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220 changes: 72 additions & 148 deletions README.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,31 +1,40 @@
# SIM-CLI
[![Test and Build](https://github.com/annurdien/sim-cli/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/annurdien/sim-cli/actions/workflows/ci.yml)

CLI tool to manage iOS simulators and Android emulators with ease.
[![Test and Build](https://github.com/annurdien/sim-cli/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/annurdien/sim-cli/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[![Go Version](https://img.shields.io/github/go-mod/go-version/annurdien/sim-cli)](https://golang.org)
[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

<div align="center">
<img src="./assets/cli.png" alt="SIM-CLI Terminal Icon">
<img src="./assets/cli.png" alt="SIM-CLI Terminal Icon" width="600">
<p>
<strong>iOS Simulator & Android Emulator Manager</strong>
</p>
<p>
A powerful, cross-platform command-line tool to streamline your mobile development workflow.
</p>
</div>


## Overview

SIM-CLI is a cross-platform command-line tool that provides a unified interface for managing iOS simulators and Android emulators. It simplifies common tasks like listing devices, starting/stopping simulators, taking screenshots, and recording screen activity.
SIM-CLI provides a simple and unified interface to manage your iOS simulators and Android emulators. Say goodbye to tedious GUI interactions and manage your devices directly from the terminal.

## Features
## Features

- **Device Management**: List, start, stop, shutdown, restart, and delete simulators/emulators
- **Media Capture**: Take screenshots and record screen activity
- **Cross-Platform**: Works on macOS (with full iOS simulator support) and Linux/Windows (Android emulators only)
- **User-Friendly**: Clean, intuitive CLI interface with helpful error messages
- **Shorthand Commands**: Quick aliases for all commands (e.g., `l` for list, `s` for start)
- **📱 Device Management**: List, start, stop, shutdown, restart, and delete simulators/emulators.
- **📸 Media Capture**: Take screenshots and record screen activity with ease.
- **📋 Clipboard Integration**: Copy screenshots and recordings directly to your clipboard.
- **GIF Conversion**: Automatically convert screen recordings to GIFs.
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Copilot AI Jul 23, 2025

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[nitpick] Missing 'Auto' prefix for consistency. Should be 'Auto GIF Conversion:' to match the pattern of other feature descriptions that use descriptive prefixes.

Suggested change
- **GIF Conversion**: Automatically convert screen recordings to GIFs.
- **Auto GIF Conversion**: Automatically convert screen recordings to GIFs.

Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes.
- **🚀 Cross-Platform**: Works on macOS (with full iOS simulator support) and Linux/Windows (Android emulators only).
- **⌨️ User-Friendly**: Clean, intuitive CLI interface with helpful error messages.
- **⚡️ Shorthand Commands**: Quick aliases for all commands (e.g., `l` for list, `s` for start).
- **🧠 Smart Device Selection**: Easily start the last used device.

## Installation
## 🛠️ Installation

### Prerequisites

- **For iOS simulators**: macOS with Xcode installed
- **For Android emulators**: Android SDK with `adb` and `emulator` tools in PATH
- **For iOS simulators**: macOS with Xcode installed.
- **For Android emulators**: Android SDK with `adb` and `emulator` tools in your PATH.

### Build from Source

Expand All @@ -36,171 +45,86 @@ make build
```

### Install

```bash
make install
```

## Usage
## 🚀 Usage

### Quick Start

```bash
# List all devices (shorthand: sim l or sim ls)
# List all available devices
sim list

# Start a device (shorthand: sim s "device")
# Start a device by name
sim start "iPhone 15 Pro"

# Take a screenshot (shorthand: sim ss "device")
sim screenshot "iPhone 15 Pro"

# Stop the device (shorthand: sim st "device")
sim stop "iPhone 15 Pro"
```

### List Available Devices
# Take a screenshot and copy it to the clipboard
sim screenshot "iPhone 15 Pro" --copy

```bash
sim list
```
# Record a 10-second GIF
sim record "iPhone 15 Pro" --duration 10 --gif

Example output:
```
┌───────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┐
│ TYPE │ NAME │ STATE │ UDID │ RUNTIME │
├───────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│ iOS Simulator │ iPhone 15 Pro │ Shutdown │ AD3D3E8D-785C-4982-BADE-6D9A20D195A5 │ iOS 17.5 │
│ iOS Simulator │ iPhone 15 Pro Max │ Shutdown │ 9A3BAC90-B6A4-43B9-A6FF-40192D23F4D1 │ iOS 17.5 │
│ iOS Simulator │ iPhone 17.5 │ Shutdown │ 28823504-3E61-427B-BB79-C8A845A501FC │ iOS 17.5 │
│ iOS Simulator │ iPhone 15 Plus │ Shutdown │ 323FE005-AF77-448B-AF0B-C4AC20DFBF6B │ iOS 17.5 │
└───────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┘
```

### Start a Device

```bash
# Start by name
sim start "iPhone 15 Pro"

