MCP Server for iOS Simulator: Seamless Testing & Flawless Performance

📱 MCP Server for iOS Simulator

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables LLMs to interact with iOS simulators through natural language commands.

ℹ️ Overview

This MCP server provides a bridge between Large Language Models (LLMs) and iOS simulators, offering comprehensive control through natural language commands. Here's what it can do:

🎮 Simulator Control

• Create and manage simulator sessions
• Boot, shutdown, and monitor simulator states
• List available and running simulators
• Focus simulator windows

📱 Application Management

• Install and manage iOS applications
• Launch, terminate, and uninstall apps
• Monitor app states and verify installations
• Handle app permissions and configurations

🖱️ UI Interaction & Testing

• Interact with the simulator UI
• Execute tap, swipe, and button press actions
• Input text and key sequences
• Access accessibility elements for UI testing
• Record videos of UI interactions

🛠️ Development & Debugging

• Capture screenshots and system logs
• Debug applications in real-time
• Monitor and analyze crash logs
• Install dynamic libraries and manage app data

⚡ Advanced Features

• Additional functionality includes:
  • Location simulation
  • Media injection
  • URL scheme handling
  • Contact database management
  • Keychain operations

For detailed usage, see the Installation guide and Supported Commands sections. You can use this server either through direct MCP integration or as a standalone library.

Check out the Architecture section to understand how the components work together to enable natural language control of iOS simulators.

📋 Requirements

• macOS : Required for iOS simulator support
• Node.js : v14.0.0 or higher
• Homebrew : Required for installing dependencies
• XCode : With iOS simulators installed

🚀 Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/arturonaredo/mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb.git
cd mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb

# Create and activate Python virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Unix/macOS

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Start the server
npm start

The installation process will automatically:

1. Check if you're running macOS
2. Install idb-companion via Homebrew
3. Install fb-idb via pip in the virtual environment

Note: Make sure to keep the virtual environment activated while using the server. If you close your terminal and come back later, you'll need to reactivate the virtual environment with the source venv/bin/activate command before running npm start.

🔌 MCP Integration

To use this server with Claude or other LLM assistants:

1. Add the server to your MCP settings in Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ios-simulator": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

2. The LLM can now use natural language commands to control iOS simulators:

create a simulator session with iPhone 14
install app /path/to/my-app.ipa
launch app com.example.myapp
tap at 100, 200
take a screenshot

📚 Usage as a Library

You can also use this package as a library in your own projects:

🔰 Basic Usage

import { createMCPServer } from 'mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb';

async function main() {
  // Create an instance of the MCP server
  const { orchestrator } = createMCPServer();
  
  // Process natural language commands
  
  // Create a simulator session
  const sessionResult = await orchestrator.processInstruction('create session');
  console.log(`Session created: ${sessionResult.data}`);
  
  // Interact with the simulator
  await orchestrator.processInstruction('tap at 100, 200');
  
  // Capture a screenshot
  const screenshotResult = await orchestrator.processInstruction('take screenshot');
  console.log(`Screenshot saved at: ${screenshotResult.data}`);
}

main().catch(console.error);

🚀 Advanced Usage

You can also use the individual components directly:

import { 
  IDBManager, 
  NLParser, 
  MCPOrchestrator,
  ParserToOrchestrator,
  OrchestratorToIDB
} from 'mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb';

// Create instances
const idbManager = new IDBManager();
const parser = new NLParser();
const orchestrator = new MCPOrchestrator(parser, idbManager);

// Use the components directly
const sessionId = await idbManager.createSimulatorSession({
  deviceName: 'iPhone 12',
  platformVersion: '15.0'
});

await idbManager.tap(sessionId, 100, 200);

🏗️ Project Structure

mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb/
├── src/                      # Source code
│   ├── adapters/             # Adapter components
│   ├── idb/                  # IDB manager implementation
│   ├── mcp/                  # MCP server implementation
│   ├── orchestrator/         # Command orchestrator
│   ├── parser/               # Natural language parser
│   └── index.ts              # Main entry point
├── dist/                     # Compiled JavaScript (after build)
├── types/                    # TypeScript type definitions
├── scripts/                  # Installation scripts
├── package.json              # Project configuration
└── tsconfig.json             # TypeScript configuration

🎯 Supported Commands

The NLParser supports the following natural language commands:

