argent-device-interact

Unified tool surface

All interaction tools below accept a udid parameter and auto-dispatch iOS vs Android based on its shape (UUID → iOS simulator, chromium-cdp-<port> → Chromium (CDP) app, anything else → Android adb serial). You use the same tool names on every platform.

Chromium (CDP) app = any Chromium runtime exposing a Chrome DevTools Protocol endpoint: an Electron app (boot it with boot-device + electronAppPath), or any Chromium-family browser (Chrome/Brave/Edge) launched with --remote-debugging-port. The latter is auto-discovered by list-devices on port 9222 plus anything in ARGENT_CHROMIUM_PORTS. The same describe/tap/swipe/keyboard/screenshot surface drives all of them.

Multi-tab / windows (Chromium only): a Chromium device may have several tabs / BrowserWindows. Use chromium-tabs to list them (stable ids t1, t2, …, optional labels), open a new one, select which is active, or close one. Every other tool (describe, gesture-tap, screenshot, debugger-evaluate, open-url, …) acts on the active tab, so chromium-tabs action=select before driving a different tab. Note: a cross-process navigation (some redirects) can swap a tab's underlying CDP target — re-run chromium-tabs action=list to pick it up under a fresh id.

Cookies & storage (Chromium only): chromium-cookies reads/writes cookies via the Network domain (so HttpOnly cookies are visible): action=get (optionally scoped by url), set (name, value, + url/domain, optional secure/httpOnly/sameSite/expires), delete (name), clear (all). chromium-storage reads/writes Web Storage for the active page: store=local|session, action=get (one key or all entries), set, remove, clear. Both are per-origin / active-tab. Handy for seeding auth before a flow or asserting app state after one.

TV targets (Apple TV / Android TV) are not covered by this skill. A TV target is focus-driven, not touch-driven — the gesture-* tools are the wrong tools for it. This applies to both Apple TV simulators (UUID-shaped, identical to iOS) and Android TV / leanback devices (serial-shaped, identical to a phone emulator). If list-devices tags your target runtimeKind: "tv", stop and use the argent-tv-interact skill: describe to read focus, tv-remote for remote / D-pad presses, and keyboard to type.

For platform-specific caveats (Metro adb reverse, locked-screen describe errors, etc.), see § 9 Platform-specific notes at the bottom.

1. Before You Start

If you delegate simulator tasks to sub-agents, make sure they have MCP permissions.

Use list-devices to get a target id. Results are tagged with platform (ios, android, or chromium); booted/ready devices come first. Pick the first entry that matches the platform you need — if none are ready, call boot-device with udid (iOS), avdName (Android), or electronAppPath (boots an Electron app as a chromium device). A Chromium browser already running with a CDP port shows up directly — no boot-device needed. See argent-ios-simulator-setup / argent-android-emulator-setup for full setup flow.

Load tool schemas before first use. Gesture tools (gesture-tap, gesture-swipe, gesture-pinch, gesture-rotate, gesture-custom) may be deferred — their parameter schemas are not loaded until fetched. Always use ToolSearch to load the schemas of all gesture tools you plan to use before calling any of them. If you skip this step, parameters may be coerced to strings instead of numbers, causing validation errors.

2. Best Practices

1. Always refer to tapping_rule from your argent.md rule before tapping.
2. Before performing interactions, consider whether they can be dispatched sequentially - more on that in run-sequence.
3. Use gesture-swipe for lists/scrolling, not gesture-custom, unless you need non-linear movement. On Chromium use gesture-scroll instead — gesture-swipe is touch-only. Consider whether you need multiple swipes, if yes - use run-sequence.
4. Tap a text field before typing, then use keyboard to enter text.
5. Coordinates are normalized — always 0.0–1.0, not pixels.
6. For app navigation, prefer describe first. It works on any screen without app restart. Do not navigate from screenshots on regular in-app screens unless describe failed to expose a reliable target. Use native-describe-screen only when you need app-scoped UIKit properties.

3. Opening Apps

Never navigate to an app by tapping home-screen icons. Use launch-app or open-url — they are instant and reliable.

launch-app — by bundle ID

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "bundleId": "com.apple.MobileSMS" }

Common IDs: com.apple.MobileSMS (Messages), com.apple.mobilesafari (Safari), com.apple.Preferences (Settings), com.apple.Maps, com.apple.Photos, com.apple.mobilemail, com.apple.mobilenotes, com.apple.MobileAddressBook (Contacts)

open-url — by URL scheme

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "url": "messages://" }

Common schemes: messages://, settings://, maps://?q=<query>, tel://<number>, mailto:<address>, https://... (Safari)

4. Choosing the Right Tool

5. Finding Tap Targets

IMPORTANT. When moved to a different screen after an action or do not know the coordinates of component, always perform proper discovery first.

