SimUtil

A terminal UI for launching Android Emulators / iOS Simulators
Launch, connect, manage your devices and more — all from the terminal

Browse your available emulators and simulators side-by-side, launch with custom options and connect to physical devices wirelessly.

SimUtil runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows. iOS Simulator support requires macOS (Xcode / simctl); on Linux and Windows the TUI focuses on Android emulators and devices.

Simutil is written with Nocterm, a terminal UI framework for Dart with similar syntax to Flutter.

• One-Key Launch — Start any device with Enter, no need to open Android Studio or Xcode
• Android Launch Options — Provide launch option for Android Emulators: Normal, Cold Boot, No Audio, or Cold Boot + No Audio,...
• Shutdown device — Shutdown simulators/emulators.
• Logcat — View logcat output of Android emulators / devices, support filtering.
• ADB Tools Built-in — Connect to physical Android devices wirelessly:
  • Connect via IP address
  • Pair with 6-digit code (Android 11+)
  • QR code pairing (Android 11+)
• Custom Plugins — Add your own external tools (scrcpy, Maestro, etc.) via a YAML file, no code changes needed. Press p to pick a plugin and a command to run on the selected device.
• Edit Config — Press e to open ~/.simutil/settings.yaml in your default editor (macOS, Linux, Windows).
• Xcode Tools — Press x (macOS) to clear Xcode Derived Data after a size preview and confirmation.

SimUtil can run external shell-command tools (scrcpy, Maestro, custom scripts, …) defined in the plugins: section of ~/.simutil/settings.yaml — no code changes needed. A default file (with theme, last_selected_device_id, and scrcpy) is created automatically on first launch.

Each plugin groups one or more commands. In the app, press p on a selected device to choose a plugin, then a command. Press e to edit the config file. A command can also define a single-key shortcut to run it directly. Commands are filtered to the selected device, and args support template variables like {device.id} and {device.name}.

# ~/.simutil/settings.yaml
theme: dark
last_selected_device_id: ~

plugins:
  - id: scrcpy
    label: scrcpy
    description: Screen mirroring and control for Android
    availability:
      command: scrcpy
      args: [--version]
    commands:
      - id: mirror
        label: Screen Mirror
        command: scrcpy
        args: [-s, "{device.id}"]
        platforms: [android]   # android | ios; empty = any
        requires_running: true # only show when the device is running
        mode: detached         # detached (default) | inherit
        shortcut: s            # optional single key to run directly

See the full reference — all fields, template variables, run modes, availability probes, shortcuts, examples, and troubleshooting — in docs/plugins.md.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dungngminh/simutil/main/install.sh | bash

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dungngminh/simutil/main/install.ps1 | iex"

brew tap dungngminh/simutil
brew install simutil

dart pub global activate simutil

git clone https://github.com/dungngminh/simutil.git
cd simutil
dart pub get
dart pub global activate --source path packages/simutil

Then run:

simutil

simutil checks for a new release at most once a day and shows Version X available! Run: simutil upgrade. Set SIMUTIL_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1 to turn it off.

simutil upgrade runs the upgrade for your install method (e.g. brew upgrade dungngminh/simutil/simutil, dart pub global activate simutil, or re-running the install script). On Windows, or when running from source, it prints the command / releases link instead.

SimUtil itself runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Feature support depends on the host OS:

iOS support depends on Apple’s tools (xcrun simctl for simulators, xcrun devicectl for physical devices), which are only available on macOS. On Xcode 27+, launching a simulator opens DeviceHub.app; earlier Xcode versions still open Simulator.app. On Linux and Windows, the iOS panels indicate they are not supported; Android launch, ADB tools, Logcat, and plugins still work.

With arguments, simutil runs headless commands (no TUI). The TUI starts when you run simutil with no arguments.

simutil -V                         # print version
simutil upgrade                    # upgrade to the latest release
simutil android emulator list      # AVD names (one per line, like the screenshot)
simutil android device list -r     # running adb devices only
simutil list -v                    # grouped tables (all platforms)
simutil list --json                # agent/script friendly
simutil launch <device-id>         # boot (alias: start)
simutil launch <id> -c --no-audio  # cold boot, no audio (Android)
simutil shutdown <device-id>       # shut down (alias: stop)
simutil plugin list                # YAML plugins
simutil plugin run scrcpy mirror -d emulator-5554
simutil schema                     # full CLI JSON schema for agents
simutil schema list --human        # readable help for one command
simutil list --help                # flags for a command (built-in)

Short flags: -a/--android, -i/--ios, -e/--emulator, -p/--physical, -r/--running, -v/--verbose, -j/--json, -c/--cold, -d/--device.

Monorepo (pub workspace); every package is versioned and published separately:

The repository root only holds the workspace pubspec.yaml (Melos scripts), docs, and CI.

git clone https://github.com/dungngminh/simutil.git
cd simutil
dart pub get
dart run melos run cli   # CLI locally

dart run melos run check          # analyze + test (CI parity)
dart run melos run cli_hot_reload # CLI with hot reload

1. Fork this repository
2. Create a branch and make your changes
3. Open a Pull Request

MIT — see LICENSE