A cloud sandbox is Linux: no xcrun, no simctl. apps/mobile/scripts/eas-dev.sh is the one command
that gets the real dev-client app running on an EAS cloud iOS simulator, connected to this sandbox's
own Metro and API. Run it:
apps/mobile/scripts/eas-dev.sh
It reuses this checkout's running session when there is one. Otherwise it installs the finished
simulator build whose native fingerprint matches this checkout and starts a session, about two minutes.
It builds only when no such build exists (the first time, or after a native change), about fifteen
minutes. apps/mobile/AGENTS.md's "Verifying in the real app" section records why the script does
each step.
apps/mobile/scripts/eas-dev.sh --reload # load the app from Metro again; starts nothing
apps/mobile/scripts/eas-dev.sh --new # stop the running session and start a fresh one
- Reload with
--reload. It opens the dev-client URL and waits for a newiOS Bundledline in the Metro log, three tries. Neveragent-device open Superset: that relaunches the app without the Metro URL and it fails with "Could not connect to the server". - Switch sessions with
--new, nevereas simulatorby hand. The egress client is bound to the session it started with, so the script stops the old client and starts one for the new session. With no flag it keeps a connected client and restarts one that died. - When the script started Metro, each run that (re)starts the tunnel ends only when Metro has served the app a bundle; otherwise it exits non-zero and names the Metro and egress logs. With a Metro started some other way it opens the app but cannot confirm the load.
- The dev-client URL carries
disableAutoLaunch=1&disableFab=1, so no dev menu opens at launch and no gear button covers the toolbar. Each session is a fresh install, so every load passes them. - Logs and PID files are in
.tmp/eas-dev/of the checkout, so two checkouts do not stop each other's tunnel. - The fingerprint lookup refuses to run when
bun --versiondiffers from.bun-version. The dependencies that bun installs give a fingerprint no build has, and EAS would start a 15-minute build that also fails. A cloud workspace made before the pin changed has the old bun: make a new one.
The session is tagged with the workspace id. The desktop Mobile pane lists the workspace's tagged
sessions, so the person can watch the simulator there without a link. The script also prints an
expo.dev/simulator-preview/... URL for a browser.
Driving the simulator
Load the session and call agent-device directly:
cd apps/mobile && set -a && . ./.env.eas-simulator && set +a
agent-device snapshot -i # what is on screen, with @refs
agent-device press 'label="Continue"' --settle # acts, waits, prints what changed
agent-device fill @e16 "hello" --settle
agent-device screenshot /tmp/screen.png
agent-device help # the rest
agent-devicekeeps one session per working directory. Run it fromapps/mobileevery time.- Through
eas simulator:exec npx agent-deviceeach command takes about 25 s. Install it globally (npm install -g agent-device) when it is missing. - The dev-menu sheet covers the first screen on a fresh install: press
Continue, thenClose. - iOS's "slide to type" keyboard intro is already dismissed on a session the script started.
- SwiftUI menu items (
@expo/uiMenu) are not inagent-device snapshot. Open the menu, take a screenshot, and tap the item by coordinate:agent-device press <x> <y>. This is a limit of the tool, not of the app. - Source edits reach the app through fast refresh in about two seconds.
Limits
- The script forwards the relay and realtime ports but starts neither service, so host and workspace presence show as unreachable. That is fine for auth and UI checks.
- The session stops by itself after 15 idle minutes (
MOBILE_EAS_IDLE_MINUTES). Stop it sooner witheas simulator:stopfromapps/mobile. - The Expo account runs two builds at a time; a build can wait in the queue behind the team's.
Needs EXPO_TOKEN and this repo's .env (.superset/setup.sh or .superset/setup.cloud.sh).