Point follow-up native diagnostics after you already have a candidate point:

• native-user-interactable-view-at-point: deepest native view that would receive touch at a known raw iOS point; requires bundleId
• native-view-at-point: deepest visible native view at a known raw iOS point; requires bundleId

If describe Fails

Read the exact error and choose the action that matches it:

• Error mentions ax-service not available or daemon startup failure: the ax-service daemon could not start. Check that the simulator is booted. Use screenshot as a temporary fallback, or use native-describe-screen with an explicit bundleId if the app has native devtools injected.
• describe returns an empty element list: the screen may be blank, loading, or showing content without accessibility labels. Use screenshot to see what is visible, then retry after the content has loaded.
• describe succeeds but is not detailed enough for a React Native app: use debugger-component-tree next.
• You need app-scoped inspection with full UIKit properties (accessibilityIdentifier, viewClassName): use native-describe-screen with an explicit bundleId. This requires native devtools (dylib) injection — call restart-app first if needed.
• You already have a candidate point and want to confirm what would actually receive touch: use native-user-interactable-view-at-point. Use native-view-at-point when you want the visually deepest view instead of the hit-test target.

6. Tool Usage

gesture-tap — Single tap at a point

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "x": 0.5, "y": 0.5 }

Coordinates: 0.0 = left/top, 1.0 = right/bottom.

Before tapping near the bottom of the screen in React Native apps, check that "Open Debugger to View Warnings" banners are not visible — tapping them breaks the debugger connection. Close them with the X icon if present.

gesture-swipe — Straight-line gesture

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "fromX": 0.5, "fromY": 0.7, "toX": 0.5, "toY": 0.3 }

Swipe up (fromY > toY) = scroll content down. Default duration: 300ms. Optional: "durationMs": 500 for slower swipe.

gesture-pinch — Two-finger pinch

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "centerX": 0.5, "centerY": 0.5, "startDistance": 0.2, "endDistance": 0.6 }

All values are normalized 0.0–1.0 (fractions of screen, not pixels) — same as all other gesture tools. startDistance: 0.2 means fingers start 20% of the screen apart; endDistance: 0.6 means they end 60% apart. startDistance < endDistance = pinch out (zoom in). startDistance > endDistance = pinch in (zoom out). Defaults: angle: 0 (horizontal), durationMs: 300. Optional: "angle": 90 for vertical axis, "durationMs": 500 for slower pinch, "endCenterX"/"endCenterY" to let the centroid drift to a new center over the gesture (omitted = fixed center).

gesture-rotate — Two-finger rotation

{
  "udid": "<UDID>",
  "centerX": 0.5,
  "centerY": 0.5,
  "radius": 0.15,
  "startAngle": 0,
  "endAngle": 90
}

All positions and radii are normalized 0.0–1.0 (fractions of screen, not pixels). radius: 0.15 means each finger is 15% of the screen away from center. endAngle > startAngle = clockwise. Default duration: 300ms. Optional: "durationMs": 500 for slower rotation, and "radiusX"/"radiusY" (fractions of screen width/height; give both — they override radius) with radiusX·width = radiusY·height for a physically circular orbit — a single radius traces a physical ellipse on a non-square screen, coupling a slight pinch into the turn.

gesture-custom — Custom touch sequence

For long-press, drag-and-drop, and other complex sequences, see references/gesture-examples.md. Set "interpolate": 10 to auto-generate smooth intermediate Move events between keyframes.

button — Hardware button press

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "button": "home" }

Values: home, back, power, volumeUp, volumeDown, appSwitch, actionButton

keyboard — Type text or press special keys

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "text": "search query", "key": "enter" }

Special keys: enter, escape, backspace, tab, space, arrow-up, arrow-down, arrow-left, arrow-right, f1–f12. Optional: "delayMs": 100 between keystrokes (default 50ms) — applies to the iOS simulator and Chromium; it is ignored on Android phones/tablets (typed via adb input text, no per-key cadence), on Vega, and on TV targets.

