The Simulator app requires several other large directories from the Xcode distribution in order to work at all. The only official way to install all of those properly is to install the entire SDK from the dmg. Then you can experiment with deleting the hopefully "unneeded" directories. Be prepared to start over if you delete something that the Simulator requires.

Answer from hotpaw2 on Stack Overflow
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GitHub
github.com › timsutton › speedwagon
GitHub - timsutton/speedwagon: Download iOS/tvOS/watchOS/xrOS simulators without Xcode or macOS
A very simple CLI tool for downloading Apple's Xcode simulator runtimes without needing a copy of Xcode, or a Mac.
Starred by 145 users
Forked by 4 users
Languages   Go 81.5% | Shell 18.5%
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Brett Terpstra
brettterpstra.com › 2020 › 02 › 11 › launching-the-ios-simulator-without-xcode
Launching the iOS Simulator without Xcode - BrettTerpstra.com
It’s super simple, but I recommend building the app yourself rather than downloading because there’s a rigamarole to get around an unsigned app that takes just as long as the single-action Automator workflow takes. Now I can launch the iOS Simulator using LaunchBar and I’m 5% happier than I was before.
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Apenwarr
apenwarr.ca › log › 20100408
How to run an iPhone app in the simulator without using XCode - apenwarr
(Despite its name, iphonesim isn't an iPhone simulator; you still need the iPhone SDK to be installed so it can use their simulator.) The bad news is there's no obvious way to run your app in a Debugger using this system. Hopefully someday it'll be added or I'll figure it out, and then I'll be rid of XCode for good.
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Swissmacuser
swissmacuser.ch › os-x-ios-simulator-launcher-without-xcode
OS X: launcher for iOS Simulator and bypassing Xcode
March 10, 2024 - On OS X, the best way to almost natively test apps or websites is by using the so called "iOS Simulator" (now named simply "Simulator") which is available as part of the installed Xcode Development Tools. So to bypass Xcode for starting the Simulator, I wrote a simple Automator application which directly launches the Simulator.app - you can download it in this post or create it yourself following the instructions.
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OS X Daily
osxdaily.com › 2012 › 07 › 09 › ios-simulator-without-launching-xcode
Run iOS Simulator Without Launching Xcode By Using an Alias
January 25, 2016 - Alternatively, you can grab a pre-made alias in a zip bundle that will open iOS Simulator automatically. Throw that on the desktop or in the Dock for easy access. This applies to Xcode 4.3 and later, including Xcode 5, Xcode 6, and including Xcode 7, though Previous versions stored the iPhone/iOS simulator elsewhere so you’ll want to be sure to adjust the path depending on which version you are running.
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Thetechmirror
thetechmirror.com › home › [how to] launch ios simulator for mac without xcode
[HOW TO] Launch iOS Simulator for Mac without XCode
July 26, 2022 - Since XCode is not an included application for Mac, you have to install it anyway. Beside that you should also download the iOS Simulator (bundled with Xcode SDK) from the App Store.
Find elsewhere
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Apple Developer
developer.apple.com › forums › thread › 124239
Download iOS simulator directly | Apple Developer Forums
October 12, 2019 - Simulators are not available as separate/stand alone downloads.
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
How To Install & Use iOS Simulator on Your Mac - YouTube
For more information, follow this guide: https://www.nexttap.net/tutorials/install-use-ios-simulator-macWant an iPhone-like screen on your Mac without buildi...
Published   September 8, 2025
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GitHub
gist.github.com › rtrouton › f03fdca4b847ef4077b7979e7f1a5711
How to Download iOS Simulator (Xcode) in Command Line and Install it · GitHub
@vesper8 after copying the downloaded ... the Xcode preferences pane, you don't see anything new until you click to download the simulator again. This time, instead of showing a progress bar starting from the beginning, it will start at around 80% filled and will just install it. What's missing in the instructions is that you don't see anything new until you click again to download. ... I'll leave this gist which contains a list of image URLs you can use to download different iOS versions ...
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ArcGIS
doc.arcgis.com › en › appstudio › extend-apps › installdevtoolsemulators.htm
Install development tools for simulators and emulators—ArcGIS AppStudio | Documentation
The iOS simulator functionality is contained within the Xcode developer tools; however, no coding within the Xcode framework is necessary. When you install Xcode from the Mac App Store, a number of simulators are also installed to your computer. For these simulators to be visible on the AppStudio Virtual Device menu, you must also install the Xcode Command Line Tools. These tools can be downloaded from https://developer.apple.com/download/.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/xcode › is it possible to do mac/ios development without xcode?
r/Xcode on Reddit: Is it possible to do mac/iOS development without Xcode?
October 30, 2022 -

I have been trying to do a experiment which involves not using Xcode for iOS and maOS development.

