outside-in-testing-ios-apps

Installation (prerequisite):

brew install cameroncooke/axe/axe

The iOS Simulator must be running with the app under test.

<quick_start>

1. Find the simulator: axe list-simulators — look for a Booted simulator, capture its UDID
2. Screenshot current state: axe screenshot --udid {UDID} --output /tmp/screen.png
3. Describe the UI: axe describe-ui --udid {UDID}
4. Interact: axe tap --label "Button" --udid {UDID}
5. Repeat: screenshot → describe → interact → verify </quick_start>

Observe

• Take a screenshot: axe screenshot --udid {UDID} --output /tmp/screen.png
• Read the accessibility tree: axe describe-ui --udid {UDID}
• To inspect a specific point: axe describe-ui --point 100,200 --udid {UDID}

Act — choose based on what you need to do:

• Tap by accessibility label: axe tap --label "Login" --udid {UDID}
• Tap by accessibility identifier: axe tap --id "loginButton" --udid {UDID}
• Tap by coordinates (fallback): axe tap -x 200 -y 400 --udid {UDID}
• Type text: axe type 'user@example.com' --udid {UDID}
• Type from stdin: echo "text" | axe type --stdin --udid {UDID}
• Type from file: axe type --file input.txt --udid {UDID}
• Scroll: axe gesture scroll-down --udid {UDID}
• Swipe: axe swipe --start-x 200 --start-y 500 --end-x 200 --end-y 200 --duration 0.3 --udid {UDID}
• Advanced touch (hold): axe touch -x 150 -y 250 --down --up --delay 1.0 --udid {UDID}
• Press key: axe key 40 --udid {UDID} (Enter)
• Key sequence: axe key-sequence --keycodes 11,8,15,15,18 --udid {UDID}
• Home button: axe button home --udid {UDID}
• Siri: axe button siri --udid {UDID}

Verify After each action, take a screenshot and check whether the expected change occurred. If something is wrong, note the issue and investigate.

Timing controls — add delays when animations or loading cause flakiness:

• --pre-delay 0.5 — wait before acting
• --post-delay 1.0 — wait after acting
• --duration 0.3 — control gesture speed

<gesture_presets> Available preset gestures (use with axe gesture {preset} --udid {UDID}):

• scroll-up, scroll-down, scroll-left, scroll-right
• swipe-from-left-edge, swipe-from-right-edge
• swipe-from-top-edge, swipe-from-bottom-edge

For specific screen sizes: axe gesture swipe-from-left-edge --screen-width 430 --screen-height 932 --udid {UDID} </gesture_presets>

<diagnosing_failures> When the app is not behaving as expected, fetch simulator logs to diagnose:

# Stream logs from the booted simulator (Ctrl+C to stop)
xcrun simctl spawn booted log stream --level debug --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.UIKit" OR processImagePath CONTAINS "{APP_NAME}"' 2>&1 | head -200

# Get recent log entries
xcrun simctl spawn booted log show --last 5m --predicate 'processImagePath CONTAINS "{APP_NAME}"' --style compact

# Check for crash logs
ls ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/*{APP_NAME}* 2>/dev/null

Replace {APP_NAME} with the app’s process name (visible in describe-ui output or from xcrun simctl listapps booted).

If this is a React Native app, invoke the debugging-react-native skill (https://github.com/mikekelly/debugging-react-native) for React Native-specific diagnosis including Metro bundler issues, JS errors, and red box screens. </diagnosing_failures>

<success_criteria> Testing is complete when:

• App launched and initial screen verified via screenshot
• Core user flows exercised (navigate, interact, verify outcomes)
• Key interactive elements respond correctly
• No crashes or unhandled errors encountered (or failures diagnosed via logs)
• Findings documented: what worked, what failed, and why </success_criteria>