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I want to run/test my .ipa file on simulator as i want to take demo video of the app. I searched for two hours now with no result saying yes that it can be done. I have gone through following links. 1) Is there a way to test iOS builds on simulator without the source code? 2) Run apple apps in simulator

NOTE: I do not have source code and i know i can test it by putting it in device. Also my app is not uploaded in app store, so not downloaded from app store.(It is sent by developer).

Thanks in advance.

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xrnd
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3 Answers3

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As others have answered, you cannot run an IPA file on the simulator, because the simulator runs native code on your Mac's x86 CPU while an IPA file only contains code for the device's ARM CPU.

What you can do is run an AirPlay server on your Mac. Install the IPA on your iOS device and turn on mirroring from the device to your Mac. Then record your Mac's screen.

There are several AirPlay server apps for the Mac. One that I've played with is Reflector. It supports recording the device's AirPlay stream directly to a video file, which makes the process even easier.

rob mayoff
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  • Hi rob mayoff, looks like it will work for me..i will test this asap and reply..thanks – xrnd Mar 09 '13 at 09:45
  • Hey rob it seems reflector works nly for ipod touch 5g and iphone and ipad.. i have ipod touch 4g. and there is VNC also to connect with the device. which also dint work for me.. i feel its all coz of ipod touch 4g.. last option i have is jailbreak and download some kool apps in cydia. thanx for all your help – xrnd Mar 10 '13 at 14:42
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If the .ipa has been built for distribution then it won't have been compiled for i386, so it won't run on the Simulator; here's an example using one of my Apps:

$ unzip MyApp.ipa
$ cd Payload/MyApp.app
$ xcrun -sdk iphoneos lipo -info MyApp
Architectures in the fat file: MyApp are: armv7 armv7s
trojanfoe
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  • It has been built for distribution using Provision profile for ad-hoc distribution..so you mean there is no way i can run it on simulator.. is there any other option to take proper video of app? i feel video from device wont look professional. thanks trojanfoe. – xrnd Mar 09 '13 at 09:30
  • No; the iPhone Simulator uses arch `i386`. I don't know what other options are available other than using a decent camera with a tripod and good lighting, but I agree it won't look as good as taking video from a Mac Desktop. – trojanfoe Mar 09 '13 at 09:36
  • Kudos for knowing about the `lipo` command, but you can just use the `file` command to check the architectures and you won't need the arcane `xcrun` invocation. Also, try using AirPlay mirroring to an AirPlay server on the Mac for easier recording. – rob mayoff Mar 09 '13 at 09:43
  • @robmayoff `file` doesn't quite give you everything: `Mach-O fat file with 2 architectures: [ ARM: Mach-O arm_v7 executable ] [ ARM]`. The mirroring is a good idea and I think will give the OP what he wants. – trojanfoe Mar 09 '13 at 09:44
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Read This Site.

An .ipa file is an iPhone application archive file which stores an iPhone app. It is usually encrypted with Apple's FairPlay DRM technology. Each .ipa file is compressed with a binary for the ARM architecture and can only be installed on an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. Files with the .ipa extension can be uncompressed by changing the extension to .zip and unzipping.

.ipa files cannot be installed on the iPhone Simulator because they do not contain a binary for the x86 architecture. To run applications on the simulator, original project files which can be opened using the Xcode SDK are required.

For more Info read This Question.

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iPatel
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