limrun-ios-simulator

SKILL.md

Limrun iOS Simulator

Interact with an app running on a Limrun cloud iOS simulator, from any
environment (Linux, Windows, macOS, VM, container). This skill is build-agnostic:
it assumes the app was already built and installed by a build skill
(limrun-xcode-bazel for Bazel, limrun-xcode for xcodebuild). Keep build
concerns in those skills; this one is about driving the running simulator.

Never use local Xcode, local simulators, or local macOS tools.

Auth and CLI

Install if needed: npm install --global lim. Auth is lim login or
LIM_API_KEY (it may be set outside the project, so don't ask for it just
because it's missing from .env or the shell). The CLI is the source of truth:
the commands in this skill are verified, but if a flag errors or you need one
not shown here, check lim ios <subcommand> --help instead of guessing.

Installing an app bundle
You can either use Limrun remote Bazel or Xcode services to build the app bundle and have
it installed to the simulator automatically or you can sync a pre-built local .ipa
file or .app folder to the simulator. The main requirement is that it must be
built for simulator.

Build and install

A build skill usually attaches the simulator for you (lim xcode rbe --ios, or
lim xcode build . then attach). Check what's already there:

lim xcode get      # is a simulator attached to the current build target?
lim ios list       # all running iOS instances

If none is attached, create one. It installs the last build immediately, so you
don't need to rebuild:

lim ios create --attach

If the create (or lim xcode rbe --ios) output includes a signed stream URL,
share it with the user as a Markdown link, like
Live simulator. If you have a browser the user can see,
open the URL there and tell them. Otherwise pass --no-open to create: it
skips opening the URL locally and still prints it for sharing.

lim xcode get prints a Limrun console URL instead. It opens the same live
view but requires a console login, so prefer the signed stream URL for sharing.
If the console URL is all you have, share it and mention it needs login.

Install app from local

Create a new simulator:

lim ios create

Share the signed stream URL with the user as a Markdown link, like
Live simulator. If you have a browser the user can see,
open the URL there and tell them.

You can then run the following command to upload a bundle from local:

lim ios sync <path to .ipa file or .app folder>

You can run the same command every time you need to install a new version of the
bundle. It will patch with the difference and reload it in the simulator.

Targeting the right instance

Most lim ios commands default to the last created instance and resolve the
"current" one from the git repo / worktree of your cwd. So even when a
simulator is attached and lim xcode get shows it, a lim ios command can still
report No instance ID provided and no recent ios instance found, because your
cwd isn't the git worktree where the instance was created (or isn't a git repo at
all). This bites most often right after lim xcode rbe --ios in a fresh project.

The reliable recipe when that happens:

lim xcode get                          # shows the attached simulator's ID
lim ios element-tree --id <that-id>    # pass --id to EVERY lim ios command

lim xcode get is the dependable source for the attached simulator's ID
(lim ios list also works). Once you have it, pass --id <ios-instance-id> to
all lim ios calls for the rest of the session (screenshot, tap, type,
element-tree, record). Alternatively, git init the project so the workspace
resolves on its own. When controlling multiple instances, always pass --id.

Reaching services on the local machine

Destination tunnels let an iPhone simulator app keep calling exact localhost
or literal-IP TCP destinations while the CLI connects those destinations from
the machine running lim:

lim ios tunnel \
  --id <ios-instance-id> \
  --route localhost:3000 \
  --route localhost:8081 \
  --detach

Use the app's normal URLs, such as http://localhost:3000. Declaring
localhost:3000 also captures loopback forms such as 127.0.0.1:3000 and
[::1]:3000, plus [::ffff:127.0.0.1]:3000. This release supports TCP and up
to ten exact routes. Port 53, hostnames other than localhost, CIDRs, and UDP
are not supported.

One instance accepts one active destination tunnel, and its route set is
immutable. To add or remove a destination, stop the tunnel and start it again
with the complete route list:

lim ios tunnel status --id <ios-instance-id> --json
lim ios tunnel stop --id <ios-instance-id>

If the simulator attempts a route while its local service is stopped, the
tunnel remains active and reports connection_refused; restart the service
without recreating the simulator or tunnel.

Launching the app

The build skills reinstall and relaunch the app after every successful build,
so you usually don't need to launch it yourself. When the app is closed (a
fresh attach to an old build, or after a terminate), launch it by bundle ID:

lim ios launch-app <bundle-id>                            # foregrounds it if already running
lim ios launch-app <bundle-id> --mode RelaunchIfRunning   # restart for a clean state
lim ios terminate-app <bundle-id>                         # stop it, e.g. to reset app state

If you don't know the bundle ID, run lim ios list-apps.

The lim ios launch-app will stream the logs from the app in realtime for you
to debug. If you'd like to launch and forget, you can use --detach flag.

Testing changes

When simulator interaction is part of the task, test new or changed
functionality with the interaction commands after each build. Focus on what
changed, plus a quick smoke test of core flows. Start by reading the element
tree to see what's on screen before acting:

lim ios element-tree

Interacting with the app

Prefer tapping by accessibility id, then by label, then coordinates as a last
resort:

lim ios tap-element --ax-unique-id startButton
lim ios tap-element --ax-label "Save"
lim ios tap 201 450

tap-element taps with a real synthesized touch. Elements the accessibility
tree can see are scrolled into view automatically. A selector that matches
nothing in the tree fails in about a second; iOS creates list rows lazily, so
a below-the-fold row often isn't in the tree at all. For those, pass
--scroll-search: the CLI pages the screen (a few pages down, then up)
retrying the tap until the row materializes, which can take ~10s. Pass
--activate ax to use an accessibility press instead of a touch (no
scrolling, works on elements without a usable frame).

