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iOS Simulator MCP

by joshuayoes (community)

MCP server for interacting with the iOS Simulator. Launch simulators, install apps, run UI actions, and capture screenshots from inside agents. 1,971 GitHub stars and 5 commits on main in the last 30 days.

1,971·6 tools·Released SEP 2025·MIT
npx -y ios-simulator-mcp
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MCP server for interacting with the iOS Simulator. Launch simulators, install apps, run UI actions, and capture screenshots from inside agents. 1,971 stars and 5 commits on main in the last 30 days.

Reviewed by M. Nouriel · MAY 2026

INSTALL THIS SERVER

{ "mcpServers": { "ios-simulator": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "ios-simulator-mcp" ] } } }
PrereqNPM: `ios-simulator-mcp`. macOS-only. Requires Xcode and the iOS simulator runtime. Path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS).
{ "mcpServers": { "ios-simulator": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "ios-simulator-mcp" ] } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "ios-simulator": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "ios-simulator-mcp" ] } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "ios-simulator": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "ios-simulator-mcp" ] } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "ios-simulator": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "ios-simulator-mcp" ] } } }

6 TOOLS AVAILABLE

list_simulators
List available iOS simulators
Read
boot_simulator
Boot a specific iOS simulator
Admin
install_app
Install an .app bundle on the booted simulator
Admin
launch_app
Launch an app by bundle identifier
Admin
screenshot
Capture a screenshot of the simulator
Read
tap_at
Tap at coordinates on the simulator screen
Admin

OUR ASSESSMENT

Strengths
  • 1,971 GitHub stars.
  • 5 commits on main in the last 30 days.
  • MIT license.
  • Direct iOS Simulator runtime control.
  • Pairs with XcodeBuildMCP for full iOS dev flow.
Weaknesses
  • macOS-only (Xcode requirement).
  • Action latency depends on simulator boot state; cold-start adds 5-10 seconds.
  • Tap-by-coordinate is brittle; UI hierarchy changes break flows.
Security Notes

No authentication. Simulator inherits the user permissions; agent flows can install any .app bundle the host can reach. Use a dedicated simulator for agent work rather than your personal-dev simulator.

Best For

iOS developers running agent-driven dev loops that need simulator screenshots; QA flows that install builds and exercise the UI; Claude Code or Cursor users iterating on iOS apps with visual feedback.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Language
typescript
Transport
stdio
Clients
Claude DesktopClaude CodeCursorVS CodeWindsurf
License
MIT
GitHub
npm
ios-simulator-mcp
Last Release
ios-simulator-mcp (npm latest)MAY 14, 2026
First Released
SEP 1, 2025

ADOPTION METRICS

// GitHub Stars
1,971

// Reading this1,971 stars on joshuayoes/ios-simulator-mcp. 5 commits on main in the last 30 days.

// Popularity Rank
#8
Globally · #8 in Dev Tools

// Reading thisPairs with XcodeBuildMCP, Mobile MCP, Playwright, Chrome DevTools MCP, BrowserStack, Windows MCP in dev-tools. iOS Simulator MCP owns the iOS-simulator-control slot.

SOURCES & VERIFICATION

We don't take any single directory's word for it. Before scoring, we cross-reference 4 public MCP sources, install the server ourselves against the clients we cover, and record when we last re-verified.

01
Discovered
Manual submission
First indexed MAY 14, 2026
02
Cross-referenced
4 directories
PulseMCP, MCP.so, Glama, Smithery
03
Verified against
Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code
Installed and tested across clients
04
Last re-checked
MAY 14, 2026
Weekly re-verification
// How other directories see it

The same server, 4 different lenses. We reconcile these signals into our editorial score, which is why our number sometimes diverges from a directory-aggregate star count.

SourceTheir ratingTheir star countTheir downloadsLast synced
AutomationSwitch This page4.4editorial1,971MAY 14, 2026
PulseMCP— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 14, 2026
MCP.so— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 14, 2026
Glama— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 14, 2026
Smithery— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 14, 2026

// Counts are directory-reported; we don't adjust them. Discrepancies usually come from different snapshot times or star-caching.

// Get in touch

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