Can i create an iOS simulator programatically on demand like in android(emulator)

Question

In android i can create an emulator with android create avd and all the properties i want to have. Is there a way to do this in MacOs/Xcode via commands or can i only address the built-in simulators provided by xcode? If not, is there a way to start a simulator in MAcOs several times?

Background is automated testing and building an environment on demand. To be more clear: The need is a cluster of devices(simulator/emulator) to run tests in parallel. So i need to know if there is a way to have multiple simulators running of whatever instance i need. So when i want to test "iPhone 6" i need to have 10 instances to run my tests parallel to get a fast feedback in an agile continuous delivery background.

I didn't find anything in the internet so i guess the answer is no and no way.

Edit: Would at least be nice to leave a comment when downvoting

Answer 1

Yes, what you want to do has been supported since Xcode 6 with the simctl command. Take a look at:

$ xcrun simctl create
Usage: simctl create &ltname> &ltdevice type id> &ltruntime id>

You can get a list of devicetype ids and runtime ids by running:

xcrun simctl list devicetypes runtimes

You can then boot them using xcrun simctl boot <device UDID>. Using Xcode 6.x and 7.x, such boots are limited in scope (can't install and launch apps, but you can spawn processes), but as of more recent Xcode 8 betas, they will boot to full sessions (although you can't interact with them using Simulator.app, they are great for use in automated test and build environments).