Mobdev for Mac
Mobile development.
All in one app.
Let AI agents drive your phones, install and debug your builds and run smoke tests. On your iPhone, iOS simulators and Android, from one native Mac app. Free and open source.
Free. Updates itself. Requires macOS 26.
One app.
Every step.
Mobdev covers everything that happens on the device, for you and for your agent. Keep building the way you do; Mobdev takes it from there.
- AI controlAgents see, tap and type on any phone.
- Every deviceiPhone, Simulator and Android in one list.
- Build and shipInstall builds, then TestFlight and reviews.
- DebugLogs, crash reports and performance traces.
- TestYour test suites, recorded flows and CI runs.
- ResearchCompeting apps and their paywalls, on a real iPhone.
- Live mirrorClick, swipe and type from your Mac.
- RemoteEvery Mac and its phones, from anywhere.
Plug it in.
It shows up.
Plug in an iPhone, boot a simulator or start an emulator, and it shows up in Mobdev. Every device takes the same 88 tools, so one agent can test on all of them in one session.
iPhone.
The screen comes over the USB cable. With Developer Mode, a small UI test taps, types and reads the UI tree over the same cable; without it, Mobdev is a Bluetooth keyboard and pointer. Every app works: the App Store, Messages, Wallet.
Needs a USB data cable
iOS Simulator.
Every booted simulator appears on its own. Install the build you just made and drive it like a user.
Needs Xcode
Android.
Emulators and Android phones take the same tools: screenshots, taps, APK installs, logs and crash reports.
Needs adb from the Android SDK
Every phone you own.
Every tool you need.
No per-device fees.
You bring the Mac and the phones. Mobdev brings the rest, free and open source.
AI control
Hand every phone
to your agent.
Connect Claude Code in one line.
The app shows the exact command for your agent. No token in the config: Mobdev reads it locally and starts in the background when your agent calls.
claude mcp add --scope user mobdev -- \
/Applications/Mobdev.app/Contents/MacOS/Mobdev mcp27
tools, from tap and tap_text to install_app and logs.
Reads the screen.
On-device text recognition finds buttons by their label. Fewer screenshots, fewer tokens.
Any agent.
Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Claude Desktop and every other MCP client. Scripts use the HTTP API.
Many devices.
list_devices shows every device and device picks one. Check the iPhone and the Pixel in one session.
Build, run and debug
Install. Run. Debug.
On the device.
Activity · iPhone 17 Pro simulator
install_app build/Notes.app
Installed com.example.notes
tap_text “Save”
Tapped “Save”
logs com.example.notes
Fatal error: Index out of range
crash_reports Notes
Crashed in NoteStore.save(_:), line 42
install_app build/Notes.app
Installed the fix
tap_text “Save”
Saved. No errors in the logs.
The whole loop, for your agent.
Point it at a build. It installs and launches the app, taps through it, reads what the app prints and finds the crash. Then it tries the fix, on the same device.
- install_app
- launch_app
- stop_app
- open_url
- logs
- crash_reports
- list_apps
- uninstall_app
Keep building with Xcode, Gradle or XcodeBuildMCP. On an iPhone these tools need Developer Mode; simulators and Android work as they are.
Test and research
Ask for a test.
Get a report.
Skills turn the tools into whole workflows. Add them once, then ask your agent in plain words. They stop and ask before anything that pays, sends, deletes or uses real accounts.
npx skills add niklas-schmidt-dev/mobdevRecord once. Replay anywhere.
Click Record, then use the app yourself or let your agent work. Mobdev saves the steps as a flow and replays it from the app, from your agent or in CI, and stops at the first step that fails. Every run keeps a video, so you can watch where it went wrong.
Mobdev flow sign-in.json --device "$UDID"Tap by identifier.
On simulators, Android and Developer Mode iPhones, agents read the UI tree and tap elements by their accessibility identifier. Recorded clicks become identifiers too, so flows survive layout changes.
Smoke tests.
Walks the critical paths on each device, keeps a screenshot of every step and writes a pass/fail report.
Smoke-test the new build on the simulator and the Pixel.
Onboarding audits.
