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BytesAgain โ€บ Skills โ€บ iOS Simulator Skill
๐Ÿฆ€ ClawHub

iOS Simulator Skill

by @tristanmanchester

21 production-ready scripts for iOS app testing, building, and automation. Provides semantic UI navigation, build automation, accessibility testing, and simulator lifecycle management. Optimized for AI agents with minimal token output.

Versionv0.1.2
Downloads4,274
Installs20
Starsโญ 2
#crypto-defi#writing#legal#automation#productivity
TERMINAL
clawhub install ios-simulator

๐Ÿ“– About This Skill

name: ios-simulator description: Automate iOS Simulator workflows (simctl + idb): create/boot/erase devices, install/launch apps, push notifications, privacy grants, screenshots, and accessibility-based UI navigation. Use when working with iOS apps, Xcode, Simulator, simctl, idb, UI automation, or iOS testing. metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"๐Ÿ“ฑ","os":["darwin"],"requires":{"bins":["xcrun"]},"install":[{"brew":{"formula":"idb-companion","bins":["idb_companion"],"tap":"facebook/fb"}}]}}

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 โ€œRemote macOS nodeโ€ 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 ClawdBotโ€™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 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  [subcommand] [flags]

    Core simulator lifecycle

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

    • App management

  • app install --app [--udid ...]
  • app uninstall --bundle-id [--udid ...]
  • app launch --bundle-id [--udid ...] [-- ]
  • app terminate --bundle-id [--udid ...]
  • app container --bundle-id [--type data|app] [--udid ...]

    • Screenshots & video

  • screenshot --out [--udid ...]
  • record-video --out [--udid ...] (runs until Ctrl+C)

    • Clipboard / URL

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

    • Simulator permissions & push notifications

  • privacy grant --bundle-id --service [--udid ...]
  • privacy revoke --bundle-id --service [--udid ...]
  • privacy reset --bundle-id --service [--udid ...]
  • push --bundle-id --payload [--udid ...]

    • Logs

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

    • Accessibility-driven UI automation (requires idb)

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

    • Troubleshooting

    See: references/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

    ๐Ÿ’ก Examples

    # 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

    ๐Ÿ“‹ Tips & Best Practices