iOS Simulator pane

Watch and steer Claude as it builds, runs and taps through your iOS app in a per-session simulator inside the Claude desktop app on macOS.

When Claude builds and launches an iOS app from the desktop app's Code tab, an iOS Simulator pane opens beside the conversation and streams the simulated device live. You can watch Claude tap through screens to check its own work, or take over and tap around yourself while it keeps going.

The pane talks to the simulator directly. It does not need computer use, never takes over your screen and never hides your other windows. (In the CLI, by contrast, Claude reaches the simulator through computer use, moving the pointer like a person would.)

Note: The pane is a public beta on macOS, available on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, except Enterprise organisations with the HIPAA configuration enabled.

Requirements

Claude Desktop v1.24012.0 or later.
A Mac. Apple's simulator only exists on macOS.
Xcode with the iOS platform, which supplies the simulated devices. Xcode 26.x or Xcode 27 is recommended.
A local session. Cloud and SSH sessions run elsewhere and cannot see your Mac's simulators.

"Device" on this page means a simulated iPhone or iPad, the same ones listed in Xcode under Window > Devices and Simulators, never physical hardware.

Several Xcode versions installed?

The pane uses whichever Xcode xcode-select points to. Check with:

xcode-select -p

which prints something like /Applications/Xcode-27.app/Contents/Developer. To switch, select the app bundle by path and restart Claude Desktop:

sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode-26.3.app

Running your app

There is no command to learn. Open your project as the session folder in the Code tab, then ask for something that involves running the app:

Build the app, run it on the simulator, and check that the new paywall screen
shows the annual price with the discount badge.

When the app launches, the pane opens. The first time Claude uses a given device you are asked to allow it (see below). Claude then installs, launches, taps and reads the screen to verify its changes.

Some behaviours worth knowing:

If your request is about how something looks, Claude boots a simulator before starting the work.
After a fix, ask Claude to verify. Relaunching the app reopens the pane if you closed it.
The pane shows whichever device the app actually launched on. Name a device to target it: "run it on the iPad Air simulator".
Devices Claude boots also appear in Apple's Simulator app (or Device Hub on Xcode 27), and Claude can install onto a device you already booted.

You can open the pane yourself once the session has a simulator or Claude Code notices iOS work: an iOS Simulator button appears in the title bar. Use Attach simulator, or pick a specific device from the menu beside it (picking a shut-down device boots it). If Xcode or simulators are missing, the pane shows the setup steps and ticks them off as you go.

Driving it yourself

The pane is interactive:

Action	How
Tap and swipe	Click and drag on the screen
Home	Cmd+Shift+H
Lock	Cmd+L
Volume	Cmd+Up / Cmd+Down
Rotate clockwise	Rotate button or Cmd+Right
Screenshot	Cmd+S (saved to your Desktop)
Screen recording	Cmd+R (saved to your Desktop)
Change device	Device menu, showing OS version and boot state
Stop streaming without shutting down	Detach simulator

If there is a Display menu, lower Frame rate or Resolution to reduce load on your Mac. That only affects the stream, not the app.

You and Claude share the device, so your taps change what Claude sees. A handy pattern: navigate to a tricky screen yourself, then ask "does this look right?". While Claude is in control, a Claude is using this device badge sits above the screen; wait for it to clear before tapping.

Devices and sessions

Each device belongs to the session that launched it, so parallel sessions never fight over one. Switching session in the sidebar switches the simulator view too, and switching back resumes where you were. A session can have up to 4 device panes.

Simulators that the desktop app booted are shut down when you quit the app, archive the session, or 10 minutes after you detach the device. Devices you booted yourself in Simulator or Device Hub are never shut down automatically. The pane's shutdown button stops the attached device immediately.

Allowing a device

The first time Claude uses a simulator, you are asked to allow it. This covers controlling and screenshotting that device, and is granted once per device, not per session. Once allowed, taps, typing, launching and screenshots run without further prompts. Because Claude only touches the simulated device, the pane does not need the macOS Accessibility or Screen Recording permissions that computer use requires.

Warning: Screenshots Claude takes are sent to Anthropic and retained under your normal conversation settings. Do not sign in to real personal or production accounts on a device Claude uses.

Decline, and the device still boots and works for you; only Claude is locked out. Let Claude use it in the pane changes your mind later.

Actions that follow your permission mode

Two things go through your normal permission mode instead:

Opening a URL on the device (for deep links or Safari), since a URL can carry data off the device.
Building the app, because xcodebuild runs your project's build scripts on your Mac. Checking on a build already running does not prompt.

Turning access off

You can switch off Claude's simulator access in the app's settings. Organisations have two policy options:

disableMobileSimulatorTools in managed settings blocks Claude's simulator tools. The pane still works for users' own taps and the setting cannot be overridden in the app. It must be the JSON boolean true.
requireCoworkFullVmSandbox, which moves Claude's tools into an isolated VM, disables the pane and simulator tools entirely.

Claude tells you when either is in force.

Limitations

Only simulated devices are supported; Claude cannot drive a physical iPhone or iPad. For hardware testing, run from Xcode yourself and describe what you see or attach a screenshot.

Troubleshooting

The pane never opens

Be explicit: "run the app in the iOS Simulator and walk through sign-up".
Check Xcode and its simulators are installed, ideally a recommended version.
Your organisation may have disabled simulator tools by policy.
HIPAA-configured Enterprise organisations do not get the pane.
Update to v1.24012.0 or later via Claude > Check for Updates and restart.

"No simulators were found"

Xcode is present but has no iOS simulator runtime. Follow the setup steps in the pane, download the runtime from Xcode's settings, or run:

xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS