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Xcode Pilot MCP

Simulator Management

This guide covers creating and managing simulators for testing across multiple device types and OS versions.

Discovering What’s Available

Section titled “Discovering What’s Available”

Before creating simulators, check what runtimes and device types are installed:

List Installed Runtimes

Section titled “List Installed Runtimes”

“What iOS simulator runtimes do I have installed?”

Available Runtimes:
  iOS 17.5 (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-17-5)
  iOS 18.0 (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-18-0)
  watchOS 11.0 (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.watchOS-11-0)
  tvOS 18.0 (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.tvOS-18-0)
  visionOS 2.0 (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.xrOS-2-0)

List Device Types

Section titled “List Device Types”

“What simulator device types are available?”

Available Device Types:
  iPhone SE (3rd generation) (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPhone-SE-3rd-generation)
  iPhone 15 (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPhone-15)
  iPhone 15 Pro (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPhone-15-Pro)
  iPhone 15 Pro Max (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPhone-15-Pro-Max)
  iPhone 16 (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPhone-16)
  iPhone 16 Pro (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPhone-16-Pro)
  iPhone 16 Pro Max (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPhone-16-Pro-Max)
  iPad Air (M2) (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPad-Air-M2)
  iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) (com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPad-Pro-13-inch-M4)
  ...

Creating Simulators

Section titled “Creating Simulators”

Single Simulator

Section titled “Single Simulator”

“Create an iPhone 16 Pro simulator with iOS 18”

{
  "name": "iPhone 16 Pro - iOS 18",
  "deviceTypeId": "com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPhone-16-Pro",
  "runtimeId": "com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-18-0"
}

Test Fleet for Multiple Screen Sizes

Section titled “Test Fleet for Multiple Screen Sizes”

Create simulators for the most common screen sizes:

“Create simulators for iPhone SE, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and iPad Pro 13-inch, all on iOS 18”

This executes simulator_create four times:

NameDevice TypeUse Case
iPhone SE - iOS 18iPhone SE (3rd generation)Smallest screen
iPhone 16 - iOS 18iPhone 16Standard size
iPhone 16 Pro Max - iOS 18iPhone 16 Pro MaxLargest iPhone
iPad Pro 13-inch - iOS 18iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)Tablet layout

Backward Compatibility Testing

Section titled “Backward Compatibility Testing”

“Create an iPhone 15 simulator on iOS 17.5 for backward compatibility testing”

{
  "name": "iPhone 15 - iOS 17.5 (compat)",
  "deviceTypeId": "com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimDeviceType.iPhone-15",
  "runtimeId": "com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-17-5"
}

Managing Simulator State

Section titled “Managing Simulator State”

Boot and Use

Section titled “Boot and Use”

  1. Boot the simulator

    “Boot the iPhone 16 Pro simulator”

  2. Open Simulator.app

    “Open the Simulator app for iPhone 16 Pro”

    This displays the simulator window so you can see what’s happening.

  3. Use the simulator — install apps, run tests, capture screenshots

  4. Shutdown when done

    “Shut down all simulators”

    Or target a specific one:

    “Shut down the iPhone SE simulator”

Clone for Parallel Testing

Section titled “Clone for Parallel Testing”

Clone an existing simulator to run tests in parallel without affecting the original:

“Clone the iPhone 16 simulator as ‘iPhone 16 - Test A’”

{
  "deviceId": "F3A1B2C3-D4E5-6789-ABCD-EF0123456789",
  "newName": "iPhone 16 - Test A"
}

Reset to Clean State

Section titled “Reset to Clean State”

Erase all data from a simulator without deleting it:

“Erase the iPhone 16 simulator to start fresh”

{
  "deviceId": "F3A1B2C3-D4E5-6789-ABCD-EF0123456789"
}

This removes all installed apps, accounts, and settings — like a factory reset.

Cleanup

Section titled “Cleanup”

Delete Specific Simulators

Section titled “Delete Specific Simulators”

“Delete the test clone simulator”

{
  "deviceId": "A1B2C3D4-E5F6-7890-ABCD-EF1234567890"
}

Remove Unavailable Simulators

Section titled “Remove Unavailable Simulators”

After updating Xcode, old simulators may become “unavailable”. Clean them up:

“Delete all unavailable simulators”

{
  "deviceId": "unavailable"
}

Push Notification Testing

Section titled “Push Notification Testing”

Test push notifications on a booted simulator:

“Send a push notification to my weather app on the iPhone 16 simulator”

{
  "deviceId": "F3A1B2C3-D4E5-6789-ABCD-EF0123456789",
  "bundleId": "com.example.weatherapp",
  "payload": "{\"aps\":{\"alert\":{\"title\":\"Weather Alert\",\"body\":\"Severe thunderstorm warning for your area\"},\"badge\":1,\"sound\":\"default\"}}"
}

Test different notification types:

{
  "aps": {
    "alert": "You have a new message",
    "badge": 3
  }
}

App Store Screenshot Setup

Section titled “App Store Screenshot Setup”

Prepare simulators for App Store screenshots with a perfect status bar:

“Set up the status bar on iPhone 16 Pro for App Store screenshots”

{
  "deviceId": "F3A1B2C3-D4E5-6789-ABCD-EF0123456789",
  "time": "9:41",
  "batteryLevel": 100,
  "batteryState": "charged",
  "wifiBars": 3,
  "cellularBars": 4,
  "operatorName": "",
  "dataNetwork": "5g"
}

Then take screenshots across all your test devices for the App Store submission.

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”