Simulator MCP Server

An MCP server for controlling iOS simulators

Local serverstdio

What is the Simulator MCP server?

Most developer tooling work still happens through a UI a human drives. Simulator MCP server moves it into the conversation instead. An MCP server for controlling iOS simulators.

The short version

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides programmatic control over iOS simulators. This server implements the MCP specification to expose simulator functionality through a standardized interface.

  • List available iOS simulators
  • Boot and shutdown simulators
  • Install .app bundles on simulators
  • Launch installed apps by bundle ID

Getting it running

Setup follows the usual MCP pattern — install or clone the server, register it in your client's configuration file, restart the client. The configuration blocks on this page cover the common clients.

Things to watch

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

How it compares

Plenty of developer tooling servers cover similar ground. The differences that matter in practice are scope of access and how much setup stands between you and a working tool call. It is maintained by JoshuaRileyDev; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.

How to install the Simulator MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "simulator": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "y",
        "@joshuarileydev/simulator-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Simulator to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Simulator directly.