🎮 Simulator Management

Command	Description	Example
Create session	Creates a new simulator session	"create session", "create simulator iPhone 12"
Terminate session	Terminates the current session	"terminate session", "close simulator"
List simulators	Lists available simulators	"list simulators", "show simulators"
List booted simulators	Lists running simulators	"list booted simulators", "show running simulators"
Boot simulator	Boots a simulator by UDID	"boot simulator 5A321B8F-4D85-4267-9F79-2F5C91D142C2"
Shutdown simulator	Shuts down a simulator	"shutdown simulator 5A321B8F-4D85-4267-9F79-2F5C91D142C2"
Focus simulator	Brings simulator window to front	"focus simulator", "bring simulator to front"
List simulator sessions	Lists active simulator sessions	"list simulator sessions", "show active sessions"

📱 App Management

Command	Description	Example
Install app	Installs an app on the simulator	"install app /path/to/app.ipa"
Launch app	Launches an app on the simulator	"launch app com.example.app"
Terminate app	Terminates a running app	"terminate app com.example.app"
Uninstall app	Uninstalls an app	"uninstall app com.example.app"
List apps	Lists installed applications	"list apps", "show installed apps"
Check if app installed	Checks if an app is installed	"is app com.example.app installed"

🖱️ UI Interaction

Command	Description	Example
Tap	Taps at specific coordinates	"tap at 100, 200"
Swipe	Performs a swipe gesture	"swipe from 100, 200 to 300, 400"
Press button	Presses a device button	"press button HOME", "press button SIRI"
Input text	Types text	"input text Hello World"
Press key	Presses a key by code	"press key 4"
Press key sequence	Presses a sequence of keys	"press key sequence 4 5 6"

♿ Accessibility

Command	Description	Example
Describe elements	Lists all accessibility elements	"describe all elements", "show accessibility elements"
Describe point	Describes element at coordinates	"describe point 100, 200", "what's at 150, 300"

📸 Capture and Logs

Command	Description	Example
Take screenshot	Captures a screenshot	"take screenshot", "capture screen"
Record video	Records screen activity	"record video /path/output.mp4"
Stop recording	Stops video recording	"stop recording", "stop video recording"
Get logs	Retrieves system or app logs	"get logs", "get logs for com.example.app"

🐛 Debug

Command	Description	Example
Start debug	Starts a debug session	"debug app com.example.app", "start debug com.example.app"
Stop debug	Stops a debug session	"stop debug", "terminate debug session"
Debug status	Gets debug session status	"debug status", "show debug info"

💥 Crash Logs

Command	Description	Example
List crash logs	Lists available crash logs	"list crash logs", "show crash logs"
Show crash log	Shows content of a crash log	"show crash log crash_2023-01-01"
Delete crash logs	Deletes crash logs	"delete crash logs", "clear crash logs"

🔧 Additional Commands

Command	Description	Example
Install dylib	Installs a dynamic library	"install dylib /path/to/library.dylib"
Open URL	Opens a URL in the simulator	"open url https://example.com"
Clear keychain	Clears the simulator's keychain	"clear keychain"
Set location	Sets the simulator's location	"set location 37.7749, -122.4194"
Add media	Adds media to the camera roll	"add media /path/to/image.jpg"
Approve permissions	Approves app permissions	"approve permissions com.example.app photos camera"
Update contacts	Updates contacts database	"update contacts /path/to/contacts.sqlite"

The interface supports all commands available in the idb CLI tool, providing a comprehensive set of operations for iOS simulator automation.

🔍 Architecture

The server consists of three main components:

1. IDBManager : Low-level component that interacts directly with iOS simulators through idb.
2. NLParser : Component that interprets natural language instructions and converts them into structured commands.
3. MCPOrchestrator : Central component that coordinates interactions between the parser and the IDBManager.

These components are connected through adapters:

• ParserToOrchestrator : Converts parser results into orchestrator commands.
• OrchestratorToIDB : Translates orchestrator commands into IDBManager calls.

🔌 MCP Integration

To use this server with the Model Context Protocol:

1. Add the server to your MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ios-simulator": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

2. Connect to the server in your LLM application:

const result = await useMcpTool({
  serverName: "ios-simulator",
  toolName: "process-instruction",
  arguments: {
    instruction: "create simulator session"
  }
});

🙏 Acknowledgments

This project would not be possible without facebook/idb, which provides the underlying iOS simulator control capabilities. We extend our sincere gratitude to the Facebook/Meta team and all contributors to the idb project for creating and maintaining such a powerful and reliable tool.

📄 License

ISC