Live Preview
See and touch what runs on your Mac/PC, right from the BuddyOS app.
Last updated: June 17, 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 your own Tailscale network (tailnet). Like your conversations, it never passes through our servers.
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. Your phone and Mac/PC are connected over Tailscale, 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.
- 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 only by the macOS bridge. The Windows bridge supports web-local preview only.
3. What you need (for iOS Simulator on macOS)
| Tool | Role | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Xcode | Provides the Simulator and simctl / sips | From the App Store (sips ships with macOS, no separate download) |
| Homebrew | Used to install the idb toolchain | Install manually from brew.sh if you don't have it |
| idb toolchain (idb_companion + pipx + fb-idb) | Injects tap / swipe and other input into the Simulator | Installed automatically via the download button under “Settings → Sim Tools” in BuddyOS desktop |
| Tailscale | Connects phone ↔ Mac | Already required for pairing (nothing extra to do) |
Web-local preview needs zero extra downloads. If your dev server is running on localhost, you can open it as-is.
4. Setup
- Install Xcode from the App Store (this enables simctl / sips).
- Have Homebrew ready (install manually from brew.sh if missing).
- Open the Settings tab in BuddyOS desktop and press the idb download button under “Sim Tools” (idb_companion + pipx + fb-idb install automatically).
- Log in to Tailscale to connect your phone and 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. Windows supports web-local preview only.
- The only thing you really need to install extra is the idb toolchain (Xcode and Tailscale are usually already in place).