📱 MCP Server for iOS Simulator

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables LLMs to interact with iOS simulators through natural language commands.

ℹ️ Overview

This MCP server provides a bridge between Large Language Models (LLMs) and iOS simulators, offering comprehensive control through natural language commands. Here's what it can do:

For detailed usage, see the Installation guide and Supported Commands sections. You can use this server either through direct MCP integration or as a standalone library.

Check out the Architecture section to understand how the components work together to enable natural language control of iOS simulators.

🎮 Simulator Control

• Create and manage simulator sessions
• Boot, shutdown, and monitor simulator states
• List available and running simulators
• Focus simulator windows

📱 Application Management

• Install and manage iOS applications
• Launch, terminate, and uninstall apps
• Monitor app states and verify installations
• Handle app permissions and configurations

🖱️ UI Interaction & Testing

• Interact with the simulator UI
• Execute tap, swipe, and button press actions
• Input text and key sequences
• Access accessibility elements for UI testing
• Record videos of UI interactions

🛠️ Development & Debugging

• Capture screenshots and system logs
• Debug applications in real-time
• Monitor and analyze crash logs
• Install dynamic libraries and manage app data

⚡ Advanced Features

• Additional functionality includes:
  • Location simulation
  • Media injection
  • URL scheme handling
  • Contact database management
  • Keychain operations

For detailed usage, see the Installation guide and Supported Commands sections. You can use this server either through direct MCP integration or as a standalone library.

Check out the Architecture section to understand how the components work together to enable natural language control of iOS simulators.

📋 Requirements

• macOS: Required for iOS simulator support
• Node.js: v20.0.0 or higher
• Homebrew: Required for installing dependencies
• XCode: With iOS simulators installed

🚀 Installation

The easiest way to install this server is through Cline:

1. Simply ask Cline:

Add this mcp to cline https://github.com/InditexTech/mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb

2. Cline will handle the installation process automatically, including dependency management and configuration.

Alternatively, you can install it manually:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/InditexTech/mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb.git
cd mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb

# Create and activate Python virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Unix/macOS

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Start the project
npm start

# Run tests
npm test

The installation process will automatically:

1. Check if you're running macOS
2. Install idb-companion via Homebrew
3. Install fb-idb via pip in the virtual environment

Note: Make sure to keep the virtual environment activated while using the server. If you close your terminal and come back later, you'll need to reactivate the virtual environment with the source venv/bin/activate command before running npm start.

🔌 MCP Integration

To use this server with Claude or other LLM assistants:

1. Add the server to your MCP settings in Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ios-simulator": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

2. The LLM can now use natural language commands to control iOS simulators:

create a simulator session with iPhone 14
install app /path/to/my-app.ipa
launch app com.example.myapp
tap at 100, 200
take a screenshot

📚 Usage as a Library

You can also use this package as a library in your own projects:

🔰 Basic Usage

import { createMCPServer } from 'mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb';

async function main() {
  // Create an instance of the MCP server
  const { orchestrator } = createMCPServer();
  
  // Process natural language commands
  
  // Create a simulator session
  const sessionResult = await orchestrator.processInstruction('create session');
  console.log(`Session created: ${sessionResult.data}`);
  
  // Interact with the simulator
  await orchestrator.processInstruction('tap at 100, 200');
  
  // Capture a screenshot
  const screenshotResult = await orchestrator.processInstruction('take screenshot');
  console.log(`Screenshot saved at: ${screenshotResult.data}`);
}

main().catch(console.error);

🚀 Advanced Usage

You can also use the individual components directly:

import { 
  IDBManager, 
  NLParser, 
  MCPOrchestrator,
  ParserToOrchestrator,
  OrchestratorToIDB
} from 'mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb';

// Create instances
const idbManager = new IDBManager();
const parser = new NLParser();
const orchestrator = new MCPOrchestrator(parser, idbManager);

// Use the components directly
const sessionId = await idbManager.createSimulatorSession({
  deviceName: 'iPhone 12',
  platformVersion: '15.0'
});

await idbManager.tap(sessionId, 100, 200);

🏗️ Project Structure

mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb/
├── src/                      # Source code
│   ├── adapters/             # Adapter components
│   ├── idb/                  # IDB manager implementation
│   ├── mcp/                  # MCP server implementation
│   ├── orchestrator/         # Command orchestrator
│   ├── parser/              # Natural language parser
│   └── index.ts             # Main entry point
├── types/                   # TypeScript type definitions
├── scripts/                 # Installation scripts
├── package.json            # Project configuration
└── tsconfig.json          # TypeScript configuration

🎯 Supported Commands

The NLParser supports the following natural language commands:

🎮 Simulator Management

📱 App Management

🖱️ UI Interaction

♿ Accessibility

📸 Capture and Logs

🐛 Debug

💥 Crash Logs

🔧 Additional Commands

The interface supports all commands available in the idb CLI tool, providing a comprehensive set of operations for iOS simulator automation.

🔍 Architecture

The server consists of three main components:

1. IDBManager: Low-level component that interacts directly with iOS simulators through idb.
2. NLParser: Component that interprets natural language instructions and converts them into structured commands.
3. MCPOrchestrator: Central component that coordinates interactions between the parser and the IDBManager.

These components are connected through adapters:

• ParserToOrchestrator: Converts parser results into orchestrator commands.
• OrchestratorToIDB: Translates orchestrator commands into IDBManager calls.

🔌 MCP Integration

To use this server with the Model Context Protocol:

1. Add the server to your MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ios-simulator": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

2. Connect to the server in your LLM application:

const result = await useMcpTool({
  serverName: "ios-simulator",
  toolName: "process-instruction",
  arguments: {
    instruction: "create simulator session"
  }
});

🙏 Acknowledgments

This project would not be possible without facebook/idb, which provides the underlying iOS simulator control capabilities. We extend our sincere gratitude to the Facebook/Meta team and all contributors to the idb project for creating and maintaining such a powerful and reliable tool.

📄 License

This tool is available as open source under the terms of the Apache-2.0.