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run-ios does not run on simulator by default, presumably because it's trying to run on my iPhone #2254

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run-ios does not run on simulator by default, presumably because it's trying to run on my iPhone#2254
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@swrobel
swrobel
opened on Jan 10, 2024

Environment

info Fetching system and libraries information...
System:
  OS: macOS 14.2.1
  CPU: (10) arm64 Apple M1 Max
  Memory: 602.31 MB / 64.00 GB
  Shell:
    version: "5.9"
    path: /bin/zsh
Binaries:
  Node:
    version: 20.10.0
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/node
  Yarn:
    version: 1.22.21
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/yarn
  npm:
    version: 10.2.3
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/npm
  Watchman:
    version: 2023.12.04.00
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/watchman
Managers:
  CocoaPods:
    version: 1.14.3
    path: bin/pod
SDKs:
  iOS SDK:
    Platforms:
      - DriverKit 23.2
      - iOS 17.2
      - macOS 14.2
      - tvOS 17.2
      - visionOS 1.0
      - watchOS 10.2
  Android SDK: Not Found
IDEs:
  Android Studio: 2023.1 AI-231.9392.1.2311.11076708
  Xcode:
    version: 15.2/15C500b
    path: /usr/bin/xcodebuild
Languages:
  Java:
    version: 17.0.9
    path: /usr/bin/javac
  Ruby:
    version: 3.3.0
    path: /opt/homebrew/Cellar/ruby/3.3.0/bin/ruby
npmPackages:
  "@react-native-community/cli": Not Found
  react:
    installed: 18.2.0
    wanted: "18.2"
  react-native:
    installed: 0.73.2
    wanted: 0.73.2
  react-native-macos: Not Found
npmGlobalPackages:
  "*react-native*": Not Found
Android:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: false
iOS:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: false

Description

When running yarn ios, I expect it to run on the current open & running simulator, or to boot and run on an appropriate simulator. In the example shown below, I have the "iPhone SE (3rd generation)" already running, but the result is the same if it isn't running. It seems to try to use ios-deploy to install it onto my iPhone (connected to my computer via wifi only), rather than installing on the simulator.

$ yarn ios
yarn run v1.22.21
$ react-native run-ios
info A dev server is already running for this project on port 8081.
info Found Xcode workspace "MyApp.xcworkspace"
info Found booted Stefan’s Apple Watch, Stefan’s iPhone 15, iPhone SE (3rd generation)
error Failed to install the app on the device because we couldn't execute the "ios-deploy" command. Please install it by running "brew install ios-deploy" and try again.
error Command failed with exit code 1.

I have also tried previously running with --list-devices and choosing the iPhone SE so that it is "sticky," but that doesn't seem to have any impact

$ yarn ios --list-devices
yarn run v1.22.21
$ react-native run-ios --list-devices
info A dev server is already running for this project on port 8081.
info Found Xcode workspace "MyApp.xcworkspace"
? Select the device you want to use › - Use arrow-keys. Return to submit.
❯   Stefan’s Apple Watch
    Stefan’s iPhone 15
    iPhone 15 Plus
    iPad mini (6th generation)
    iPhone 15 Pro Max
    iPhone 15 Pro
    iPhone SE (3rd generation)
    iPad Air (5th generation)
    iPhone 15
  ↓ iPad Pro (11-inch) (4th generation)

Both of these places state that run-ios should open on a Simulator:

Reproducible Demo

I can put together a repro if necessary, but I believe this behavior is tied to the CLI, and not to anything specific to my app's code. As is the case with the default template generated, my package.json under the "scripts" section defines the ios command as such "ios": "react-native run-ios"

Activity

  1. swrobel
    added
    bug report
    on Jan 10, 2024

  2. szymonrybczak commented on Jan 10, 2024

    @szymonrybczak
    szymonrybczak
    on Jan 10, 2024
    Collaborator

    Hey @swrobel, we'll change sorting device, so first it would try running on simulator not on physical device. But --list-devices should work, and correctly pass simulator's UDID to the function. Can you please try using --interactive, which is the same thing and choose simulator and say what's the result?

  3. swrobel commented on Jan 10, 2024

    @swrobel
    swrobel
    on Jan 10, 2024
    ContributorAuthor

    But --list-devices should work, and correctly pass simulator's UDID to the function. Can you please try using --interactive, which is the same thing and choose simulator and say what's the result?

    Just to be clear both --list-devices and --interactive launch the selected simulator, it's just that I thought it was supposed to be sticky, so the next time I run without any args, it should launch & use the last simulator that I selected. This doesn't seem to be the case after using these commands.

