Creating an app preview video can be really easy using the simulator in just a few steps.

Capturing an iOS simulator video to use for an App Preview video

1. Open the simulator and run your app
2. Open the terminal
3. Start recording using the following command: xcrun simctl io booted recordVideo <filename>.<file extension>, for example: xcrun simctl io booted recordVideo app-preview.mp4
4. Press ctrl + c to stop recording

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Making this part of your workflow using a bash alias

Recording a video from the simulator can be a lot easier using an alias in your bash profile.

Deliver detailed bug reportsWaldo Sessions is a free tool that makes it easy to capture key details as you reproduce a bug. Waldo will capture a full video, device and build details, console logs and network requests, and package them all into one shareable link. Check out an example here and sign up for free!

1. Open your .bash_profile. Create one if it does not yet exist. More info can be found here: Creating a .bash_profile on your mac
2. Add the following function:

## Starts recording the simulator.
recsim() {
    echo -n "Use CTRL+C to stop recording";
    xcrun simctl io booted recordVideo "$1";
}

1. Use the command in your terminal: recsim app-preview.mp4

That’s it! An easy way to create your app preview video using the simulator.