Skip to main content
These six tools give you full control over simulator device state — from booting a fresh device to factory-resetting it when you need a clean slate.

​
simulator_boot

Boot an iOS Simulator device by name or UDID. Automatically opens Simulator.app and, by default, waits until the device reaches the Booted state before returning.

​
Parameters

​
deviceId
string
required
The device name (e.g., "iPhone 16 Pro") or UDID to boot. Use simulator_list_devices to find available devices.
​
waitForBoot
boolean
default:"true"
When true, the tool polls for up to 60 seconds until the device reaches Booted state before returning. Set to false to return immediately after issuing the boot command.

​
Returns

A confirmation message with the device name and UDID when the device is ready, or a warning if boot did not complete within 60 seconds.

​
Example prompts

Boot the iPhone 16 Pro simulator.

Boot the simulator with UDID 12345678-ABCD-1234-EFGH-123456789ABC and don't wait for it to finish.

​
simulator_shutdown

Shut down a running simulator device.

​
Parameters

​
deviceId
string
The device UDID, name, or "booted". Defaults to the currently booted device.

​
Returns

A confirmation that the device shut down successfully.

​
Example prompts

Shut down the booted simulator.

Shut down the iPhone 15 simulator.

​
simulator_erase

Factory-reset a simulator device. Erases all installed apps, user data, and settings, returning the device to its out-of-box state.
This action is irreversible. All app data, installed apps, and settings are permanently deleted.

​
Parameters

​
deviceId
string
required
The device UDID or name to erase.

​
Returns

A confirmation that the factory reset completed.

​
Example prompts

Erase the iPhone 16 Pro simulator to start fresh.

​
simulator_open_url

Open a URL or deep link in the booted simulator. Works with https:// URLs (opens in Safari) and custom scheme deep links (e.g., myapp://screen).

​
Parameters

​
url
string
required
The URL or deep link to open. Examples: "https://example.com", "myapp://onboarding", "tel:+15555551234".
​
deviceId
string
The device UDID, name, or "booted". Defaults to the currently booted device.

​
Returns

A confirmation with the URL that was opened.

​
Example prompts

Open https://example.com in the simulator.

Trigger the deep link myapp://dashboard/analytics in the simulator.
Deep links only work if the target app is already installed. Use simulator_install_app first if the app isn’t on the device yet.

​
simulator_open_simulator

Open the Simulator.app application. Useful when Simulator.app is not yet visible on screen.

​
Parameters

This tool takes no parameters.

​
Returns

A confirmation that Simulator.app was opened.

​
Example prompts

Open the Simulator app.
simulator_boot already opens Simulator.app automatically. You only need this tool if Simulator.app was closed after a device was booted.

​
simulator_get_booted_sim_id

Get the UDID of the currently booted simulator. Useful when you need to pass a specific UDID to other tools or scripts.

​
Parameters

This tool takes no parameters.

​
Returns

The UDID string of the first booted simulator, or a message indicating no booted simulator was found.

​
Example prompts

What is the UDID of the booted simulator?

Get the current simulator's UDID so I can use it in my build script.

​
Device lifecycle workflow

A typical workflow to go from nothing to a ready-to-test simulator:
1

List available devices

Find the right device name or UDID.
List all available iOS simulators.
2

Boot the device

Boot the device and wait for it to be ready.
Boot the iPhone 16 Pro simulator.
3

Install your app

Install your .app bundle or .ipa file.
Install the app at ./build/MyApp.app on the booted simulator.
4

Test

Launch the app, run interactions, check logs.
Launch com.example.MyApp and take a screenshot.
5

Shut down when done

Free up resources when your test session ends.
Shut down the booted simulator.
If you need a completely clean environment before testing (e.g., for onboarding flows), use simulator_erase after shutting down and before booting again.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us