How can one link to the system Python2 framework? To fix the error, You can get the python framework by installing Python 2 Release. Such as downloading 2.7.18 at: https://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.7.18/python-2.7.18-macosx10.9.pkg Install Python package, and then add the /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/ to project. The framework embedded in the built App bundle will takes up about 359MB of disk space. BTW, If you only want to use the Xcode Python raw library locally and don't want to consume such the large space, making a dynamic library from Python source code would be a better choice. Such as downloading 2.7.18 at: https://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.7.18/Python-2.7.18.tar.xz ./configure --enable-shared make After make is finished, drag the Python.dylib into the project.