607C01E: skipping implicit preparation because autoConnectStyle == ignored 2024-05-28 09:57:55.753 xcdevice[42552:1116143] DVTDeviceOperation: 00008301-08966291020BC02E: skipping implicit preparation because autoConnectStyle == onDemand 2024-05-28 09:57:55.753 xcdevice[42552:1116215] DVTDeviceOperation: 00008120-0012149A1433401E: skipping implicit preparation because autoConnectStyle == ignored [ { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone15,5", "identifier" : "97CCED11-6E11-4B8C-AB9A-0C4BA184F010", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-15-plus-1", "modelName" : "iPhone 15 Plus", "name" : "iPhone 15 Plus", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad13,18", "identifier" : "932990A2-19EF-405F-8D7B-472994B2AE1F", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-10-1", "modelName" : "iPad (10th generation)", "name" : "iPad (10th generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,9", "identifier" : "7B2AB696-5194-4E4E-A7F1-8B061BD693D8", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-air-m2-1", "modelName" : "iPad Air 11-inch (M2)", "name" : "iPad Air 11-inch (M2)", "ignored" : false }, { "ignored" : false, "modelCode" : "Watch6,15", "simulator" : false, "modelName" : "Apple Watch Series 8", "operatingSystemVersion" : "10.3.1 (21S651)", "identifier" : "00008301-08966291020BC02E", "platform" : "com.apple.platform.watchos", "architecture" : "arm64_32", "interface" : "usb", "available" : true, "name" : "Apple Watch för Jonas", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.watch-series8-1" }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone14,6", "identifier" : "66582E5C-DCE1-4B75-A277-A878BEC690B3", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-se3-1", "modelName" : "iPhone SE (3rd generation)", "name" : "iPhone SE (3rd generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,3", "identifier" : "4E1E9020-20A5-4E00-B589-0B69819F7B99", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-pro-11-4th-1", "modelName" : "iPad Pro (11-inch) (4th generation)", "name" : "iPad Pro (11-inch) (4th generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,9", "identifier" : "4ADC21E2-17F3-4AF3-A509-15B0F162CED8", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-air-m2-1", "modelName" : "iPad Air 11-inch (M2)", "name" : "iPad Air 11-inch (M2)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad16,4", "identifier" : "37C8E56E-2A4B-4E82-87F5-B7BFD0BF428B", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-pro-m4-1", "modelName" : "iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)", "name" : "iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone16,2", "identifier" : "32B2655D-9CDD-437B-873A-09B59816DFE0", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-15-pro-max-1", "modelName" : "iPhone 15 Pro Max", "name" : "iPhone 15 Pro Max", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone14,6", "identifier" : "9F74B9A4-C19C-4ACB-BE5C-8CD173791051", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-se3-1", "modelName" : "iPhone SE (3rd generation)", "name" : "iPhone SE (3rd generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,1", "identifier" : "384EBF83-BF4B-4549-9390-194AB0588D86", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-mini6-1", "modelName" : "iPad mini (6th generation)", "name" : "iPad mini (6th generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,3", "identifier" : "D41D7690-4ECB-4E96-B8B4-8F4C320C63E3", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-pro-11-4th-1", "modelName" : "iPad Pro (11-inch) (4th generation)", "name" : "iPad Pro (11-inch) (4th generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,5", "identifier" : "7BF36711-1F1E-44BD-B0E0-68285E10D8E4", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-pro-12point9-6th-1", "modelName" : "iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (6th generation)", "name" : "iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (6th generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "ignored" : false, "modelCode" : "iPhone15,2", "simulator" : false, "modelName" : "iPhone 14 Pro", "error" : { "code" : -27, "failureReason" : "", "description" : "Browsing on the local area network for Jonass iPhone 14 Pro", "recoverySuggestion" : "Ensure the device is unlocked and attached with a cable or associated with the same local area network as this Mac.\nThe device must be opted into Developer Mode to connect wirelessly.", "domain" : "com.apple.dt.deviceprep" }, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4.1 (21E236)", "identifier" : "00008120-0012149A1433401E", "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphoneos", "architecture" : "arm64e", "interface" : "usb", "available" : false, "name" : "Jonass iPhone 14 Pro", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-14-pro-1" }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad13,17", "identifier" : "6D7E2300-ADA7-425B-BAC3-45DB15A27830", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-air5-1", "modelName" : "iPad Air (5th generation)", "name" : "iPad Air (5th generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone15,5", "identifier" : "37F4F779-BFAA-4C56-B0E0-CBDC5727830E", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-15-plus-1", "modelName" : "iPhone 