node-ios-device

Queries connected iOS devices, installs apps, and relays log output.

Prerequisites

node-ios-device only works on macOS 10.11 or newer. It use N-API version 3 and requires Node.js 10.13.0 LTS or newer.

Installation

npm install node-ios-device

CLI

$ node-ios-device

USAGE: node-ios-device <command> [options]

COMMANDS:
  forward               Connects to a port on an device and relays messages
  i, install            Install an app on the specified device
  ls, list, devices     Lists connected devices
  watch, track-devices  Listens for devices to be connected/disconnected

GLOBAL OPTIONS:
  --no-color     Disable colors
  -h, --help     Displays the help screen
  -v, --version  Outputs the version

Example

import iosDevice from 'node-ios-device';

// get all connected iOS devices
const devices = iosDevice.list();
console.log('Connected devices:', devices);

// continuously watch for devices to be connected or disconnected
const handle = iosDevice.watch();
handle.on('change', devices => {
    console.log('Connected devices:', devices);
});
handle.on('error', console.error);

// install an iOS app
iosDevice.install('<device udid>', '/path/to/my.app');
console.log('Success!');

// relay output from a TCP port created by an iOS app
iosDevice
    .forward('<device udid>', 1337)
    .on('data', console.log)
    .on('end', () => console.log('Device disconnected'));

API

list()

Retrieves an array of all connected iOS devices.

Returns an Array of device objects.

Device objects contain the following information:

• udid - The device's unique device id (e.g. "a4cbe14c0441a2bf87f397602653a4ac71eb0336")
• name - The name of the device (e.g. "My iPhone")
• buildVersion - The build version (e.g. "10B350")
• cpuArchitecture - The CPU architecture (e.g. "armv7s")
• deviceClass - The type of device (e.g. "iPhone", "iPad")
• deviceColor - The color of the device (e.g. "Black", "White")
• hardwareModel - The device module (e.g. "N41AP")
• modelNumber - The model number (e.g. "MD636")
• productType - The product type or model id (e.g. "iPhone5,1")
• productVersion - The iOS version (e.g. "6.1.4")
• serialNumber - The device serial number (e.g. "XXXXXXXXXXXX")

There is more data that could have been retrieved from the device, but the properties above seemed the most reasonable.

watch()

Continuously retrieves an array of all connected iOS devices. Whenever a device is connected or disconnected, the 'change' event is emitted.

Returns an EventEmitter-based Handle instance that contains a stop() method to discontinue tracking devices.

Event: 'change'

Emitted when a device is connected or disconnected.

• {Array<Object>} devices - An array of devices

Example:

const handle = iosDevice.watch()
    .on('change', console.log);

setTimeout(() => {
    // turn off tracking after 1 minute
    handle.stop();
}, 60000);

install(udid, appPath)

Installs an iOS app on the specified device.

• {String} udid - The device udid
• {String} appPath - The path to the iOS .app

Currently, an appPath that begins with ~ is not supported.

The appPath must resolve to an iOS .app, not the .ipa file.

forward(udid, port)

Relays messages from a server running on the device on the specified port.

• {String} udid - The device udid
• {String} port - The TCP port listening in the iOS app to connect to

Returns a Handle instance that contains a stop() method to discontinue emitting messages.

NOTE: forward() only supports USB connected devices. Wi-Fi-only connected devices will not work.

Event: 'data'

Emitted for each line of output. Empty lines are omitted.

• {String} message - The log message.

Event: 'end'

Emitted when the device is physically disconnected. Note that this does not unregister the internal callback. You must manually call handle.stop() to cleanup.

Example:

const handle = iosDevice
	.forward('<device udid>', 1337)
    .on('log', console.log)
    .on('end', () => console.log('End of forward'));

setTimeout(function () {
	// turn off logging after 1 minute
	handle.stop();
}, 60000);

Advanced

Debug Logging

node-ios-device exposes an event emitter that emits debug log messages. This is intended to help debug issues under the hood. The average user will never need to use this, however it would be handy when filing a bug.

iosDevice.on('log', msg => console.log(msg));

Alternatively, node-ios-device uses the amazing snooplogg debug logger where you simply set the SNOOPLOGG environment variable to node-ios-device (or *) and it will print the debug log to stdout.

License

This project is open source and provided under the Apache Public License (version 2). Please make sure you see the LICENSE file included in this distribution for more details on the license. Also, please take notice of the privacy notice at the end of the file.