iOS Simulator Skill

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](references/TROUBLESHOOTING.md)