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"]
    }
  }
}

Related MCP server: MCP Server for iOS Simulator

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)