- name
- baguette-ios-simulator
- description
- Headless iOS Simulator manager with host-side HID input injection, 60fps streaming, and device farm web UI for iOS 26
- triggers
- ["control iOS simulator headlessly","inject touch input into simulator","stream simulator screen","manage simulator device farm","tap swipe gesture simulator programmatically","boot simulator without GUI","simulator web UI dashboard","simulate multi-finger pinch zoom on iOS"]
# Baguette iOS Simulator Manager
> Skill by [ara.so](https://ara.so) — Daily 2026 Skills collection.
Baguette is a Swift CLI tool that creates, boots, and shuts down iOS Simulator devices, streams their screens at 60fps, and injects taps/swipes/multi-finger gestures entirely headlessly — no Simulator.app GUI required. It also serves a self-contained web UI for single-device and multi-device (farm) control.
## Requirements
- Apple Silicon Mac only
- macOS 15+
- Xcode 26 (links against private SimulatorKit/CoreSimulator frameworks)
## Install
```bash
brew install tddworks/tap/baguette
```
### Build from Source
```bash
git clone https://github.com/tddworks/baguette
cd baguette
make # release build via ./build.sh
swift test # run the test suite
```
## Key CLI Commands
### Device Management
```bash
# List all simulators (default + custom sets)
baguette list
# Boot a simulator headlessly (no Simulator.app window)
baguette boot --udid <UDID>
# Shutdown a simulator
baguette shutdown --udid <UDID>
```
### Screen Streaming
```bash
# Stream frames to stdout as MJPEG (default)
baguette stream --udid <UDID> --fps 60 --format mjpeg
# Stream as H.264/AVCC
baguette stream --udid <UDID> --fps 60 --format avcc
# Pipe MJPEG to ffplay for local preview
baguette stream --udid <UDID> --fps 30 --format mjpeg | ffplay -i -
```
### One-Shot Gesture Input
Coordinates are in **device points**; `--width`/`--height` are the simulator screen size in points.
```bash
# Tap at a point
baguette tap --udid <UDID> --x 219 --y 478 --width 438 --height 954
# Tap with custom duration
baguette tap --udid <UDID> --x 219 --y 478 --width 438 --height 954 --duration 0.1
# Swipe from top to bottom (scroll down)
baguette swipe --udid <UDID> \
--startX 219 --startY 190 \
--endX 219 --endY 760 \
--width 438 --height 954
# Pinch to zoom in (startSpread < endSpread)
baguette pinch --udid <UDID> \
--cx 219 --cy 478 \
--startSpread 60 --endSpread 200 \
--width 438 --height 954
# Two-finger pan
baguette pan --udid <UDID> \
--x1 175 --y1 478 \
--x2 263 --y2 478 \
--dx 0 --dy -100 \
--width 438 --height 954
# Hardware buttons
baguette press --udid <UDID> --button home
baguette press --udid <UDID> --button lock
```
### Streaming Gesture Input (stdin JSON)
For real-time or scripted gesture sequences, pipe newline-delimited JSON to `baguette input`:
```bash
baguette input --udid <UDID>
```
Each line gets an ack: `{"ok":true}` or `{"ok":false,"error":"..."}`.
### Web UI Server
```bash
# Start the web server (default port 8421)
baguette serve
# Custom port and host
baguette serve --port 9000 --host 0.0.0.0
# Custom device set
baguette serve --port 8421 --device-set /path/to/device-set
# Open single-device dashboard
open http://localhost:8421/simulators
# Open multi-device farm dashboard
open http://localhost:8421/farm
```
### DeviceKit Chrome/Bezel Data
```bash
# Print bezel layout JSON for a booted device
baguette chrome layout --udid <UDID>
# Write composite PNG (device screenshot + bezel) to stdout
baguette chrome composite --udid <UDID> > screenshot.png
# By device name (no UDID needed)
baguette chrome layout --device-name "iPhone 17 Pro"
baguette chrome composite --device-name "iPhone 17 Pro" > iphone17pro_bezel.png
```
## Wire Protocol — Streaming Input via stdin
Send newline-delimited JSON to `baguette input --udid <UDID>`:
```json
{"type":"tap", "x":219, "y":478, "width":438, "height":954, "duration":0.05}
{"type":"swipe", "startX":219, "startY":760, "endX":219, "endY":190, "width":438, "height":954, "duration":0.3}
{"type":"touch1-down", "x":219, "y":478, "width":438, "height":954}
{"type":"touch1-move", "x":225, "y":485, "width":438, "height":954}
{"type":"touch1-up", "x":225, "y":485, "width":438, "height":954}
{"type":"touch2-down", "x1":175, "y1":478, "x2":263, "y2":478, "width":438, "height":954}
{"type":"touch2-move", "x1":150, "y1":478, "x2":288, "y2":478, "width":438, "height":954}
{"type":"touch2-up", "x1":150, "y1":478, "x2":288, "y2":478, "width":438, "height":954}
{"type":"pinch", "cx":219, "cy":478, "startSpread":60, "endSpread":200, "width":438, "height":954}
{"type":"button", "button":"home"}
{"type":"button", "button":"lock"}
{"type":"scroll", "deltaX":0, "deltaY":-50}
```
## WebSocket Protocol (for Web UI / Custom Clients)
Connect to `ws://localhost:8421/simulators/<UDID>/stream?format=mjpeg` (or `avcc`).