So far, I have been sucessful building the application with xcodebuild command, but as I'm really new to this space I don't how to launch and debug apps without xcode.

Is this even possible? Most of the other editors have DAP(Debugger Adapter Protocol) these days, can we utilize them for debugging?

PS:

Not hating on Xcode, this is just an experiment I am doing.

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BrowserStack
browserstack.com › home › guide › how to install ios simulators
How to Install iOS Simulators | BrowserStack
February 28, 2025 - This article explains how to install iOS simulators in Xcode, manage different iOS versions, and know when to move testing to real devices. iOS Simulators are software tools that mimic iPhone, iPad, and other Apple device environments on a Mac, allowing developers to test and debug their apps without needing physical devices.
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MacRumors
forums.macrumors.com › iphone, ipad, and ipod touch › ios and ipados › older ios versions › ios 6
Launch iOs Simulator without Xcode | MacRumors Forums
April 18, 2013 - In the good old days you could.... ... You can run it without launching Xcode by adding it to the dock. To do this, run Xcode, right click it's icon and then go to the "Developer Tools" submenu.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/iosprogramming › is it possible to install apps on my iphone without xcode dev program?
r/iOSProgramming on Reddit: Is it possible to install apps on my iPhone without xcode dev program?
August 1, 2013 -

I am learning to build iOS apps. I am following some udemy course. from what I understand, you need to be enrolled into xcode developer program to build IPAs, install on iPhone (and also upload them on AppStore).

I am just learning and have no plans to release apps to AppStore. And most of these apps are simple anwyays. So I wanted to know if there is any way to build IPA without dev program. I already have my device jailbroken so I can install IPA easily. I checked into jailcoder, but it is not updated for latest xcode/mac

appreciate any help!

Top answer
1 of 3
4
  1. You have to select don't code sign in XCode and

  2. Install AppSync Unified which is intended for development porposes from karen repo: http://cydia.angelxwind.net/

  3. And patch Xcode with Jailcoder and it should work

2 of 3
1

From your screenshots looks like you are doing Paul Hegarty's iOS classes. Even I am doing same. I don't have iTunes dev account, so I was also looking for similar solution. After lots of trial and error, I have found following method to be working.

OS: OS X 10.10.1, Xcode: 6.1

  1. Patch Xcode. In Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS.sdk/SDKSettings.plist set CODE_SIGNING_REQUIRED to NO

  2. Get ldid. Do following, run line after line:

    git clone git://git.saurik.com/ldid.git
     cd ldid
     git submodule update --init
     ./make.sh
     sudo cp ldid /usr/bin/
  3. Make Don't Code Signin for all in build settings. Your screenshot is correct

  4. Select any iOS Simulator. Usually same as your device.

  5. Build the project. Now from Project Navigator > Products > YourApp.app, right click on it and open it in finder. Usually it opens 'Debug-iphoneos'. Copy that YourApp.app file to somewhere else.

  6. Do ldid on this one:

    ldid -S YourApp.app/YourApp

    If above is successful, it does not print anything (No news is Good News!)

  7. Copy YourApp.app to your phone's /Applications

  8. Give permissions to executable: chmod +x /Applications/YourApp.app/YourApp

  9. rebuild cache: su mobile -c uicache

That's all! It should work now. Atleast it works for me :)

(To delete the app, I just delete the app folder from /Applications and rebuild the cache. Not sure if this is the correct way. Please confirm from an experienced dev)

Hope this helps :)

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Reddit
reddit.com › r/iosprogramming › how to run x code apps without ios simulator
r/iOSProgramming on Reddit: How to run X code apps without iOS simulator
November 17, 2023 -

So I do not have enough space for iOS simulator , thou I have 33gb left after downloading Xcode , it is showing not enough space for the iOS simulator so is there a solution where I connect iPhone directly and run it