CtrlK
BlogDocsLog inGet started
Tessl Logo

ios-device-screenshot

Take screenshots from physical iOS devices connected via USB using pymobiledevice3. Use when capturing screenshots from real iPhones/iPads (not simulators), debugging on-device, or needing high-fidelity device captures. Triggers on physical iOS device screenshots, pymobiledevice3 usage, or USB-connected device capture tasks.

91

2.17x

Quality

86%

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

100%

2.17x

Average score across 3 eval scenarios

SecuritybySnyk

Advisory

Suggest reviewing before use

SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

iOS Device Screenshot

Take screenshots from physical iOS devices connected via USB using pymobiledevice3.

Installation

# Install pymobiledevice3 using uv (recommended)
uv tool install pymobiledevice3

# Or with pipx
pipx install pymobiledevice3

Prerequisites

  1. Physical iOS device connected via USB
  2. Developer Mode enabled on the device (Settings > Privacy & Security > Developer Mode)
  3. Device trusted - approve "Trust This Computer" prompt on device

Usage

For iOS 17+ (including iOS 26+)

iOS 17+ requires a tunneld daemon running with root privileges:

# Terminal 1: Start tunneld (requires sudo, runs continuously)
sudo pymobiledevice3 remote tunneld

# Terminal 2: Take screenshot via DVT (Developer Tools)
pymobiledevice3 developer dvt screenshot --tunnel "" /path/to/screenshot.png

The --tunnel "" flag tells it to use the tunneld for device communication.

For iOS 16 and earlier

pymobiledevice3 developer screenshot /path/to/screenshot.png

Quick Reference

# List connected devices
xcrun devicectl list devices

# Check iOS version
ideviceinfo -k ProductVersion

# Check if developer image is mounted
ideviceimagemounter list

# Auto-mount developer image if needed
pymobiledevice3 mounter auto-mount --tunnel ""

# Take screenshot (iOS 17+) - single device
pymobiledevice3 developer dvt screenshot --tunnel "" ~/Desktop/screenshot.png

# Take screenshot with specific device UDID (required for multiple devices)
# First get UDIDs from: xcrun devicectl list devices
# Pass UDID directly to --tunnel (NOT --udid flag which doesn't work with tunneld)
pymobiledevice3 developer dvt screenshot --tunnel "00008101-001E05A41144001E" ~/Desktop/screenshot.png

Important: When multiple devices are connected, pass the UDID directly to --tunnel (not --udid). The --tunnel "" syntax prompts for interactive selection which fails in non-interactive shells.

Troubleshooting

"InvalidServiceError" or "Failed to start service"

  1. Ensure tunneld is running: ps aux | grep tunneld
  2. If not running: sudo pymobiledevice3 remote tunneld
  3. Use the DVT command instead of regular screenshot: developer dvt screenshot instead of developer screenshot

"DeveloperDiskImage not mounted"

pymobiledevice3 mounter auto-mount --tunnel ""

Multiple devices connected

Specify the target device with --udid:

# List devices first
xcrun devicectl list devices

# Use specific UDID
pymobiledevice3 developer dvt screenshot --tunnel "" --udid "40182233-00C8-51ED-8C68-174E14E4B4C9" /tmp/screenshot.png

Key Discovery

For iOS 17+, the regular pymobiledevice3 developer screenshot command often fails even with tunneld running. The solution is to use the DVT (Developer Tools) variant:

# This fails on iOS 17+:
pymobiledevice3 developer screenshot --tunnel "" /tmp/screenshot.png

# This works on iOS 17+:
pymobiledevice3 developer dvt screenshot --tunnel "" /tmp/screenshot.png

Integration Example

#!/bin/bash
# Take iOS device screenshot and open it

OUTPUT="/tmp/ios-screenshot-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).png"

# Check if tunneld is running, start if not
if ! pgrep -f "pymobiledevice3 remote tunneld" > /dev/null; then
    echo "Starting tunneld (requires sudo)..."
    sudo pymobiledevice3 remote tunneld &
    sleep 3
fi

# Take screenshot
pymobiledevice3 developer dvt screenshot --tunnel "" "$OUTPUT"

if [ -f "$OUTPUT" ]; then
    echo "Screenshot saved to: $OUTPUT"
    open "$OUTPUT"  # macOS: open in Preview
else
    echo "Failed to capture screenshot"
    exit 1
fi
Repository
NeverSight/skills_feed
Commit

5342bca

Last updated
Created

Is this your skill?

If you maintain this skill, you can claim it as your own. Once claimed, you can manage eval scenarios, bundle related skills, attach documentation or rules, and ensure cross-agent compatibility.

Claim skill