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orca-emulator — Claude Code skill: what it does, how to install

Controls booted iOS Simulators inside Orca with a live device view. Handy for running gestures, hardware buttons, accessibility tree checks, and UI verification.

Install into Claude Code · Skills CLI (Vercel) All methods and platforms ↓
npx skills add stablyai/orca --skill orca-emulator -a claude-code
Open on GitHub

What orca-emulator does

This skill connects your coding agent to a booted Apple Simulator on macOS using Orca's runtime. It sends taps, gestures, keystrokes, hardware button events, and screen rotations while reading back the accessibility tree. Before running actions, build and install your app with xcodebuild or simctl. Android devices and emulators are unsupported here; they require the dedicated Android emulator skill.

Inside Orca, using this interface beats calling raw serve-sim or simctl directly. Orca manages helper lifecycles, device scoping, and worktree contexts automatically. On Linux outside an Orca-managed terminal, bare orca points to the GNOME Orca screen reader and starts audio output on your machine, so you must use orca-ide instead.

Commands retrieve their version-matched workflow guide via <ORCA> skills get orca-emulator. If a command fails with runtime_access_denied, your sandbox blocked the connection. You need escalated permissions rather than restarting Orca or invoking ORCA open.

What it helps with

  • send taps, gestures, and hardware button presses to Apple Simulator
  • inspect the iOS accessibility tree for UI verification
  • rotate the screen of a booted iOS Simulator
  • capture simulator evidence after modifying iOS code

Example prompts for the agent

  • Interact with the booted iOS Simulator and tap the login button using orca-emulator
  • Rotate the Apple Simulator to landscape and inspect the accessibility tree

How to install orca-emulator

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add stablyai/orca --skill orca-emulator -a claude-code

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/orca-emulator/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/orca-emulator/

From the same set8

The whole set →
orca-cli stablyai The skill lets an agent manage Orca worktrees, terminals, artifacts and the built-in browser through the orca CLI. Useful when your work already runs inside Orca. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 353,000installs orchestration stablyai Coordinates supervised Orca workers with task DAGs, decision gates, and threaded messages. Fits workflows that split work across multiple agents. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 349,200installs computer-use stablyai This skill drives a visible app window through orca computer: accessibility tree, clicks, typing, screenshots. Reach for it when the job sits behind a GUI. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 239,000installs orca-linear stablyai Manages Linear issues through the Orca CLI directly from agent sessions. Useful for moving tickets between workflow states, linking pull requests, and searching issues. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 29,000installs orca-per-workspace-env stablyai Configures, reviews, and debugs Orca per-workspace environment recipes. Useful when provisioning disposable VMs, containers, SSH hosts, or cloud sandboxes. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 12,100installs orca-emulator-android stablyai Lets the agent drive an adb-connected Android emulator or phone from inside Orca: taps, swipes, APK install, logcat. Handy for running a flow on a real device. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 5,600installs linear-tickets stablyai This skill runs Linear ticket work through Orca's CLI: read a linked issue, move it through workflow states, close it with a PR link and a comment. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 4,500installs

Similar

Questions about orca-emulator

How to install orca-emulator in Claude Code?

Run this command in your terminal: npx skills add stablyai/orca --skill orca-emulator -a claude-code.

What does orca-emulator do?

It allows your coding agent to control a booted Apple Simulator on macOS, sending gestures, keystrokes, and hardware events while inspecting the accessibility tree in Orca.

Do I need to build the app before using the skill?

Yes, the skill operates on an already booted simulator. You must build and install the iOS application beforehand using xcodebuild or simctl.

Source text

SKILL.md · Apache-2.0
---
name: orca-emulator
description: >-
  iOS Simulator control from inside Orca, with the live device view in Orca's
  emulator pane. Use when driving a booted Apple Simulator on macOS: taps,
  gestures, typing, hardware buttons, rotation, and the accessibility tree, or
  when an iOS change needs simulator evidence. For an Android device or emulator
  use the Android emulator skill; build and install the app with xcodebuild or
  simctl first.
license: Apache-2.0
---

# Orca Emulator

This discovery stub loads the version-matched guide from the Orca executable used for this session.

Prefer Orca over raw `serve-sim` or direct `simctl` for simulator control inside Orca; it
handles device scoping, helper lifecycle, and worktree context.

## Resolve the CLI for this session

Choose the executable once and reuse it for every later command:

- If the `ORCA_CLI_COMMAND` environment variable is set, use its value. Orca exports this
  for managed WSL sessions.
- Otherwise, in a dev checkout whose session exposes `ORCA_DEV_REPO_ROOT`, use `orca-dev`.
- Otherwise, on Linux outside an Orca-managed terminal, use `orca-ide`. Never run bare
  `orca` there — outside Orca's terminals it normally resolves to the
  GNOME Orca screen reader (`/usr/bin/orca`) and starts speech on the user's machine.
- Otherwise, use `orca`.

Below, `ORCA` is a placeholder for the executable you resolved. Substitute it before
running anything; do not create a shell variable or run `ORCA` literally. This works the
same way in POSIX shells, PowerShell, and cmd.exe.

If the selected executable cannot run, report its exact error and stop. Do not fall through
to another executable, which could silently target a different Orca build.

## Load the version-matched guide before running Orca commands

```text
ORCA skills get orca-emulator
```

Prefer `--json`. Use the selected executable's `--help` for commands or flags the guide does
not cover. If a command reports that Orca is not running, start it with `ORCA open --json`
and retry. If it fails with `runtime_access_denied`, your sandbox blocked the connection:
re-run it with escalated permissions, and do not run `ORCA open` or restart Orca. If
`skills get` is unknown, explain that updating Orca restores the guide; use `--help` for
read-only discovery and do not guess unsupported commands.

© stablyai · Apache-2.0 · stablyai/orca

See also

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