Live Preview
See and touch what runs on your Mac/PC, right from the BuddyOS app.
Last updated: October 20, 2026
Live Preview is a developer feature that lets you view and operate, from the BuddyOS app on your phone, the iOS Simulator your AI buddy launched or a local dev server (localhost) running on your Mac/PC.
Video and input are served by the bridge running on your Mac/PC over the same encrypted path as your conversations.
1. What it is
After you ask the AI to “launch the app” or “start the dev server,” you can check the result directly on your phone. With an iOS Simulator you can tap and swipe the live video to operate it; with a local web server you can open localhost in the in-app browser.
The source is the BuddyOS bridge running on your own Mac/PC. Video and input arrive over an encrypted path, so you only see the contents of your own machine — nothing is exposed to the public internet.
2. What you can do
- iOS Simulator (macOS only): live video plus tap / swipe / text input / home gestures.
- Android emulator or device (Windows only): live video of a device connected over adb, plus tap / swipe / text input / home gestures.
- Web local (Mac & Windows): displays localhost:PORT inside the app. No extra download — it works as long as your dev server is running.
- Tap a localhost URL in agent output → “Open in Preview” to switch to it on the spot.
- Screenshot the preview → attach it to the chat input and send it back to the agent.
Simulator control (tap / swipe / text / home) is provided by the macOS bridge; Android emulator and device control is provided by the Windows bridge (the iOS Simulator doesn't run on Windows).
3. What you need (for iOS Simulator on macOS)
| Tool | Role | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Xcode | Provides the Simulator and simctl / sips; taps and other input work with Xcode alone | From the App Store (sips ships with macOS, no separate download) |
Web-local preview needs zero extra downloads. If your dev server is running on localhost, you can open it as-is.
For Android on Windows: install Android Studio (or the Android SDK platform-tools) so adb is available, then start an emulator or connect a device with USB debugging enabled. The bridge finds adb automatically from the Android SDK location (ANDROID_HOME, etc.) or PATH.
4. Setup
- Install Xcode from the App Store (this enables simctl / sips).
- Pair your phone with your Mac (skip if already paired).
- Tap the preview (right panel) icon at the top right of the BuddyOS app to open it.
5. Notes
- This is a developer feature. It mirrors the contents of your own Mac/PC running the bridge — it is not meant for general users.
- iOS Simulator preview and control are macOS only; Android emulator and device preview and control are Windows only. Web-local preview works on both.
- There is nothing extra to download (it works with Xcode alone).