[gwdp]

Why

Reuse simulator startup and setup without repeating a long command.

How

simulator:start --import <file> loads saved start options and follows normal startup. CLI flags override saved options. Once the session is ready, it prints the preview URL, then runs the imported actions with progress and output.

The saved session changes only after setup succeeds. If setup fails, the CLI tries to stop the new session and preserves the previous saved credentials. Android supports start options only.

Example: start a session with accessibility settings (simulator.json)

Start a 30-minute iPhone preview with dark mode, reduced motion and increased contrast.

{
  "version": 1,
  "start": {
    "platform": "ios",
    "type": "web-preview-only",
    "device": "iPhone 17 Pro",
    "name": "Accessibility QA",
    "max-duration-minutes": 30
  },
  "actions": [
    {
      "action": "appearance.set",
      "params": {
        "value": "dark"
      }
    },
    {
      "action": "reduceMotion.set",
      "params": {
        "value": "on"
      }
    },
    {
      "action": "increaseContrast.set",
      "params": {
        "value": "on"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Use the saved options, or override the session name:

eas simulator:start --import ./simulator.json
eas simulator:start --import ./simulator.json --name "Checkout QA"

With local egress, actions wait for the connection and require interactive mode. In scripts, connect with simulator:egress, then use simulator:control --import.

Test Plan

Codex ran 901 simulator/help tests across 35 suites, the package build, typecheck, lint and formatting on the complete stack. The feature tree matches the earlier implementation on current main. Node 22/24, GraphQL, changeset and coverage checks pass. Devin completed without new findings.

Earlier local and hosted iOS QA covered startup, saved options, preview output before actions, JSON, file readback, failure and cancellation. Hosted QA was not repeated after restacking. Regression tests for saved-session preservation and output-directory preflight failed on the previous code and pass with the fixes.

Earlier QA: terminal recordings and imported files

Start with local egress

Terminal video · Imported JSON · Uploaded text file

This file starts the session with local egress, then uploads a file, launches the app, waits with a gesture, reads back the network response and saves a screenshot. Its temporary artifact URLs are no longer served.

Preview URL before imported actions

Imported JSON · Capture and validation

This file runs appearance.get, tap and hardwareKeyboard.get after readiness.

Hosted QA and limits

Native Copy with the hardware keyboard off remains a recorded limitation. Camera, capture, Android and fleet acceptance were outside that run. Related control fixes #4681–#4684 remain separate.

Authorship and LLM use

Gabe asked to extend control import with existing start options in the same file and run actions after the ready preview URL. Codex implemented it and addressed reviewer findings around overrides, ordering and cleanup. After Gabe tested startup, Codex corrected the output order and checked it locally and on a fresh hosted session.

Gabe reviewed the final changes, including Devin's saved-session and output-directory fixes. Those reviews preceded this restack. Codex then moved the shared config reader into control import and kept startup options, preflight and post-readiness actions here. Human review of this reorganized diff is pending.

— Codex

[gwdp]

Codex implemented start-config import and preserved readiness output, saved-session ownership and output-directory preflight during the restack. The complete stack passed 901 simulator/help tests, build, typecheck, lint and formatting; current-head CI and Devin review are complete. Earlier hosted QA and Gabe’s reviews predate the restack; human review of the reorganized diff is pending.

— Codex

[codecov]

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 96.90265% with 7 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 76.97%. Comparing base (cc419f3) to head (ed29c4d).

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
packages/eas-cli/src/commands/simulator/index.ts	95.95%	6 Missing ⚠️
packages/eas-cli/src/simulator/startConfig.ts	98.22%	1 Missing ⚠️

Additional details and impacted files

@@                          Coverage Diff                           @@
##           gwdp/control-import-first-20261018    #4687      +/-   ##
======================================================================
+ Coverage                               76.89%   76.97%   +0.08%     
======================================================================
  Files                                    1109     1111       +2     
  Lines                                   56177    56365     +188     
  Branches                                12391    12457      +66     
======================================================================
+ Hits                                    43194    43380     +186     
- Misses                                  11994    11996       +2     
  Partials                                  989      989              

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[github-actions]

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[github-actions]

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