diff --git a/.github/workflows/cli-release-build.yml b/.github/workflows/cli-release-build.yml
index a7ea66bfef..2095173d1b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cli-release-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cli-release-build.yml
@@ -219,6 +219,35 @@ jobs:
           mkdir -p "$LEGACY_DIR/ripgrep"
           tar -xzf "$LEGACY_DIR/ripgrep.tar.gz" \
             -C "$LEGACY_DIR/ripgrep" --strip-components=1
+
+          # Select a usable Xcode with clang before cargo needs a C linker.
+          # Some runner images leave a broken default (e.g. Xcode_15.4 without clang).
+          DEVELOPER_DIR=""
+          CANDIDATES=()
+          while IFS= read -r app; do
+            CANDIDATES+=("$app")
+          done < <(ls -1d /Applications/Xcode_*.app 2>/dev/null | sort -V -r || true)
+          if [[ -d /Applications/Xcode.app ]]; then
+            CANDIDATES+=("/Applications/Xcode.app")
+          fi
+          for app in "${CANDIDATES[@]}"; do
+            if [[ -x "$app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/clang" ]]; then
+              DEVELOPER_DIR="$app/Contents/Developer"
+              break
+            fi
+          done
+          if [[ -z "$DEVELOPER_DIR" ]]; then
+            echo "error: no Xcode app with an executable clang under /Applications" >&2
+            echo "Available apps:" >&2
+            ls -la /Applications/Xcode*.app 2>/dev/null || echo "(none)" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          sudo xcode-select -s "$DEVELOPER_DIR"
+          export DEVELOPER_DIR
+          echo "Selected DEVELOPER_DIR=$DEVELOPER_DIR"
+          xcodebuild -version
+          clang --version
+
           pushd "$LEGACY_DIR/ripgrep"
           MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=11.0 cargo build --release --locked
           popd
@@ -239,6 +268,35 @@ jobs:
             https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/archive/refs/tags/14.1.1.tar.gz
           tar -xzf "$RG_DIR/ripgrep.tar.gz" \
             -C "$RG_DIR/source" --strip-components=1
+
+          # Select a usable Xcode with clang before cargo needs a C linker.
+          # Some runner images leave a broken default (e.g. Xcode_15.4 without clang).
+          DEVELOPER_DIR=""
+          CANDIDATES=()
+          while IFS= read -r app; do
+            CANDIDATES+=("$app")
+          done < <(ls -1d /Applications/Xcode_*.app 2>/dev/null | sort -V -r || true)
+          if [[ -d /Applications/Xcode.app ]]; then
+            CANDIDATES+=("/Applications/Xcode.app")
+          fi
+          for app in "${CANDIDATES[@]}"; do
+            if [[ -x "$app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/clang" ]]; then
+              DEVELOPER_DIR="$app/Contents/Developer"
+              break
+            fi
+          done
+          if [[ -z "$DEVELOPER_DIR" ]]; then
+            echo "error: no Xcode app with an executable clang under /Applications" >&2
+            echo "Available apps:" >&2
+            ls -la /Applications/Xcode*.app 2>/dev/null || echo "(none)" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          sudo xcode-select -s "$DEVELOPER_DIR"
+          export DEVELOPER_DIR
+          echo "Selected DEVELOPER_DIR=$DEVELOPER_DIR"
+          xcodebuild -version
+          clang --version
+
           pushd "$RG_DIR/source"
           MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=13.0 cargo build --release --locked
           popd
diff --git a/scripts/__tests__/release-workflow.test.ts b/scripts/__tests__/release-workflow.test.ts
index f924d4ec49..1a93290fa4 100644
--- a/scripts/__tests__/release-workflow.test.ts
+++ b/scripts/__tests__/release-workflow.test.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@ const workflow = readFileSync(
   'utf8',
 )
 
+const buildWorkflow = readFileSync(
+  resolve(import.meta.dir, '../../.github/workflows/cli-release-build.yml'),
+  'utf8',
+)
+
 describe('production release workflow', () => {
   test('builds the committed release source before creating its tag', () => {
     const prepareStart = workflow.indexOf('  prepare-and-commit-prod:')
@@ -42,3 +47,32 @@ describe('production release workflow', () => {
     expect(workflow).toContain('test "$existing_commit" = "$RELEASE_COMMIT"')
   })
 })
+
+describe('CLI release build workflow', () => {
+  test('selects a usable Xcode before macOS cargo builds that need a C linker', () => {
+    const legacyStep = 'Prepare macOS 11 legacy toolchain'
+    const intelRipgrepStep = 'Rebuild Intel ripgrep for macOS 13'
+    const legacyStart = buildWorkflow.indexOf(legacyStep)
+    const intelStart = buildWorkflow.indexOf(intelRipgrepStep)
+    const legacyCargo = buildWorkflow.indexOf(
+      'MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=11.0 cargo build --release --locked',
+    )
+    const intelCargo = buildWorkflow.indexOf(
+      'MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=13.0 cargo build --release --locked',
+    )
+
+    expect(legacyStart).toBeGreaterThan(-1)
+    expect(intelStart).toBeGreaterThan(-1)
+    expect(legacyCargo).toBeGreaterThan(legacyStart)
+    expect(intelCargo).toBeGreaterThan(intelStart)
+
+    const legacyBlock = buildWorkflow.slice(legacyStart, legacyCargo)
+    const intelBlock = buildWorkflow.slice(intelStart, intelCargo)
+
+    for (const block of [legacyBlock, intelBlock]) {
+      expect(block).toContain('xcode-select -s')
+      expect(block).toContain('export DEVELOPER_DIR')
+      expect(block).toContain('/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/clang')
+    }
+  })
+})