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iOS Simulator
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Learn how you can install the iOS Simulator on your Mac and use it to develop your app.
Developing your app directly on a computer can be more convenient than constantly interacting with an iPhone or iPad, especially when network conditions are slow or when a tunnel connection is required due to LAN limitations.
This guide explains how to install the iOS Simulator on your Mac for app development. Note that the iOS Simulator can only be installed on macOS. If you are developing an iOS app from a Windows or a Linux machine, you will need a physical iOS device.
Setup Xcode and Watchman
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Install Xcode
Open up the Mac App Store, search for Xcode, and click Install (or Update if you have it already).
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Install Watchman
Installing Watchman is only required for projects on SDK 55 and earlier.
Watchman is a tool for watching changes in the filesystem. Installing it will result in better performance. You can install it with:
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Try it out
Run your app with npx expo start and press I from the command line.
You may get a warning about needing to accept the Xcode license. Run the command that it suggests. Open your app again to see if it was successful. If not, check the troubleshooting tips below.
You can also press Shift + I in the Expo CLI to interactively select a simulator to open.
Expo Orbit
You can use the Expo Orbit app which allows launching builds and simulator management with one click from the menu bar on macOS.
Learn more about how to use Expo Orbit.
Limitations
Although the iOS Simulator is great for rapid development, it does come with a few limitations. We'll list out a few of the main differences that affect Expo APIs below. However, see Apple's documentation for more details.
The following hardware is unavailable in the Simulator:
- Audio Input
- Barometer
- Camera
- Motion Support (accelerometer and gyroscope)
The Simulator also suspends background apps and processes on iOS 11 and later.
Troubleshooting
The CLI seems to be stuck when opening a Simulator
Sometimes the iOS Simulator doesn't respond to the open command. If it seems stuck on this prompt, start a simulator yourself, then run your app again.
Xcode 27 replaces the Simulator app with Device Hub. Run open -a DeviceHub to open it. Each running device appears in the sidebar. On Xcode 26, run open -a Simulator instead.
You can run more than one simulator at the same time. Expo CLI always targets the most recently opened simulator.
Simulator opened but the Expo Go app isn't opening inside of it
The first time you install the app in the simulator, iOS will ask if you'd like to open the Expo Go app. You may need to interact with the simulator (click around, drag something) for this prompt to show up, then press OK.
How do I install a specific version of Expo Go?
You can create a project with the desired SDK version and open it in a simulator to install the matching version of Expo Go.
Alternatively, you can download a specific version of Expo Go with the expo-go CLI by passing an SDK version, or use latest for the latest SDK version. This command downloads the Expo Go app to the current directory and caches it under ~/.expo.
Expo CLI is printing an error message about xcrun, what do I do?
For miscellaneous errors, try the following:
- Manually uninstall Expo Go on your simulator and reinstall by pressing Shift + I in the Expo CLI Terminal UI and selecting the desired simulator.
- If that doesn't help, select the simulator in Device Hub and choose Device > Reset Content and Settings...
The Simulator app on Xcode 26 calls this menu item Erase All Content and Settings...
This will reinitialize your simulator from a blank image. This is sometimes useful for cases where your computer is low on memory and the simulator fails to store some internal files, leaving the device in a corrupt state.