Breaking

serve-sim streams iOS Simulator to browsers for Claude Code

July 10, 2026 at 07:45 EDT

AI Agents
Software Dev & Coding
Open Source

Evan Bacon, who leads Expo AI, has released serve-sim, an open-source tool that streams a running iOS Simulator straight into a web browser so AI agents such as Claude Code can drive and test it. The setup targets keeping a simulator running on a headless Mac Mini with no attached display, giving agents "eyes and hands" over the web. Released for free under Apache-2.0, it is available on GitHub and npm.

Spring 2026 · Expo AI

serve-sim: streaming an iOS Simulator to the browser so AI agents can drive it

Evan Bacon's open-source tool captures a running iOS Simulator and streams it to a web browser — giving agents like Claude Code "eyes and hands" to tap, gesture and test apps, even on a headless Mac Mini with no display.

60 FPS

Live stream, auto-selecting MJPEG or H.264

Apache-2.0, free (VPS costs separate)

Devices: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch

Command: npx serve-sim

The agent test loop

Generate code, verify it live in the simulator, and iterate — the cycle serve-sim is built to accelerate.

Generate

Agent writes code

→

Drive

Tap, swipe, gesture via WebSocket

→

Verify

Watch the stream & logs

↺

What it needs & what it does

No Xcode plugin, no in-app instrumentation — captures the framebuffer with simctl io.

Environment

Apple Silicon macOS (no Intel)
Xcode command line tools
Node.js LTS (20+)
Ports 3200 preview / 3100 helper

Controls

Taps, swipes, gestures, rotation
Text input & home button
Camera injection & log forwarding
Local, LAN & remote tunnels

Promising

Claude Code can autonomously test an app and speed up the Expo / React Native loop. Camera injection and multi-device support are seen as practical for remote-first mobile development.

Open questions

A remote VPS (~$25–200/mo) reportedly adds several hundred milliseconds of latency, raising doubts about smoothness for everyday interactive use. Real-world friction reports are still sparse.

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