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GUIDE

How to use Safari Web Inspector with the iOS Simulator

Inspect elements, read the console, and debug network requests for a page running in the iOS Simulator’s Safari.

Updated October 2, 2026

Safari Web Inspector on your Mac can connect to pages running in the iOS Simulator. You get the full set of tools (Elements, Console, Network, Sources, Storage) for the real iOS version of Safari.

1. Turn on Safari’s developer features

On your Mac, open Safari and choose Safari → Settings → Advanced, then turn on Show features for web developers. A Develop menu appears in Safari’s menu bar.

2. Open your page in the Simulator

Boot a simulator and open the page in its Safari. See testing localhost in the iOS Simulator if you haven’t done this before.

3. Attach Web Inspector

In Safari on your Mac, open the Develop menu and choose your simulator, listed under its device name. Then choose the page. A Web Inspector window opens, connected to that page.

If the simulator or page isn’t listed:

  • Make sure the page is open and in the foreground in the Simulator.
  • Close and reopen the Develop menu. New pages can take a moment to appear.
  • In the simulator, check that Web Inspector is on in Safari’s Advanced settings (under Settings → Apps → Safari on iOS 18 and later).

Tips

  • Navigation keeps the connection. Web Inspector stays attached when the page navigates or reloads, so you can follow a bug across pages.
  • Reload with the inspector open. Use the reload button in Web Inspector’s toolbar (or ⌘R while it’s focused) to catch network requests and console messages from the very start of a page load.
  • Web views in apps. To inspect a WKWebView in your own iOS app, set its isInspectable property to true (iOS 16.4 and later). It then shows up in the same Develop menu.

With Device Helm

Turn on Open Safari Web Inspector in Device Helm’s Settings, then click Start Workspace. Device Helm opens your page, attaches Web Inspector through the same Develop menu, and tiles it next to the Simulator. If more than one page is open, it asks you which one to inspect. Web Inspector is off by default. Without it, Device Helm doesn’t need Safari’s developer features at all.