Agent Device

Bootstrap and Install

When to open this file

Open this file when you still need to choose the right target, start the right session, install or relaunch the app, or pin automation to one device before interacting. This is the deterministic setup layer for sandbox, cloud, or other environments where install paths, device state, or app readiness may be uncertain.

Open-first path

• devices

• apps

• ensure-simulator

• open

• session list

Install path

• install or reinstall

Most common mistake to avoid

Do not start acting before you have pinned the correct target and opened an app session. In mixed-device environments, always pass --device, --udid, or --serial.

Deterministic setup rule

If there is no simulator, no app install, no open app session, or any uncertainty about where the app should come from, stay in this file and use deterministic setup commands or bootstrap scripts first. Do not improvise install paths or app-launch flows while exploring.

After setup is confirmed or completed, move to exploration.md before doing UI inspection or interaction.

Open-first rule

• If the user asks to test an app and does not provide an install artifact or explicit install instruction, try open <app> first.

• If open <app> fails, run agent-device apps and retry with a discovered app name before considering install steps.

• Do not install or reinstall on the first attempt unless the user explicitly asks for installation or provides a concrete artifact path or URL.

• When installation is required from a known location, prefer a checked-in shell script or other deterministic bootstrap command over ad hoc path guessing.

• If open <app> fails, or you are not sure which app name is available on the target, run agent-device apps first and choose from the discovered app list instead of guessing.

• Use apps --platform <platform> together with --device, --udid, or --serial when target selection matters.

• Once you have the correct app name, retry open with that exact discovered value.

Common starting points

These are examples, not required exact sequences. Use the smallest setup flow that matches the task.

Boot a simulator and open an app

agent-device ensure-simulator --platform ios --device "iPhone 17 Pro" --boot
agent-device open MyApp --platform ios --device "iPhone 17 Pro" --relaunch

Install an app artifact

agent-device install com.example.app ./build/app.apk --platform android --serial emulator-5554

agent-device install com.example.app ./build/MyApp.app --platform ios --device "iPhone 17 Pro"

Install guidance

• Use install <app> <path> when the app may already be installed and you do not need a fresh-state reset.

• Use reinstall <app> <path> when you explicitly need uninstall plus install as one deterministic step.

• Keep install and open as separate phases. Do not turn them into one default command flow.

• Supported binary formats:

  • Android: .apk and .aab

  • iOS: .app and .ipa

• For iOS .ipa files, <app> is used as the bundle id or bundle name hint when the archive contains multiple app bundles.

• After install or reinstall, later use open <app> with the exact discovered or known package/bundle identifier, not the artifact path.

Choose the right starting point

• iOS local QA: prefer simulators unless the task explicitly requires physical hardware.

• iOS in mixed simulator and device environments: run ensure-simulator first, then keep using --device or --udid.

• TV targets: use --target tv together with --platform when the task is for tvOS or Android TV rather than phone or tablet surfaces.

• Android binary flow: use install or reinstall for .apk or .aab, then open by installed package name.

• macOS desktop app flow: use open <app> --platform macos. Only load macos-desktop.md if a desktop surface or macOS-specific behavior matters.

TV example:

agent-device open MyTvApp --platform ios --target tv
agent-device open com.example.androidtv --platform android --target tv

Session rules

• Use --session <name> when you need a named session:

agent-device --session auth open Settings --platform ios
agent-device --session auth snapshot -i

• Use open <app> before interactions.

• Use close when done. Add --shutdown when you want simulators or emulators torn down with the session.

• Use semantic session names when you need multiple concurrent runs.

• Use --save-script=<path> on close when you want to keep a replay script.

• For dev loops where state can linger, prefer open <app> --relaunch.

• In iOS sessions, use open <app> for the app itself. Use open <url> for deep links, and open <app> <url> when you need to launch the app and deep link in one step.

• On iOS, appstate is session-scoped and requires the matching active session on the target device.