15 Plus", "name" : "iPhone 15 Plus", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad13,17", "identifier" : "A69FA560-D999-4FAE-953B-33AF924A9834", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-air5-1", "modelName" : "iPad Air (5th generation)", "name" : "iPad Air (5th generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone16,1", "identifier" : "E075EEF0-4436-4EDB-AD65-A77038B025A1", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-15-pro-1", "modelName" : "iPhone 15 Pro", "name" : "iPhone 15 Pro", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad16,6", "identifier" : "9CF418BC-4E59-456C-B7F1-E6230DF8FEF3", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-pro-m4-13-1", "modelName" : "iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)", "name" : "iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone15,4", "identifier" : "6B976E38-5BB8-4951-9FD4-D8DC6B8648EE", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-15-1", "modelName" : "iPhone 15", "name" : "iPhone 15", "ignored" : false }, { "ignored" : false, "modelCode" : "MacBookPro18,2", "simulator" : false, "modelName" : "MacBook Pro", "operatingSystemVersion" : "14.5 (23F79)", "identifier" : "00006001-001C183C2202801E", "platform" : "com.apple.platform.macosx", "architecture" : "arm64e", "interface" : "usb", "available" : true, "name" : "My Mac", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.macbookpro-16-2021" }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad16,4", "identifier" : "5ADCE405-6BF6-454D-8136-471E6C260C64", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-pro-m4-1", "modelName" : "iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)", "name" : "iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone15,4", "identifier" : "260D9CD9-505D-43CB-8100-DD49C415DD49", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-15-1", "modelName" : "iPhone 15", "name" : "iPhone 15", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,11", "identifier" : "59CD9019-B6EE-44B9-8819-E1325CAB0553", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-air-m2-13-1", "modelName" : "iPad Air 13-inch (M2)", "name" : "iPad Air 13-inch (M2)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad16,6", "identifier" : "115034E1-1158-45FC-B2EE-2615ABC898F6", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-pro-m4-13-1", "modelName" : "iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)", "name" : "iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,5", "identifier" : "2C7E1D04-9DC5-4005-8215-3118A60111D2", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-pro-12point9-6th-1", "modelName" : "iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (6th generation)", "name" : "iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (6th generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone16,1", "identifier" : "4AE494CA-8F3E-4C24-A688-CD13F78675E0", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-15-pro-1", "modelName" : "iPhone 15 Pro", "name" : "iPhone 15 Pro", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPhone16,2", "identifier" : "2D4B21A2-4EEB-4294-B58F-1C7EF7E0BF42", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.iphone-15-pro-max-1", "modelName" : "iPhone 15 Pro Max", "name" : "iPhone 15 Pro Max", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,11", "identifier" : "91DD2777-95C1-49D8-BF5B-8B487EE0107D", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-air-m2-13-1", "modelName" : "iPad Air 13-inch (M2)", "name" : "iPad Air 13-inch (M2)", "ignored" : false }, { "ignored" : false, "modelCode" : "iPad13,16", "simulator" : false, "modelName" : "iPad Air (5th generation)", "error" : { "code" : -27, "failureReason" : "", "description" : "Browsing on the local area network for Jonas iPad Air", "recoverySuggestion" : "Ensure the device is unlocked and attached with a cable or associated with the same local area network as this Mac.\nThe device must be opted into Developer Mode to connect wirelessly.", "domain" : "com.apple.dt.deviceprep" }, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4.1 (21E236)", "identifier" : "00008103-001554562607C01E", "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphoneos", "architecture" : "arm64e", "interface" : "usb", "available" : false, "name" : "Jonas iPad Air", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-air5-1" }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.4 (21E213)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad14,1", "identifier" : "1286AB1A-1E49-468F-BD9D-E00636F70D8D", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-mini6-1", "modelName" : "iPad mini (6th generation)", "name" : "iPad mini (6th generation)", "ignored" : false }, { "simulator" : true, "operatingSystemVersion" : "17.5 (21F79)", "available" : true, "platform" : "com.apple.platform.iphonesimulator", "modelCode" : "iPad13,18", "identifier" : "8A0C7841-52C2-489D-8388-C7A6CD7D9C51", "architecture" : "arm64", "modelUTI" : "com.apple.ipad-10-1", "modelName" : "iPad (10th generation)", "name" : "iPad (10th generation)", "ignored" : false }

