Xcode-Studio-MCP is a unified MCP server enabling AI agents to perform the full iOS development loop — from building Xcode projects to interacting with the iOS Simulator.
Build Xcode Projects (xcode_build): Compile a project, workspace, or directory with structured diagnostic output (file path, line, column, severity, message). Supports custom schemes, build configurations (Debug/Release), and destinations.
Build & Launch Apps (xcode_run): Build and deploy an app to the iOS Simulator. Returns structured build errors on failure, or a success message with the launched process ID. Supports custom schemes, configurations, and target simulator by UDID.
Capture Screenshots (simulator_screenshot): Take a screenshot of the current Simulator screen, returned as a base64-encoded PNG. Can target a specific simulator by UDID or default to the booted one.
Tap the Screen (simulator_tap): Simulate a tap at specific (x, y) coordinates, with optional long-press duration. Requires fb-idb.
Type Text (simulator_type): Type text into the currently focused input field on the Simulator. Requires fb-idb.
Inspect the UI Accessibility Tree (simulator_describe): Retrieve the full accessibility tree of the current Simulator screen as JSON, enabling AI agents to discover and identify UI elements for interaction. Requires fb-idb.
Enables interaction with iOS apps running in the Simulator, including capturing screenshots, performing tap and type actions on UI elements, and retrieving the accessibility tree as JSON.
Enables building Xcode projects with structured error output (file, line, column, severity) and launching apps in the iOS Simulator.
Unified MCP server for Xcode + iOS Simulator — build, deploy, screenshot, and interact with your iOS app from Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or any MCP client.
Built in Swift. Single binary. No Node/Python runtime required.
Today you need 2-3 separate tools to do the full iOS dev loop with an AI agent. xcode-studio-mcp combines them into one:
Write code → Build → Deploy to Simulator → Screenshot → Tap/Type → VerifyTool | Description |
| Build an Xcode project with structured error output (file, line, column, severity, message) |
| Build and launch an app in the iOS Simulator |
| Capture the Simulator screen as a PNG image |
| Tap at x,y coordinates on the Simulator screen |
| Type text into the currently focused field |
| Get the accessibility tree of the current screen (JSON) |
Related MCP server: xcforge
xcode_buildParameter | Required | Description |
| Yes | Path to Xcode project directory, |
| No | Build scheme (auto-detected if omitted) |
| No |
|
| No | Build destination (defaults to booted simulator) |
xcode_runParameter | Required | Description |
| Yes | Path to Xcode project |
| Yes | App bundle ID (e.g. |
| No | Build scheme (auto-detected) |
| No | Target simulator (defaults to booted) |
simulator_screenshotParameter | Required | Description |
| No | Target simulator (defaults to booted) |
simulator_tapParameter | Required | Description |
| Yes | X coordinate |
| Yes | Y coordinate |
| No | Hold duration in seconds (for long press) |
| No | Target simulator |
simulator_typeParameter | Required | Description |
| Yes | Text to type |
| No | Target simulator |
simulator_describeParameter | Required | Description |
| No | Target simulator |
macOS with Xcode installed
For UI interaction tools (tap, type, describe):
brew tap facebook/fb && brew install idb-companion
pip3 install fb-idbgit clone https://github.com/kevinswint/xcode-studio-mcp.git
cd xcode-studio-mcp
swift build -c releaseAdd to your Claude Code MCP settings:
{
"mcpServers": {
"xcode-studio-mcp": {
"command": "/path/to/xcode-studio-mcp/.build/release/XcodeStudioMCP"
}
}
}You: Build and run my app at ~/Projects/MyApp
Claude: [calls xcode_build] Build succeeded with 0 errors
[calls xcode_run] App launched (PID 12345)
[calls simulator_screenshot] Here's what the app looks like...
[calls simulator_describe] I can see a "Sign In" button and email/password fields
[calls simulator_tap] Tapped the email field
[calls simulator_type] Typed "test@example.com"
[calls simulator_screenshot] Here's the current state...┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ MCP Protocol Layer │ stdio transport (Swift MCP SDK)
├─────────────────────────────┤
│ Tool Implementations │ 6 tools, structured error output
├──────────┬──────────────────┤
│ xcodebuild│ simctl │ idb │ native process calls
│ wrapper │ wrapper │ CLI │
└──────────┴──────────┴──────┘Built in Swift with zero Node/Python runtime dependencies (idb CLI is only needed for UI interaction tools).
v0.1 (current): Core build + simulator tools
v1.0: Semantic UI navigation ("tap the Sign In button"), visual diff, Xcode project file manipulation, compound operations, SwiftUI preview capture
Project | What It Does | Difference |
Build + test only | No simulator UI interaction | |
Cross-platform simulator UI | No Xcode build support | |
Simulator via IDB | No build, depends on IDB for everything |
xcode-studio-mcp combines build and interact into a single server.
PRs welcome. The codebase is ~750 lines of Swift organized into Tools, Services, and Models.
MIT
Get the accessibility tree of the current iOS Simulator screen as JSON. Useful for finding UI elements to interact with. Requires idb (pip3 install fb-idb).
Inputs: simulator_udid.
Capture a screenshot of the iOS Simulator screen. Returns the image as base64-encoded PNG.
Inputs: simulator_udid.
Tap at specific coordinates on the iOS Simulator screen. Requires idb (pip3 install fb-idb).
Inputs: x (required), y (required), duration, simulator_udid.
Type text into the currently focused field on the iOS Simulator. Requires idb (pip3 install fb-idb).
Inputs: text (required), simulator_udid.
Build an Xcode project or workspace. Returns structured diagnostics with file, line, column, severity, and message for each error/warning.
Inputs: project_path (required), configuration, destination, scheme.
Build an Xcode project and launch the app in the iOS Simulator. Returns build errors if the build fails, or a success message with the launched process ID.
Inputs: bundle_identifier (required), project_path (required), configuration, scheme, +1 more.
Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
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Scored across 6 tools
Each tool targets a distinct action: building, running, and simulator interactions (screenshot, tap, type, describe) are clearly separated. There is no overlap in purpose, making it easy for an agent to select the correct tool.
Tools are grouped into two clear namespaces: 'xcode_' for build/run and 'simulator_' for simulator interactions. However, the same verb 'run' is used for xcode_run (launch app) while the simulator tools use direct action verbs (tap, type, describe). The pattern is readable but not perfectly uniform.
With only 6 tools, the set is well-scoped for core Xcode build/run and simulator interaction workflows. Each tool serves a distinct purpose, and no tool feels redundant or missing at this scale.
The set covers building, running, and basic UI interaction (via describe/tap/type). A minor gap is the lack of a tool to terminate the running app, and no way to list available simulators, but agents can work around this for common tasks.
Cloud iPhones and Macs with Xcode for AI agents: build, run and test iOS apps, use the screen.
Cloud iPhone Simulators for AI agents: build the Xcode project, read the screen, tap by label, test.
The cloud Mac alone, with Xcode, for AI agents: run commands, build and test, use the screen.
Build, run, and inspect iOS apps in disposable hosted Simulators from cloud coding agents.