Typing secrets. To enter a credential without its plaintext ever entering your context, transcript, or logs, use a secret placeholder in text (works in keyboard, paste, run-sequence keyboard steps, and flow type steps):

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "text": "{{secret:APP_PASSWORD}}", "key": "enter" }

The placeholder is resolved on the machine running the tool-server from the ARGENT_SECRET_<NAME> environment variable (here ARGENT_SECRET_APP_PASSWORD) — the CI-native pattern: expose the secret under that prefix in the environment that starts the tool-server. Rules:

• The result echoes the placeholder, never the value. An unknown name fails with the list of available secret names.
• The auto-screenshot after the call is skipped so the typed value cannot re-enter your context as pixels. Do not describe or screenshot a non-secure field you just filled with a secret — submit or navigate away first, then verify the resulting screen.
• Only ARGENT_SECRET_* variables are resolvable; never ask the user to paste a secret value into the conversation — ask them to export the env var instead.

rotate — Change orientation

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "orientation": "LandscapeLeft" }

Values: Portrait, LandscapeLeft, LandscapeRight, PortraitUpsideDown

await-ui-element — Block until a UI element reaches a state

Instead of polling screenshot/describe in a loop, use await-ui-element to block server-side until an element reaches an expected state (or timeoutMs, default 5000ms, elapses). It polls the same accessibility/DOM tree as describe. (For a plain pause, use your own harness sleep — this tool deliberately has no bare-timer mode.)

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "condition": "visible", "selector": { "text": "Continue" } }

• condition: exists, visible, hidden, or text.
• selector: { text?, identifier?, role? } — every provided field must match. text matches the element's label or value and role its element role (e.g. AXButton, button, TextView, StaticText), both as case-insensitive substrings; identifier matches its accessibility id / resource-id / testID exactly (case-insensitive), also accepting the unqualified Android resource-id name (submit matches com.example.app:id/submit). The synthetic ROOT container describe prints is never matched, so a role like AXGroup/html won't trivially "match the screen".
• Prefer a specific selector. A loose substring can match several elements, and the tool may then key off one you didn't mean: text reads the first visible match in reading order (top-to-bottom, left-to-right — the same order describe lists them, so it's the one you saw first; when no match is visible, the first match overall), while visible/exists are satisfied by any match. Disambiguate with a longer or more exact string, an identifier, or a role (e.g. pin to a text role like StaticText to skip a same-named button). On a text timeout the note quotes the matched element's text, so you can see which one it landed on.
• text condition also needs expectedText (substring the matched element must contain).
• hidden treats a selector that matches nothing as already-hidden, so a typo'd selector returns an instant (false) success. Double-check the selector for hidden waits — the result note flags when the selector never matched any element. (On iOS, if the accessibility backend is down the tree comes back empty; the tool will not report hidden success off such a degraded read and the note surfaces the boot hint instead.)
• Optional timeoutMs (default 5000) and pollIntervalMs (default 400).

Returns { success, elapsed }; on a timeout success is false and a note explains what was seen.

7. Screenshots

Use the explicit screenshot tool only when:

• You need the initial screen state before any action.
• You are about to edit visible UI and need a baseline capture before making changes.
• The auto-attached screenshot shows a transitional or loading frame.
• You require extra context.
• You want to check state after a delay (e.g. waiting for a network response).
• A permission dialog, system alert, or native modal overlay is visible and describe did not expose reliable targets.

When using screenshot for permission or native modal navigation:

• Do not switch to screenshot-driven navigation just because a modal is visible. On regular app screens and in-app modals, keep using describe.
• Prefer obvious, centered alert buttons such as Allow, OK, Don't Allow, Not Now, or Continue.
• Tap one control at a time and inspect the returned auto-screenshot before doing anything else.
• After the modal is dismissed, return to normal discovery with describe, native-describe-screen, or debugger-component-tree.

Prefer the dialog over the Settings tool. When the app triggers its own permission prompt, answering it here is the real user path — do that. Reach for the settings-permissions tool only when you can't get to the change through the app: pre-authorize/deny a permission before the app asks, re-enable one the user already denied (iOS won't re-prompt), or reset it so the prompt reappears. See the argent-settings-permissions skill.

Optional rotation parameter: { "udid": "<UDID>", "rotation": "LandscapeLeft" } — rotates the capture without changing simulator orientation.

Screenshots are downscaled by default (30% of original resolution) to reduce context size. Use the normal downscaled screenshot for UI context and state checks. scale accepts values from 0.01 to 1.0, but do not use scale: 1.0 as a general readability or tapping aid.

