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iOS & macOS Development by @tristanmanchester

ios-simulator

Automate iOS Simulator workflows (simctl + idb): create/boot/erase devices, install/launch apps

iOS Simulator Automation

This skill provides a Node-only CLI wrapper around:

  • xcrun simctl for simulator/device/app management
  • idb for accessibility-tree inspection + synthesised UI input (tap/text/button)

It is designed for AI agents: minimal, structured output by default, with opt-in detail.

Important constraints

  • Must run on macOS with Xcode Command Line Tools (or Xcode) available.
  • If the ClawdBot gateway is not macOS, run these commands on a connected macOS node (see “Remote macOS node” below).
  • idb is optional, but required for UI tree / semantic tapping. (Install steps below.)

Quick start

# 1) Sanity check
node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs health

# 2) List simulators (compact)
node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs list

# 3) Select a default simulator (writes .ios-sim-state.json in the current dir)
node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs select --name "iPhone" --runtime "iOS" --boot

# 4) Install + launch an .app
node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs app install --app path/to/MyApp.app
node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs app launch --bundle-id com.example.MyApp

# 5) Inspect current UI (requires idb)
node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs ui summary
node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs ui tap --query "Log in"
node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs ui type --text "hello world"

# 6) Screenshot
node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs screenshot --out artifacts/screen.png

Remote macOS node

If you are not on macOS, run the same commands on the macOS node using ClawdBot’s node execution (e.g. exec with host: node / node tools). Ensure the skill folder exists on that node, or copy it there.

Output conventions (token-efficient)

  • Default output: single-line JSON (small summary object).
  • Add --pretty to pretty-print JSON.
  • Add --text for a short human-readable summary (when provided by the command).
  • Commands that can be huge (ui tree, list --full) are opt-in.

State / default UDID

select writes a state file (default: ./.ios-sim-state.json) that stores the chosen UDID. All commands accept --udid <UUID> and otherwise fall back to the state file.

Override location with:

  • IOS_SIM_STATE_FILE=/path/to/state.json

Dependency notes

Xcode / simctl availability

If xcrun cannot find simctl, ensure Xcode CLI tools are selected (via Xcode settings or xcode-select) and run the first-launch setup:

  • xcodebuild -runFirstLaunch

idb (for accessibility automation)

Install idb_companion and the idb CLI:

brew tap facebook/fb
brew install idb-companion
python3 -m pip install --upgrade fb-idb

Safety tiers

Tier Commands Notes
SAFE list, health, boot, shutdown, screenshot, ui * No data loss
CAUTION privacy *, push, clipboard *, openurl Alters simulator/app state
DANGEROUS erase, delete Requires --yes

Command index

All commands live under:

node {baseDir}/scripts/ios-sim.mjs <command> [subcommand] [flags]

Core simulator lifecycle

  • list [--full]
  • select --name <substr> [--runtime <substr>] [--boot]
  • boot [--udid <uuid>] [--wait]
  • shutdown [--udid <uuid>|--all]
  • erase --yes [--udid <uuid>|--all]
  • delete --yes [--udid <uuid>]
  • create --name <name> --device-type <substr> --runtime <substr>

App management

  • app install --app <path/to/App.app> [--udid ...]
  • app uninstall --bundle-id <id> [--udid ...]
  • app launch --bundle-id <id> [--udid ...] [-- <args...>]
  • app terminate --bundle-id <id> [--udid ...]
  • app container --bundle-id <id> [--type data|app] [--udid ...]

Screenshots & video

  • screenshot --out <file.png> [--udid ...]
  • record-video --out <file.mp4> [--udid ...] (runs until Ctrl+C)

Clipboard / URL

  • clipboard get [--udid ...]
  • clipboard set --text <text> [--udid ...]
  • openurl --url <url> [--udid ...]

Simulator permissions & push notifications

  • privacy grant --bundle-id <id> --service <svc[,svc...]> [--udid ...]
  • privacy revoke --bundle-id <id> --service <svc[,svc...]> [--udid ...]
  • privacy reset --bundle-id <id> --service <svc[,svc...]> [--udid ...]
  • push --bundle-id <id> --payload <json-string> [--udid ...]

Logs

  • logs show [--last 5m] [--predicate <expr>] [--udid ...]

Accessibility-driven UI automation (requires idb)

  • ui summary [--limit 12]
  • ui tree (full UI JSON array)
  • ui find --query <text> [--limit 20]
  • ui tap --query <text> (find + tap best match)
  • ui tap --x <num> --y <num> (raw coordinate tap)
  • ui type --text <text>
  • ui button --name HOME|LOCK|SIRI|SIDE_BUTTON|APPLE_PAY

Troubleshooting

See: references/TROUBLESHOOTING.md