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Inspect CLI gives coding agents direct access to mobile browsers on physical devices and iOS simulators. The canonical, copy-pasteable setup guide is inspect.dev/agent.md. Once installed, prefer inspect agent-context and inspect skills get mobile-debugging: both are generated from the installed CLI version and cannot drift from its commands.

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Install and preflight

The simulator-provisioning workflow below requires CLI 3.2.0 or newer. If inspect devices create is absent, the registry has not supplied that release yet: use an existing simulator or update the CLI before continuing. Do not mix the foreground inspect server with typed commands on the same ports; typed commands start and reuse their own daemon automatically. Every command supports --json. Successful and failed responses use stable {ok, command, data | error} envelopes, and errors include recovery suggestions and meaningful exit codes.

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Zero-hardware iOS quickstart (macOS)

The optional third devices create argument accepts an installed runtime name, version, or identifier—for example "iOS 26.5", "26.5", or com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-26-5. Omit it to let Xcode choose the newest compatible runtime. Simulator creation requires macOS and Xcode.

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Physical devices

  • iPhone/iPad: connect over USB, unlock, trust the computer, and enable Settings → Safari → Advanced → Web Inspector.
  • Android: enable Developer options and USB debugging, then accept the ADB authorization prompt.
  • Run inspect devices list --json. If the device is absent or not ready, run inspect doctor --json and follow its suggestions.

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Agent debugging loop

Use --session <name> to keep an agent’s selected device, target, snapshot references, and evidence checkpoints separate from other concurrent tasks. inspect devtools opens Chrome DevTools for a human handoff without changing the command workflow.

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Raw CDP and Chrome DevTools MCP

inspect cdp returns browser and page WebSocket URLs for custom CDP scripts. See MCP integrations for the supported iOS/WebKit capability matrix. Inspect returns explicit unsupported-capability errors where Chromium features have no honest WebKit or host equivalent; callers must not treat error text returned as MCP content as success.

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Current access model

Login is optional for the free tier. Every debugging capability is available inside two free 15-minute sessions per day; device discovery, simulator provisioning, target listing, diagnostics, status, and account commands never open a session. SUBSCRIPTION_REQUIRED reports why access stopped and when a new free session becomes available. Run inspect upgrade --json only when the user wants a checkout link.

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Recovery

  • No devices: inspect doctor --json.
  • No targets: inspect launch safari --url <url> --json.
  • Upgrade/daemon mismatch: rerun the command; the CLI follows the daemon sidecar and replaces an older daemon automatically. If a foreground server owns the ports, stop that server first.
  • Stale snapshot ref: rerun inspect snapshot --interactive --json and use the new @eN reference.
  • Need the exact installed contract: inspect agent-context.