simctl-mcp

A Model Context Protocol server implementation for iOS Simulator control.

Config

.cursor/mcp.json or .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "simctl-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "simctl-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Prompts

Some examples of prompts:

• What operations does the simulator support?
• Open shortcuts://
• What is the bundle ID of the "Settings" app?
• Set clipboard content to: Hello
• What is the simulator SDK version?
• Generate an Appium connection string for the "Settings" app

Usage

The server can be started in two modes:

1. STDIO Mode (default)

2. HTTP Server Mode

STDIO Mode

In STDIO mode, the server communicates through standard input/output streams.

npx simctl-mcp

HTTP Server Mode

In HTTP server mode, the server listens for HTTP connections on a specified port.

# Start with default port (8081)
npx simctl-mcp --http

# Start with custom port using --port flag
npx simctl-mcp --http --port 3000

# Start with custom port using environment variable
PORT=3000 npx simctl-mcp --http

Tools

Device Management:

• Create new simulator devices
• Delete existing devices
• Boot devices
• Shutdown devices
• List all available devices
• List available device types
• List available runtimes

App Management:

• Install apps
• Uninstall apps
• Launch apps
• Terminate running apps
• Get app container path
• Get app information
• List installed apps

App Permissions:

• Grant permissions to apps
• Revoke app permissions
• Reset all app permissions

System Features:

• Open URLs in simulator
• Add media files
• Get/Set environment variables
• Get/Set appearance (light/dark mode)
• Send simulated push notifications

Certificate & Security:

• Add root certificates
• Add regular certificates
• Reset keychain

Media & Content:

• Take screenshots
• Get/Set pasteboard content (clipboard)