process-instructionLABSCO SUMMARY
Commands are phrases, not a schema — "tap at 100, 200" is the actual interface.
The parser accepts the natural forms directly, which means the assistant does not have to learn a tool signature for every idb verb. Coverage follows idb's CLI, so the awkward long tail is there too: location simulation, media injection, permission approval and the contacts database. The virtual environment is the setup detail people trip over — reactivate it before starting the server, or put its bin folder on the PATH of the client that starts it.
What it is
A natural-language bridge to iOS simulators built on Facebook's idb. Instructions are parsed into idb commands and executed against the simulator.
What you get
- Simulator management — create and terminate sessions, list available and booted simulators, boot or shut one down by UDID, focus the window
- Applications — install from a path, launch, terminate, uninstall, list installed apps and check whether one is installed
- UI interaction — tap and swipe by coordinates, press device buttons such as HOME or SIRI, input text, press a key or a key sequence
- Accessibility — describe all elements on screen, or describe the element at a point
- Capture — screenshots, video recording to a path, and stopping the recording; system or per-app logs
- Debugging — start and stop a debug session, and read its status
- Crash logs — list, show one, delete them
- Extras — install a dylib, open a URL, clear the keychain, set the location, add media to the camera roll, approve app permissions, update the contacts database
- Usable as a library too, through createMCPServer and the IDBManager, NLParser and MCPOrchestrator components
Requirements
macOS with Xcode and iOS simulators installed, Node.js v14.0.0 or higher, and Homebrew. Installation pulls idb-companion through Homebrew and fb-idb through pip into a Python virtual environment — the README says to keep that environment activated while the server runs, so a client that starts the server itself needs the venv's bin folder on the server's PATH (the Claude Desktop tab shows how). Point the client at dist/index.js.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/InditexTech/mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb.git
USE CASES
01
Getting a build in front of a tester
Boot a simulator, install the app and launch it, all from one instruction.
02
Walking through a flow and capturing it
Tap and type through the screens while recording video, then stop the recording.
03
Working out why the app crashed
List the crash logs, open the relevant one, and read the system log around it.
04
Testing something that depends on location or photos
Set the simulator's coordinates, add an image to the camera roll, and approve the permissions the app asks for.
1 tool
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
1 tool named in the project's documentation.
Requires
- macOS
- Xcode with iOS simulators installed
- Homebrew
- Node.js v14.0.0 or later
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
# 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 testMCP Clients
Cline
Send Cline this message in its chat: Add this mcp to cline https://github.com/InditexTech/mcp-server-simulator-ios-idb — Cline then handles the installation itself, including dependencies and configuration.
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"ios-simulator": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_MCP_SERVER_SIMULATOR_IOS>/dist/index.js"
],
"env": {}
}
}
}<YOUR_PATH_TO_MCP_SERVER_SIMULATOR_IOS> is the full path of your clone. fb-idb is installed into the venv folder inside your clone, and Claude Desktop starts node without activating it, so the server cannot find idb on its own. Add a "PATH" entry to "env" that starts with <YOUR_PATH_TO_MCP_SERVER_SIMULATOR_IOS>/venv/bin, followed by the folders your terminal already uses (echo $PATH prints them), so idb and Homebrew's idb_companion are both found.
