vphone-cli
Command-line tool that boots a full virtual iPhone on your Mac in one command, for iOS testing, security research, and AI-driven UI automation.
🔗 Visit vphone-cli
Description
Testing an iOS app across different scenarios usually means either owning a stack of physical iPhones or wrestling with Xcode's simulator, which doesn't behave exactly like a real device and can't run jailbreak-dependent research tools. vphone-cli takes a different approach: it boots an actual virtual iPhone — real iOS, real behavior — directly on your Mac using Apple's own virtualization technology, ready in one command.
vphone-cli is a Swift-based command-line tool that creates end-to-end virtual iPhones on Apple Silicon Macs (macOS 15 Sequoia or newer required) using Apple's Virtualization.framework combined with PCC research VM infrastructure. It handles the full VM lifecycle — create, list, clone, export, delete — and gives you SSH/VNC access into the running device. It supports multiple firmware variants ranging from patchless to fully jailbroken, with automatic installation of Sileo and TrollStore on first boot for jailbroken images. It exposes a host control socket for programmatic interaction (screenshots, touch injection, swipe gestures, hardware keys, clipboard), including an MCP integration so AI agents can drive end-to-end UI tests against a real iOS environment. It requires Xcode, the iOS SDK, and relaxed SIP/AMFI settings; it's macOS-only, MIT-licensed, and actively developed (9.4k+ GitHub stars).
💬 Our review
The short version: for iOS developers or security researchers who've hit the limits of Xcode's Simulator, vphone-cli is a genuinely powerful free alternative that gives you a real virtual device instead of a simulation — worth the setup effort if you need jailbreak-level access or AI-driven E2E testing that the Simulator simply can't do.
Apple's own iOS Simulator is the default free option but doesn't run real iOS and can't support jailbreak-dependent testing or true device-level behavior; Corellium offers a commercial, cloud-hosted equivalent with a polished UI and support, but at real recurring cost; Appium automates UI testing but needs an actual device or simulator underneath it, which is exactly the gap vphone-cli fills. Its free MIT license and MCP integration for AI-agent-driven testing make it attractive for teams building automated iOS test suites without paying for Corellium's cloud service, but it's strictly macOS + Apple Silicon only and requires comfort with Xcode-level tooling and security setting changes. Worth it for iOS teams doing serious device-level testing or research; the built-in Simulator remains simpler for everyday app development that doesn't need jailbreak-level fidelity. <!-- ai-generated -->
💰 Pricing
📊 Global score
🤖 AI-enriched data
Open source (MIT), gratuit — nécessite Mac Apple Silicon + macOS 15 Sequoia minimum
Pros
vrai iOS virtualisé (pas une simulation), plusieurs variantes de firmware jusqu'au jailbreak
socket de contrôle programmatique pour screenshots, injection tactile, gestes
intégration MCP pour pilotage par agent IA en test E2E
gratuit et open source (MIT), alternative à un service cloud payant comme Corellium
gestion complète du cycle de vie des VM (clone, export...)
Cons
macOS + Apple Silicon uniquement, aucun support Linux/Windows
nécessite Xcode, le SDK iOS et un assouplissement de SIP/AMFI (configuration technique)
usage jailbreak = zone grise à connaître selon le contexte d'utilisation