Thanks for the suggestions. I had indeed 35 simulators in my Xcode list under "simulators". Manually executing xcdevice list --timeout=2 executed in under 10 seconds on my machine, though. Nevertheless I deleted all but 5 simulators from Xcode, rebooted the machine and... nothing changed. VSCode still gets stuck endlessly on "Xcode: verifying environment" -_-°

Following @DamianMehers suggestion I searched all the logs under Library/Application Support/Code/logs for "xcode" and found 1 file: ~/Application Support/Code/logs/20240528T173530/window1/exthost/ms-dotnettools.csdevkit/ServiceHub/6B580919-Microsoft.VisualStudio.Maui.Devices.AppleDeviceManager-1364-lvneuuul-1.log

The last line reads: ... [AppleDeviceManager] Process: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/simctl list Executing simctl list manually from a terminal window resolves instantly.

I'm still left wondering why the VsCode MAUI extension hangs on my machine?

In my case, /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/simctl list also executed instantly, but shows a lot of simulators even though its no longer listed in the xocde "Devices and Simulators"

Looking at path /Users/[username]/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices I saw a lot of devices there, and a lot of entries for previous sdks as well on the device_set.plist

These are snippet of outputs on what I saw using command simctl list

-- Unavailable: com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-15-5 --
    iPhone 8 (72848836-62C4-43E7-82CB-411777907839) (Shutdown) (unavailable, runtime profile not found using "System" match policy)
    iPhone 8 Plus (37548187-0D86-4EBE-8CF6-124A03EEAC3B) (Shutdown) (unavailable, runtime profile not found using "System" match policy)
    iPhone 11 (83E79B53-DFC5-43F6-A094-9B55120BAAA5) (Shutdown) (unavailable, runtime profile not found using "System" match policy)
    iPhone 11 Pro (D0B2ECBC-1B52-4A95-AEA9-4F6D746B7D2D) (Shutdown) (unavailable, runtime profile not found using "System" match policy)
== Device Pairs ==
34B08431-A7DF-4E8F-B930-A05E4F62B761 (unavailable)
    Watch: Apple Watch Series 5 - 40mm (944FBC7D-4077-4340-8BBF-E18A063786AD) (Shutdown)
    Phone: iPhone 11 Pro (CE9BBCA8-6592-4E3F-89E2-C5D02A375073) (Shutdown)

So after that I did:

Delete all simulators that are not latest version (iOS 17.5 for me)
Modified device_set.plist to remove all default device & device pairs except for 17.5
Restarted the computer
Ran simctl list again to make sure only iOS 17.5 devices are showing and there is no longer "unavailable" devices
Opened vscode to see it working

@krisna360 Thanks for the heads up. A simctl delete unavailable with a subsequent restart did indeed resolve the never ending wait for 'Xcode: verifying environment' 🥳

The next problem is that every third or fourth time I try to debug on my physical device it says "Can't select debug target" and I already see that there are half a dozen different bugs open for that... 🙄

Still: This is very laborious and makes me think that the whole VSCode-plugins-pipeline is more fragile than a snowflake in hell.

Let's just say: I'd feel much safer if the person who decided "Hell yeah, let's boot Visual Studio for Mac for this piece of quality softare right now!" would never get near the .Net Maui ecosystem ever again...

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/simctl delete unavailable and a mac restart solved it for me!

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. Please take into account that .NET MAUI has been removed from the debuggers list when you press F5, since we are now integrated into the C# debugger entry. That said, we'll review the simulator cases and get back with more info.

Just as a note to others with this problem, xcrun simctl delete unavailable worked for me where other commands listed here did not.

microsoft / vscode-dotnettools