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Docs/Getting Started/Quick Start

Quick Start

Find a simulator, inspect the current UI, drive one interaction, type text, and capture evidence.

1. Find a simulator#

shell
axe list-simulators

Example output:

text
iPhone 16 Pro   Booted   8F2A4C9E-3C2B-4A1D-9B31-123456789ABC
iPad Air        Shutdown 4E7D0A11-9F7E-4B49-8C7C-123456789ABC

Copy the UDID for a booted simulator, then keep it in your shell:

shell
export UDID=<UDID>

2. Inspect the current screen#

shell
axe describe-ui --udid $UDID
axe describe-ui --point 200,400 --udid $UDID

Simplified output:

json
{
  "AXRole": "Button",
  "AXLabel": "Continue",
  "AXUniqueId": "ContinueButton",
  "frame": { "x": 96, "y": 642, "width": 201, "height": 50 }
}

Use AXUniqueId or AXLabel values from the JSON when possible.

3. Tap by selector#

shell
axe tap --id SearchField --udid $UDID
axe tap --label "Continue" --wait-timeout 5 --udid $UDID

--wait-timeout is the normal way to handle UI that appears after navigation or animation.

4. Type text#

shell
axe type 'hello world' --udid $UDID
echo 'Hello, "world"!' | axe type --stdin --udid $UDID
axe type --file ./message.txt --udid $UDID
US keyboard only

AXe types via HID keycodes for the US keyboard layout. Accented and non-ASCII characters fail with a clear error.

5. Capture the result#

shell
axe screenshot --output ./verify.png --udid $UDID

Example result:

text
Screenshot saved to ./verify.png

For multi-step interaction flows, move the supported interaction commands into axe batch, then run screenshot after the batch if you need visual evidence.

shell
axe batch --udid $UDID \
  --step "tap --id EmailField" \
  --step "type 'cam@example.com'" \
  --step "key 40"

axe screenshot --output ./after-login.png --udid $UDID
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