### Server → Client (binary frames)
- **MJPEG**: raw JPEG bytes per message
- **AVCC**: 1-byte tag prefix:
- `0x01` — avcC description
- `0x02` — keyframe
- `0x03` — delta frame
- `0x04` — JPEG seed frame (renders before H.264 IDR)
### Client → Server (text JSON)
```json
{"type":"set_bitrate", "bps": 2000000}
{"type":"set_fps", "fps": 30}
{"type":"set_scale", "scale": 0.5}
{"type":"force_idr"}
{"type":"snapshot"}
```
Gesture input messages (same format as stdin wire protocol above) are also accepted over the WebSocket.
## Web UI Routes
| Method | Path | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `GET` | `/` | Redirects → `/simulators` |
| `GET` | `/simulators` | Device list HTML |
| `GET` | `/simulators.json` | `{running: [...], available: [...]}` |
| `GET` | `/simulators/:udid` | Stream page HTML |
| `POST` | `/simulators/:udid/boot` | Boot device |
| `POST` | `/simulators/:udid/shutdown` | Shutdown device |
| `GET` | `/simulators/:udid/chrome.json` | Bezel layout JSON |
| `GET` | `/simulators/:udid/bezel.png` | Rasterized bezel PNG |
| `WS` | `/simulators/:udid/stream` | Live stream + input |
| `GET` | `/farm` | Multi-device farm HTML |
## Code Examples
### Scripting Gestures from Swift
```swift
import Foundation
// Build a gesture sequence as newline-delimited JSON
func makeGestureScript() -> String {
let gestures: [[String: Any]] = [
// Boot sequence: tap the app icon
["type": "tap", "x": 100, "y": 200, "width": 390, "height": 844, "duration": 0.05],
// Scroll down in a list
["type": "swipe", "startX": 195, "startY": 600,
"endX": 195, "endY": 200, "width": 390, "height": 844, "duration": 0.4],
// Pinch to zoom
["type": "pinch", "cx": 195, "cy": 422,
"startSpread": 50, "endSpread": 180, "width": 390, "height": 844],
// Press home
["type": "button", "button": "home"]
]
return gestures.compactMap { dict -> String? in
guard let data = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: dict) else { return nil }
return String(data: data, encoding: .utf8)
}.joined(separator: "\n")
}
// Run baguette input with the script
func runGestureScript(udid: String, script: String) async throws {
let process = Process()
process.executableURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: "/usr/local/bin/baguette")
process.arguments = ["input", "--udid", udid]
let inputPipe = Pipe()
let outputPipe = Pipe()
process.standardInput = inputPipe
process.standardOutput = outputPipe
try process.run()
let inputData = (script + "\n").data(using: .utf8)!
inputPipe.fileHandleForWriting.write(inputData)
inputPipe.fileHandleForWriting.closeFile()
process.waitUntilExit()
let outputData = outputPipe.fileHandleForReading.readDataToEndOfFile()
let acks = String(data: outputData, encoding: .utf8) ?? ""
print("Acks:\n\(acks)")
}
```
### Listing and Booting Simulators
```swift
import Foundation
struct SimulatorInfo: Codable {
let running: [Device]
let available: [Device]
struct Device: Codable {
let udid: String
let name: String
let os: String
let state: String
}
}
func fetchSimulators(port: Int = 8421) async throws -> SimulatorInfo {
let url = URL(string: "http://localhost:\(port)/simulators.json")!
let (data, _) = try await URLSession.shared.data(from: url)
return try JSONDecoder().decode(SimulatorInfo.self, from: data)
}
func bootSimulator(udid: String, port: Int = 8421) async throws {
let url = URL(string: "http://localhost:\(port)/simulators/\(udid)/boot")!
var request = URLRequest(url: url)
request.httpMethod = "POST"
let (_, response) = try await URLSession.shared.data(for: request)
guard (response as? HTTPURLResponse)?.statusCode == 200 else {
throw URLError(.badServerResponse)
}
}
// Usage
Task {
let sims = try await fetchSimulators()
print("Running: \(sims.running.map(\.name))")
if let first = sims.available.first {
try await bootSimulator(udid: first.udid)
print("Booted \(first.name)")
}
}
```
### Connecting to a Live Stream WebSocket
```swift
import Foundation
func connectToSimulatorStream(udid: String, port: Int = 8421) {
let url = URL(string: "ws://localhost:\(port)/simulators/\(udid)/stream?format=mjpeg")!
let session = URLSession(configuration: .default)
let task = session.webSocketTask(with: url)
task.resume()
// Reduce bitrate and fps for a thumbnail
let setFps = URLSessionWebSocketTask.Message.string(
#"{"type":"set_fps","fps":15}"#
)
let setBitrate = URLSessionWebSocketTask.Message.string(
#"{"type":"set_bitrate","bps":500000}"#
)
task.send(setFps) { _ in }
task.send(setBitrate) { _ in }
// Receive MJPEG frames
func receiveFrame() {
task.receive { result in
switch result {
case .success(.data(let jpegData)):
// jpegData is a raw JPEG — display in NSImageView / UIImageView
print("Received frame: \(jpegData.count) bytes")
receiveFrame()
case .success(.string(let text)):
print("Control message: \(text)")
receiveFrame()
case .failure(let error):
print("Stream ended: \(error)")
}
}
}
receiveFrame()
}
```
### Sending Gestures over WebSocket
```swift
func sendTapOverWebSocket(task: URLSessionWebSocketTask, x: Double, y: Double,
width: Double, height: Double) {
let gesture: [String: Any] = [
"type": "tap",
View on GitHub