Can I start the iPhone simulator without "Build and Run"?

xcode ios-simulator
RobertL picture RobertL · Feb 19, 2011 · Viewed 104.5k times · Source

I want to delete an app in the simulator before I "build and run". How can I start the simulator so I can do the deletion? If I start it by "build and run" I get a long log output that takes a while because of a bug I'm trying to fix. I'd like to avoid that.

Answer

Seth picture Seth · Feb 19, 2011

The simulator is just an application, and as such you can run it like any other application.

To run the simulator straight from terminal prepend these locations with the open command

Xcode 7.x, 8.x, and 9.x

In Xcode 7.x, the iPhone Simulator has moved again: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Applications/Simulator.app.

Xcode 6.x

In Xcode 6.x, the iPhone Simulator has moved yet again, and now resides here: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Applications/iOS Simulator.app.

Xcode 4.x, 5.x

In Xcode 4.x (through 4.5 on Mountain Lion) and Xcode 5.0.x on Mavericks, it lives here: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/Applications/

In my version of Xcode (4.5.2), I find it quite convenient to use the Open Developer Tool menu from either the dock icon or the Xcode menu:

open iOS Simulator

Xcode 3.x

In Xcode 3.x, it lives here:

/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/Applications/iPhone Simulator.app

In some future version of Xcode, it will probably move again, it's a squirrelly little app.

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