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Momentic supports iOS apps running on local and remote simulators. Real devices are not supported.

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Prerequisites

For local simulators (macOS only):
  • Xcode and Xcode Command Line Tools
  • iOS simulator components for the target iOS version
  • idb, Momentic uses idb to drive simulators
For remote simulators, no local Xcode is required once you have a build to upload.

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Install Xcode

Download Xcode from Apple’s developer site or the App Store. Open it once and accept the license agreement, then install the command-line tools: 
xcode-select --install

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Install simulator components

In Xcode, open Xcode, then Settings, then Components. If the iOS 26.2 + iOS 26.3.1 Simulator component is not installed, click the download icon.

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Install idb

Momentic uses idb to interact with local iOS simulators performantly. Follow idb’s installation guide.

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Build your app for testing

In Xcode, select Product, then Build For, then Testing. This produces a .app bundle that Momentic can install on a simulator. For a command-line build, use xcodebuild: 
xcodebuild \
  -workspace YourApp.xcworkspace \
  -scheme YourApp \
  -sdk iphonesimulator \
  -configuration Debug \
  -derivedDataPath build \
  build-for-testing
The .app bundle lands under build/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/.

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App requirements

  • Builds must target iOS simulator (not a physical device).
  • Debug builds work out of the box. Release builds may require additional code-signing configuration, simulator builds do not need a provisioning profile.

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Upload to a channel

Use momentic-mobile assets to upload the .app to a channel and tag: 
npx momentic-mobile assets upload ./build/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/YourApp.app \
  --channel dev \
  --tag 1.0.0

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Next steps

Simulators

Local vs. remote simulators and device types

CI/CD

Run iOS tests on every pull request