  4. szymonrybczak commented on Jan 11, 2024

    @szymonrybczak
    szymonrybczak
    on Jan 11, 2024
    Collaborator

    Okay, I gotcha. So actually the behavior that you described was added recently: #2162. And in #2251, we'll change what runs first - we'll prioritize simulators over devices in run-ios command. If you have any other feedback, it's more than welcome! 🙏

  5. szymonrybczak
    closed this as completedon Jan 14, 2024

  6. swrobel commented on Apr 23, 2024

    @swrobel
    swrobel
    on Apr 23, 2024
    ContributorAuthor

    @szymonrybczak I finally had the opportunity to test this now that React Native 0.74 is released with the new cli, but the behavior does not seem to be improved. In this case, I'm attempting to run my app with the "iPhone 15 Pro Max" simulator already booted. My personal iPhone 15 is connected via wifi, which is why you can see it referenced below:

    $ yarn ios
yarn run v1.22.22
$ react-native run-ios
info A dev server is already running for this project on port 8081.
info Found Xcode workspace "Bakesy.xcworkspace"
info Found booted iPhone 15 Pro Max, Stefan’s iPhone 15
error Failed to install the app on the device because we couldn't execute the "ios-deploy" command. Please install it by running "brew install ios-deploy" and try again.
error Command failed with exit code 1.
info Visit https://yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/run for documentation about this command.

  7. szymonrybczak commented on Apr 23, 2024

    @szymonrybczak
    szymonrybczak
    on Apr 23, 2024
    Collaborator

    Ah, okay so we're launching app in opposite order to the way we log them - fixed in #2364, log were not aligned with actual implementation.

    Also I've shipped a small fix, so if you few simulators launched and you have your preferred one - it'll preferred one even if not inside --interactive or --list-devices mode.

    My personal iPhone 15 is connected via wifi

    In my personal experience launching on physical devices fails often than launching app on simulator, so we prioritize simulators over devices. Still in your scenario command will fail, but at least app will launch on simulators. I don't know we can improve expierence here 🤔

    Fixes will ship in next patch for 0.74. Sorry for trouble and thanks for testing! 🙏

  8. 3plusalpha commented on Jul 1, 2024

    @3plusalpha
    3plusalpha
    on Jul 1, 2024

    For those who still encounter this issue, this is the fix:

    List all devices installed on your machine and select the UUID of the desired simulator

    xcrun simctl list devices

    Then start the simulator using the following line:

    npm run ios -- --udid="AAAAAAAA-AAAA-AAAA-AAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAA"

    This is the official way to select a device: https://reactnative.dev/docs/running-on-simulator-ios#specifying-an-udid

    What the docs don't say it that the UUID of the device will be stored for the next time you run just npm run ios

  9. szymonrybczak commented on Jul 2, 2024

    @szymonrybczak
    szymonrybczak
    on Jul 2, 2024
    Collaborator

    @3plusalpha Oh, yea we didn't sync docs with latest changes, do you mind submitting PR to react-native-website repo? 🙏

  10. 3plusalpha commented on Jul 2, 2024

    @3plusalpha
    3plusalpha
    on Jul 2, 2024

    @szymonrybczak I don't know which changes you mean. The commands above are actually mentioned in the repo

  11. szymonrybczak commented on Jul 2, 2024

    @szymonrybczak
    szymonrybczak
    on Jul 2, 2024
    Collaborator

    yea, but you've mentioned:

    What the docs don't say it that the UUID of the device will be stored for the next time you run just npm run ios

    and I assumed that documentation is not clear for you in this aspect.

  12. waldi commented on Feb 28, 2025

    @waldi
    waldi
    on Feb 28, 2025

    For anyone looking: Start your iOS simulator before running npm run ios
    It seems to choose the first available/connected device

  13. swrobel commented on Jan 24, 2026

    @swrobel
    swrobel
    on Jan 24, 2026
    ContributorAuthor

    On React Native 0.83.1 with cli 20.1.0, the behavior seems to be much the same as it always has been, except that XCode no longer allows you to disable Wifi connection to iOS devices, so my iPhone always shows up as connected & available, and React Native tries to launch on it instead of on a simulator. I do want to keep my actual device is an available device, but I'm happy to manually choose it on the rare occasion that I want to develop there instead of the simulator.

    What's the conclusion here? That both places that the docs say that run-ios should launch on a simulator are wrong, and should be updated to match the current behavior, or that the cli behavior is still wrong?

    yarn run v1.22.22
$ react-native run-ios
info A dev server is already running for this project on port 8081.
info Found Xcode workspace
info Found booted Stefan’s iPhone 16
info Building
success Successfully built the app
info Installing and launching your app on Stefan’s iPhone 16
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