# Start by UDID
sim start A1B2C3D4-E5F6-G7H8-I9J0-K1L2M3N4O5P6

# Start last started device device
sim start lts
# OR
sim s lts
```

### Stop a Device

```bash
# Stop the device
sim stop "iPhone 15 Pro"
```

### Restart a Device
## 📚 Commands Reference

```bash
sim restart "Pixel_7_API_34"
```

### Delete a Device

```bash
# Delete by name (⚠️ This permanently removes the device)
sim delete "iPhone 15 Pro"

# Delete by UDID
sim delete A1B2C3D4-E5F6-G7H8-I9J0-K1L2M3N4O5P6
```

**Warning**: The delete command permanently removes the simulator or emulator. Use with caution!

### Take a Screenshot

```bash
# Auto-generated filename
sim screenshot "iPhone 15 Pro"

# Custom filename
sim screenshot "iPhone 15 Pro" my_screenshot.png
```

### Record Screen

```bash
# Record until manually stopped (Ctrl+C)
sim record "iPhone 15 Pro"

# Record for specific duration (in seconds)
sim record "iPhone 15 Pro" --duration 30

# Custom filename
sim record "iPhone 15 Pro" my_recording.mp4 --duration 60
```

## Commands Reference
Here is a complete list of available commands and their options.

| Command | Aliases | Description |
|---------|---------|-------------|
| `list` | `l`, `ls` | List all available simulators and emulators |
| `start <device>` | `s` | Start a simulator or emulator |
| `stop <device>` | `st` | Stop a running simulator or emulator |
| `shutdown <device>` | `sd` | Shutdown a simulator or emulator |
| `restart <device>` | `r` | Restart a simulator or emulator |
| `delete <device>` | `d`, `del` | Delete a simulator or emulator (permanent) |
| `screenshot <device> [file]` | `ss`, `shot` | Take a screenshot |
| `record <device> [file]` | `rec` | Record screen activity |
| `help` | - | Show help information |
| `version` | - | Show version information |

### Shorthand Examples
|---|---|---|
| `list` | `l`, `ls` | List all available simulators and emulators. |
| `start <device>` | `s` | Start a simulator or emulator. Use `lts` to start the last used device. |
| `stop <device>` | `st` | Stop a running simulator or emulator. |
| `shutdown <device>` | `sd` | Shutdown a simulator or emulator. |
| `restart <device>` | `r` | Restart a simulator or emulator. |
| `delete <device>` | `d`, `del` | **Permanently** delete a simulator or emulator. |
| `screenshot <device> [file]` | `ss`, `shot` | Take a screenshot of a device. |
| `record <device> [file]` | `rec` | Record screen activity of a device. |
| `last` | - | Show the last used device. |
| `lts` | - | A shorthand to start the last used device (`sim start lts`). |
| `help` | - | Show help information. |
| `version` | `-v` | Show version information. |

```bash
# These commands are equivalent:
sim list # or sim l or sim ls
sim start "device" # or sim s "device"
sim stop "device" # or sim st "device"
sim delete "device" # or sim d "device" or sim del "device"
sim screenshot "device" # or sim ss "device" or sim shot "device"
```
### `screenshot` Options

## Device Identification
| Flag | Shorthand | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `--copy` | `-c` | Copy the screenshot to the clipboard. |

Devices can be identified by:
- **Name**: Exact device name (e.g., "iPhone 15 Pro")
- **UDID**: Unique device identifier
### `record` Options

Use `sim list` to see available devices and their identifiers.
| Flag | Shorthand | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `--duration` | `-d` | Duration of the recording in seconds (e.g., `--duration 15`). |
| `--gif` | `-g` | Convert the recording to a GIF. |
| `--copy` | `-c` | Copy the recording file path to the clipboard. |

## Safety & Best Practices

### Delete Command Safety
- The `delete` command permanently removes simulators/emulators
- Always verify the device name/UDID before deletion
- Consider using `sim list` first to confirm the exact device name
- Running devices are automatically stopped before deletion
## ⚠️ Safety & Best Practices

### iOS Simulators
- Deleted simulators can be recreated through Xcode
- Custom simulator configurations will be lost
### Delete Command

### Android Emulators
- Deleted AVDs must be manually recreated
- All data and configurations will be permanently lost
The `delete` command is destructive and **permanently removes** the simulator or emulator.
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Consider adding information about data recovery or backup recommendations before using the delete command, as this is critical safety information for users.

Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes.

## Platform Support
- Always double-check the device name or UDID with `sim list` before deleting.
- Running devices are automatically stopped before deletion.
- Deleted devices must be recreated through Xcode (for iOS) or the AVD Manager (for Android).

- **macOS**: Full support for iOS simulators and Android emulators
- **Linux/Windows**: Android emulator support only
## 🤝 Contributing

## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a pull request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request
1. Fork the repository.
2. Create your feature branch (`git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature`).
3. Commit your changes (`git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature'`).
4. Push to the branch (`git push origin feature/AmazingFeature`).
5. Open a pull request.

## License
## 📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.