iOS Simulator MCP server for AI agents

This MCP server allows you to interact with iOS simulators by providing tools for UI interactions, element inspection, and simulator control through a Model Context Protocol interface.

Prerequisites

Node.js
macOS (iOS simulators are only available on macOS)
Xcode with iOS simulators installed
Facebook IDB tool - follow the installation guide

Installation

Installing with Cursor

Cursor manages MCP servers through its configuration file at ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

Using NPX (Recommended)

Edit your Cursor MCP configuration file:
```
open ~/.cursor/mcp.json
```

Add or update the mcpServers section:

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

Restart Cursor for changes to take effect.

Local Development Setup

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/joshuayoes/ios-simulator-mcp
cd ios-simulator-mcp

Install dependencies:
```
npm install
```
Build the project:
```
npm run build
```

Configure in Cursor's MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ios-simulator": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/full/path/to/your/ios-simulator-mcp/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor.

Installing with Claude Code

Using NPX (Recommended)

claude mcp add ios-simulator npx ios-simulator-mcp

Local Development Setup

Clone and build the repository as shown in the Cursor instructions.

Add the server to Claude Code:

claude mcp add ios-simulator --command node --args "/full/path/to/your/ios-simulator-mcp/build/index.js"

Configuration

Environment Variables

IOS_SIMULATOR_MCP_FILTERED_TOOLS: Comma-separated list of tool names to filter out from being registered

Example: screenshot,record_video,stop_recording

Usage

The server provides several tools for interacting with iOS simulators:

Getting Simulator Information

You can get the ID of the currently booted iOS simulator to use in other operations.

UI Interaction

Describe accessibility elements: Get information about all accessibility elements on screen
Tap: Interact with the screen at specific coordinates
Input text: Enter text into the simulator
Swipe: Perform swipe gestures between coordinates
Get element info: Retrieve information about UI elements at specific coordinates
Take screenshots: Capture the current simulator screen

Example Prompts

These prompts can be used with AI assistants that support the MCP protocol:

Verify UI Elements:

Verify all accessibility elements on the current screen

Confirm Text Input:

Enter "QA Test" into the text input field and confirm the input is correct

Check Tap Response:

Tap on coordinates x=250, y=400 and verify the expected element is triggered

Validate Swipe Action:

Swipe from x=150, y=600 to x=150, y=100 and confirm correct behavior

Detailed Element Check:

Describe the UI element at position x=300, y=350 to ensure proper labeling and functionality

Take Screenshot:

Take a screenshot of the current simulator screen and save it to my_screenshot.png

Record Video:

Start recording a video of the simulator screen

Stop Recording:

Stop the current simulator screen recording

Security Note

Command injection vulnerabilities present in versions < 1.3.3 have been fixed. Please ensure you're using v1.3.3 or later.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "ios-simulator" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","ios-simulator-mcp"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

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

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

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

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect