How to open iOS Simulator in Android Studio for Flutter application

Question

Today I have started learning Flutter. I am using Android Studio in Mac. I have already

• Configured the Flutter and Dart plugins in Android studio.
• Installed the Flutter SDK.

So I am able to run Flutter app in Android Emulator. However, when I select iOS simulator (Open iOS Simulator), it says this

Unable to find application named 'Simulator.app

I do not have any experience is XCode and I have not installed it in my Mac.

My questions are,

1. How do I install the Simulator?
2. Do I need the Xcode installed in Mac for running Simulator? (Does Simulator come with Xcode)
3. My understanding was that installing the Flutter plugin in Android Studio will import iOS simulator as well. Am I wrong?

I found similar question but did not get the clarity.

Answer 1

You can also configure the Command Line Tools from Xcode, by opening Preferences > Locations and selecting it from dropdown.

After selecting Xcode version you can find iOS Simulator name in your Android Studio for flutter project.

Answer 2

If iOS device not showing in an android studio then first open up simulator app in mac.

Open simulator app

after simulator is loaded, go to Hardware -> Device -> Manage Device and uncheck the physical device and go to simulator tab and choose the required simulator and check it 'Show as run destination' and reload android studio.

It will start showing in android studio and now you can run your flutter app in both android and iOS.

Manage Device

Answer 3

If you have fluttered, just execute the command: open -a Simulator.

Answer 4

After a fresh install of Flutter and Xcode, I had to restart my Mac in order to Flutter recognize the iOS Simulator. Probably something with config of older installations.

Answer 5

To install the simulator you have to install Xcode, simulator is not distributed as a standalone app. Once you have installed it follow this guide.

I was thinking that installing Flutter and Dart plugins will link IOS simulator in Android Studio as well.

Yes once installed you can start the iOS simulator from Android Studio and run your flutter app from it but the simulator is only linked, you have to install it yourself.

Answer 6

Firstly, you have to install Xcode on your MacBook to develop Flutter apps for iOS

To prepare to run and test your Flutter app on the iOS simulator, follow these steps:

1. On your Mac, find the Simulator via Spotlight or by using the following command:

   open -a Simulator
   

2. Make sure your simulator is using a 64-bit device (iPhone 5s or later) by checking the settings in the simulator’s Hardware > Device menu.

3. Depending on your development machine’s screen size, simulated high-screen-density iOS devices might overflow your screen. Grab the corner of the simulator and drag it to change the scale. You can also use the Window > Physical Size or Window > Pixel Accurate options if your computer’s resolution is high enough.

Answer 7

Basically, it needs to install brew package manager and some other dependencies. I got my problem solve by the following flutter doc page.

source: https://flutter.dev/docs/get-started/install/macos#update-your-path

Answer 8

For me, this error appeared after an update of Xcode. Starting Xcode fixed the issue. Xcode asked for "Install additional required components?" and after this finished, Android Studio recognized iOS simulator.

Answer 9

If you don't need IDE debugger support, you can skip the overhead of launching it through the IDE, and instead simply launch the Flutter app from the command line.

Once Simulator is running, run these 2 commands:

1. flutter doctor - to verify the simulator is recognized by Flutter and no other emulators are running

• You should see this in the output:      [✓] Connected device (1 available)

2. flutter run - will deploy the app to the know emulator or simulator

Thanks to: https://flutter.dev/docs/get-started/install/macos#create-and-run-a-simple-flutter-app