Every first-run screen from launch to first value, scored for friction, with concrete fixes.
Audit our onboarding on my iPhone.
Competitor research.
App Store listings, ratings and prices, then the onboarding and paywalls of the apps themselves.
Compare the top five habit trackers on the App Store.
The dev loop.
Build, install, run and debug until the fix is verified on the device, not just in the compiler.
Run it on my iPhone and find out why it crashes.
At your desk.
Or anywhere.
Take the controls.
Every device gets a live mirror: click to tap, drag to swipe, scroll, and type with your Mac’s keyboard. ⌘V types the clipboard. Take over whenever the agent needs a hand.
3 MB
A native SwiftUI app with Liquid Glass. No Electron, no account, no telemetry.
Every action logged.
See each tool call in the app, on every device, from this Mac or from afar.
Reach it from anywhere.
Turn on remote access and agents on other machines connect through a relay. Your Mac keeps one outgoing connection, so no port is ever opened. The app and the dashboard list every Mac and its phones.
Watch and control a phone live in the browser, and share it with a link that expires, to view only or to control. The Mac shows while someone watches and decides whether anyone may.
Your screen stays on your Mac.
Text recognition runs locally. The API only answers on this Mac and needs a token. The relay forwards requests and stores nothing, and you can run your own.
Read the privacy details ›Free. For every phone
you own.
You already have the Mac and the phones, so Mobdev never charges per device. Pro is for the hosted relay, when agents on other computers need more Macs or more time.
Free
$0
for any number of phones
- The Mac app with every tool
- iPhones, simulators and Android
- Self-hosted relay, MIT licensed
- Hosted relay for 1 Mac: 20,000 requests and 10 active hours a month
Pro
$9
per month, for up to 3 Macs
USD, plus applicable tax
- Everything in Free
- Hosted relay for 3 Macs: 1,000,000 requests and 300 active hours a month
- Cancel any time
TapKit
$49
per phone, per month
Agent control of your iPhone through your own Mac. Commands and screenshots go through their cloud.
MobAI
$9.99
per month beyond one device
A test automation workbench for iOS and Android. Closed source.
Other prices as listed on the vendors’ websites in September 2026.
Questions? Answers.
Does it replace Xcode or Android Studio?
No. Keep building with Xcode, Android Studio, Gradle or XcodeBuildMCP. Mobdev takes over once there is a build: it installs it on a device, runs it, drives it and reads its logs and crash reports.
Does the iPhone need Developer Mode?
It is the best way. With Developer Mode on and Xcode signed in, Mobdev builds Mobdev Runner, a small UI test, and keeps it running on the iPhone: it taps, types any text and reads the UI tree over the USB cable. Installing your builds, logs, Instruments and device settings need it too. Without Developer Mode, Mobdev drives the iPhone as a Bluetooth keyboard and pointer, which every iPhone supports once AssistiveTouch is on.
Does it work with the Simulator and Android?
Yes. Booted iOS simulators and Android emulators and phones appear next to your iPhones and take the same tools, installing and reading logs included. Simulators need Xcode, Android needs adb from the Android SDK. Nothing is installed on them.
Do I need an AI agent?
No. Every device gets a live mirror in the app that you can click, swipe and type on. Agents add the automation: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or any MCP client, or a script that calls the HTTP API.
What do I need?
A Mac with macOS 26 or later. For an iPhone, a USB data cable; the phone stays plugged in and unlocked while agents work. For simulators and Android, Xcode or the Android SDK is enough.
Where do my screenshots go?
Nowhere, unless your agent sends them to its model. Mobdev keeps everything on your Mac. The relay passes requests through and stores nothing.
Can I run the relay myself?
Yes. It is a small Go server in the repository, or a Docker image. The hosted relay just saves you the setup.
How many phones can I use?
As many as you own, for free. One Mac drives several iPhones, simulators and Android devices at once. Through the hosted relay, Free connects 1 Mac and Pro 3.
What counts toward the hosted relay’s limits?
Each request an agent sends to your Mac through the relay, and the time your Mac spends answering it. A connected Mac that waits costs nothing. Mobdev on the Mac itself and a relay you run yourself have no limits.