After a session is established

Once you have opened the correct session on the correct target, default to the conservative rule: keep the session binding on follow-up commands, and stop repeating device-routing flags unless you are intentionally retargeting.

• Prefer --session <name> on follow-up commands, or use sandboxed AGENT_DEVICE_SESSION.

• Do not keep repeating --platform, --target, --device, --udid, --serial, or similar target-selection flags on normal follow-up commands.

• Only omit follow-up session flags when the environment explicitly guarantees isolation.

Good shared-host pattern:

agent-device --session auth open Settings --platform ios --device "iPhone 17 Pro"
agent-device --session auth snapshot -i
agent-device --session auth press @e3
agent-device --session auth close

Bad shared-host pattern:

agent-device --session auth open Settings --platform ios --device "iPhone 17 Pro"
agent-device --session auth snapshot -i --platform ios --device "iPhone 17 Pro"

Use target-selection flags again only when you are choosing the target before opening a session, or when you explicitly mean to retarget.

Session-bound automation

Use this when an orchestrator must keep plain CLI calls on one session and device.

export AGENT_DEVICE_SESSION=qa-ios
export AGENT_DEVICE_PLATFORM=ios
export AGENT_DEVICE_SESSION_LOCK=strip

agent-device open MyApp --relaunch

• AGENT_DEVICE_SESSION plus AGENT_DEVICE_PLATFORM provides the default binding.

• --session-lock reject|strip controls whether conflicting per-call routing flags fail or are ignored.

• Conflicts include explicit retargeting flags such as --platform, --target, --device, --udid, --serial, --ios-simulator-device-set, and --android-device-allowlist.

• Lock policy applies to nested batch steps too.

• Compatibility aliases remain supported: --session-locked, --session-lock-conflicts, AGENT_DEVICE_SESSION_LOCKED, and AGENT_DEVICE_SESSION_LOCK_CONFLICTS.

Android emulator variant:

export AGENT_DEVICE_SESSION=qa-android
export AGENT_DEVICE_PLATFORM=android

agent-device --session-lock reject open com.example.myapp --relaunch

Scoped discovery

Use scoped discovery when one run must not see host-global device lists.

agent-device devices --platform ios --ios-simulator-device-set /tmp/tenant-a/simulators
agent-device devices --platform android --android-device-allowlist emulator-5554,device-1234

• Scope is applied before --device, --udid, and --serial.

• Out-of-scope selectors fail with DEVICE_NOT_FOUND.

• With iOS simulator-set scope enabled, iOS physical devices are not enumerated.

• If the scoped iOS simulator set is empty, the error should point at the set path and suggest creating a simulator in that set.

• Environment equivalents:

  • AGENT_DEVICE_IOS_SIMULATOR_DEVICE_SET

  • AGENT_DEVICE_ANDROID_DEVICE_ALLOWLIST

Session inspection and replay

agent-device session list
agent-device replay ./session.ad --session auth
agent-device replay -u ./session.ad --session auth

• iOS session entries include device_udid and ios_simulator_device_set. Use them to confirm routing in concurrent runs.

• Prefer selector-based actions and assertions in saved replay scripts.

• Tenant isolation namespaces sessions as <tenant>:<session> during tenant-scoped runs.

When to leave this file

• Once the correct target and session are pinned, move to exploration.md.

• If opening, startup, permissions, or logs become the blocker, switch to debugging.md.

Install examples

agent-device reinstall MyApp /path/to/app-debug.apk --platform android --serial emulator-5554

agent-device install com.example.app ./build/MyApp.ipa --platform ios --device "iPhone 17 Pro"

Do not use open <apk|aab> --relaunch on Android.

Security and trust notes

• Treat signing, provisioning, and daemon auth values as host secrets. Do not paste them into shared logs or commit them to source control.

• Prefer Xcode Automatic Signing over manual overrides when a physical iOS device is involved.

• Keep persistent host-specific defaults in environment variables rather than checked-in project config.