MCP iOS Simulator Screenshot

A server that captures screenshots from iOS Simulator using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Overview

This project implements an MCP protocol server that captures the current screen of the iOS Simulator and saves it to a specified directory.

Setup

Cline and Roo Code

For Cline and Roo Code, the basic format is:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-ios-simulator-screenshot": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-ios-simulator-screenshot"]
    }
  }
}

If you clone the repository, you can use the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-ios-simulator-screenshot": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-ios-simulator-screenshot/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor, Claude Desktop

For Cursor and Claude Desktop, you need to specify the --output-dir and the output directory:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-ios-simulator-screenshot": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-ios-simulator-screenshot",
        "--output-dir",
        "/path/to/your/output/directory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

MCP Tool Parameters

get_screenshot

Captures a screenshot from iOS Simulator and saves it to the specified directory.

Parameter	Type	Description	Default Value
output_filename	string	Output filename	timestamp.png
output_directory_name	string	Subdirectory name for screenshots	.screenshots
resize	boolean	Whether to resize the image to approximately VGA size	true
max_width	integer	Maximum width for resizing (pixels)	640
device_id	string	Specify a simulator device	booted device

Output Format

On success:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "iOS Simulator screenshot saved successfully",
  "filePath": ".screenshots/simulator_2025-04-10T16-51-16-755Z.png",
  "metadata": {
    "width": 1170,
    "height": 2532,
    "format": "png",
    "size": 382946,
    "timestamp": "2025-04-10T16:51:16.755Z"
  },
  "serverConfig": {
    "commandLineArgs": {
      "outputDir": "/Users/username/Desktop" // Only included when --output-dir is specified
    }
  }
}

Note: The serverConfig.commandLineArgs.outputDir field is only included in the response when the --output-dir parameter is specified when starting the server.

{
  "success": false,
  "message": "Error capturing iOS Simulator screenshot: [error message]",
  "error": {
    "code": "ENOENT",
    "command": "xcrun simctl io booted screenshot --type=png -",
    "stderr": "No matching devices found."
  }
}

Troubleshooting

If you cannot capture screenshots:
Check if iOS Simulator is running
Check if Xcode Command Line Tools are installed
Check if the xcrun simctl io booted screenshot command can be executed directly
If permission errors occur:
Check if you have write permissions for the output directory