Toolbar / nav-bar items usually can't be tapped by id. SwiftUI collapses
toolbar children into a single nav-bar group, and those items report
AXUniqueId: null even when you set .accessibilityIdentifier(...) (regular
content Buttons do expose it). So tap-element --ax-unique-id finds nothing
for a nav-bar button. Set an .accessibilityLabel / .accessibilityIdentifier
anyway for documentation, but to actually tap it, read its AXFrame from the
element tree and tap the center by coordinate:

lim ios element-tree --id <id> | grep -i -A6 -B2 moon   # find the item's AXFrame
lim ios tap <x> <y> --id <id>                           # tap the frame's center

For text input, focus a field first (tap it), then type:

lim ios type "hello world"     # real key events; errors if no field is focused
lim ios type "hi" --no-require-focus  # skip the focus check: for fields focused by coordinate taps when the accessibility focus scan is unreliable
lim ios press-key backspace
lim ios press-key @            # shifted symbols work directly

type presses real keys, so text delegates fire and the field's own keyboard
behavior applies (a default text field autocapitalizes the first letter, for
example). To set a value verbatim with no keyboard behavior, use set-text:

lim ios set-text "P@ssw0rd!" --focused                 # into the focused field
lim ios set-text "hello" --ax-unique-id emailField     # by selector

For scrolling and drags:

lim ios scroll down --amount 300                       # from the screen center
lim ios scroll down --amount 300 --coordinate 200,400  # from a specific point
lim ios swipe --from 200,600 --to 200,200              # explicit drag; --duration 800 for a slower, precise one

After every interaction, re-run element-tree to confirm the UI transitioned.
No sleep is needed between a tap and element-tree; the tap blocks until done.

lim ios element-tree

Chain multiple actions with precise timing via perform:

lim ios perform --action type=tap,x=100,y=200 --action "type=typeText,text=Hello World"
lim ios perform --action type=wait,durationMs=1000 --action type=pressKey,key=enter
lim ios perform --file ./actions.yaml

Run lim ios perform --help for the full action grammar.

Screenshots and video

Screenshot takes a positional path (not -o):

lim ios screenshot screenshot.png
lim ios screenshot screenshot.png --id <ios-instance-id>

Use the element tree for functional assertions (element existence, labels, state
changes) and screenshots only for visual properties. For anything involving
motion (animations, gameplay, streaming UI), prefer video:

lim ios record start                       # non-blocking
lim ios record stop -o /tmp/recording.mp4

For UI changes, include a demo video in the pull request so the user can see it.

App container files

List an app's data container before pulling a file so you use the exact path the
app created. Keep the same --bundle-id and --container-type flags for list,
pull, push, and delete:

lim ios ls Documents --bundle-id com.example.app --container-type data
lim ios pull-file Documents/recording.mov ./recording.mov \
  --bundle-id com.example.app --container-type data
lim ios push-file ./fixture.json Documents/fixture.json \
  --bundle-id com.example.app --container-type data
lim ios delete-file Documents/fixture.json \
  --bundle-id com.example.app --container-type data

lim ios ls defaults to the staging-folder root. With --bundle-id, it
defaults to the app bundle (--container-type app); use data for the app's
writable Documents, Library, and tmp directories. Paths in ls output are
relative to the selected root and can be copied directly into the other file
commands.

Simulate the camera with a video

For camera-driven flows (QR-code scanning, document capture, video calls),
play a local video file as the simulator's camera. The app sees the frames
through its normal capture pipeline:

lim ios camera play ./fixtures/qr-scan.mp4            # loops by default
lim ios camera play ./fixtures/intro.mp4 --no-loop    # play once, freeze on last frame
lim ios camera clear                                  # restore the default camera

Any AVFoundation-decodable file works (H.264/HEVC in .mp4/.mov). Use
--no-loop when the app must observe the end of the clip exactly once (the
feed freezes on the last frame rather than stalling).

Preview URL for humans

Upload the .ipa file directly or targz archive of the .app folder
to Limrun Asset Storage and return a preview URL for the user to open it and
test the app manually in the browser.

Here is how to upload it:

export ASSET_NAME=myapp.tar.gz # can be any name
lim asset push ${ASSET_NAME}

echo "https://console.limrun.com/preview?asset=${ASSET_NAME}&platform=ios"

Once the command finishes, you can give the following URL to the user to
click to see a simulator where this bundle is pre-installed.

https://console.limrun.com/preview?asset=${ASSET_NAME}&platform=ios

Cleanup

When the work is completed, you can delete the iOS simulator.

lim ios delete

Gotchas

Instance resolution can miss in a non-git dir. See "Targeting the right
instance" above; pass --id when in doubt.

element-tree can be large. Pipe through grep / jq to extract what you
need rather than dumping the whole tree into context.

type / perform typeText may not drive SwiftUI (or React Native) state.
Automated text injection sets the field's value through accessibility, which
does not always fire a SwiftUI @Binding / onChange the way a real
keystroke does. Symptom: the text appears in the field (and in element-tree),
but reactive UI tied to it doesn't update (a send button stays disabled, a
character counter doesn't move) and submit handlers see empty state. A real
keyboard on the live stream works. When automating, drive submit through a
tappable control (a button, a suggestion chip) rather than relying on text
bound to reactive state, or have the app expose a test affordance.

Toolbar / nav-bar items aren't tappable by id. See "Interacting with the
app" above: read the AXFrame from element-tree and tap by coordinate.

Bundle ID discovery. If you don't know the bundle ID, run
lim ios list-apps after a successful install.

Build errors are the build skill's job. If the app isn't installing, the
failure is upstream; go back to limrun-xcode-bazel / limrun-xcode.