Capture an iOS Simulator Screenshot with simctl
Save a full-resolution simulator screenshot straight to a PNG from the Terminal.
Run xcrun simctl io booted screenshot ~/Desktop/simulator.png to save the booted simulator's screen.
01Command
Command
$ xcrun simctl io booted screenshot ~/Desktop/simulator.png02What it does
simctl's io subcommand grabs the simulator display at full device resolution — cleaner than cropping a screenshot of the whole screen. 'booted' targets whichever simulator is currently running, or substitute a specific device UDID from xcrun simctl list devices. There is a matching recordVideo subcommand for simulator screen recordings.
03Risk
!Warning: At least one simulator must be booted or the command fails with 'No devices are booted'. The image is saved without any confirmation — check the output path if it doesn't appear where you expect.
04Undo
✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.
05Sources
- xcrun - run or locate developer toolsEvidence: Documents xcrun as the launcher for Xcode developer tools such as simctl.
Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Developer