Use full-resolution screenshots only when saving baseline/current PNG files for comparison. In that case, suppress the image block so the full-size PNG is not loaded into agent context:

{ "udid": "<UDID>", "scale": 1.0, "includeImageInContext": false }

For visual regression checks, before/after screenshot comparisons, and detailed screenshot-diff parameter guidance, use the argent-screenshot-diff skill. Keep this skill focused on device interaction mechanics and screenshot capture.

Troubleshooting

8. Action Sequencing with run-sequence

Use run-sequence to batch multiple interaction steps into a single tool call. Only one screenshot is returned — after all steps complete. Use cases: scrolling multiple times, typing and submitting automatically, known sequence of multiple taps, rotating device back and forth.

Do not use run-sequence when any step depends on observing the result of a previous step

Use cases

Use the sequencing when:

• Knowing that some action needs multiple steps without necessarily immediate insight of screenshot
• "scroll to bottom", "scroll to top", "scroll to do X" -> sequence scroll 3-5 times
• form interactions, "clear and retype field" -> you may use triple-tap to select all, type new value
• "submit form" → fill all fields in sequence, tap submit
• "go back to X" → defined tap sequence for the navigation

Allowed tools inside run-sequence

gesture-tap, gesture-swipe, gesture-scroll, gesture-drag, gesture-custom, gesture-pinch, gesture-rotate, button, keyboard, rotate, await-ui-element

The udid is shared — do not include it in each step's args. Optional delayMs per step (default 100ms).

Add an await-ui-element step to gate a later tap on a screen transition (e.g. tap → wait for the next screen's button → tap it). If its condition is not met before the timeout, the sequence stops at that step and the following steps do not run — so a mistimed tap can't fire against a screen that never settled.

Examples

Scroll down three times:

{
  "udid": "<UDID>",
  "steps": [
    { "tool": "gesture-swipe", "args": { "fromX": 0.5, "fromY": 0.7, "toX": 0.5, "toY": 0.3 } },
    { "tool": "gesture-swipe", "args": { "fromX": 0.5, "fromY": 0.7, "toX": 0.5, "toY": 0.3 } },
    { "tool": "gesture-swipe", "args": { "fromX": 0.5, "fromY": 0.7, "toX": 0.5, "toY": 0.3 } }
  ]
}

Type into a focused field and submit:

{
  "udid": "<UDID>",
  "steps": [
    { "tool": "keyboard", "args": { "text": "hello world" } },
    { "tool": "keyboard", "args": { "key": "enter" } }
  ]
}

Tap a known button, then scroll down:

{
  "udid": "<UDID>",
  "steps": [
    { "tool": "gesture-tap", "args": { "x": 0.5, "y": 0.15 } },
    {
      "tool": "gesture-swipe",
      "args": { "fromX": 0.5, "fromY": 0.7, "toX": 0.5, "toY": 0.3 },
      "delayMs": 300
    }
  ]
}

Tap, wait for the next screen, then act on it — the await-ui-element step gates the tap after it:

{
  "udid": "<UDID>",
  "steps": [
    { "tool": "gesture-tap", "args": { "x": 0.5, "y": 0.9 } },
    {
      "tool": "await-ui-element",
      "args": { "condition": "visible", "selector": { "text": "Continue" } }
    },
    { "tool": "gesture-tap", "args": { "x": 0.5, "y": 0.5 } }
  ]
}

Prefer this over a fixed delayMs when a step depends on a screen transition: it adapts to real load time, and if the condition is not met before the timeout the sequence stops there so the next tap can't fire against a screen that never settled.

Stops on the first error (or unmet await-ui-element condition) and returns partial results.

9. Platform-specific notes

Android

• Metro reachability: run adb reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081 on the device before the RN app starts, or Metro won't be reachable from the device. See argent-metro-debugger for the full workflow. Re-run if the device restarts.
• First-launch permission prompts: reinstall-app on Android always installs with -g so runtime permissions are pre-granted on first launch — no flag to pass.
• Locked screen / secure surfaces: describe throws a clear error if it can't capture (keyguard, DRM, Play Integrity). Unlock the device or fall back to screenshot.
• APK vs .app in reinstall-app: pass .apk absolute path on Android; .app directory on iOS.

iOS

(no iOS-only gotchas collected here yet — add them as they come up)