I have always used QuickTime to record video of a simulator session. And yet there has existed, for quite sometime too, a far easier way to do this using xcrun tool.

xcrun simctl io booted recordVideo ~/Desktop/simulator-recording.mov

And voila, a high fidelity video of whatever it is you did on your simulator.

I found this, and a bunch of other pro xcrun tips, on this excellent Medium article, iOS Simulator Power Ups

Among the excellent top tips, and one which I did know (#smallwins), is to use xcrun to depp links.

Another increasingly common part of iOS development is testing url schemes. With deep linking becoming a powerful tool to incorporate both as a consumer and a provider, simctl can help here too:

xcrun simctl openurl booted https://www.dreaminginbinary.co/

And just like that, the active device pops open Safari with the URL. Of course, if you know other app’s schemes — those are fair game, too:

xcrun simctl openurl booted sms: #Open Messages

Go on, give them all a quick go.