ios-android-logs
Gets, filters, streams, and saves logs and crash reports from Capacitor apps on iOS Simulator, iPhone, Android emulator and devices. Explains where Capacitor output goes (iOS bridge and mirrored JS console lines are stdout-only, so missing from Console.app and log stream; Android tags Capacitor and Capacitor/Console). Covers xcrun simctl spawn booted log stream --predicate, simctl launch --console-pty, xcrun devicectl device process launch --console, log collect --device-udid, Console.app, devicectl systemCrashLogs, adb logcat --pid, -b crash, Android Studio package:mine, tombstones, ANRs, adb bugreport. Use for "how do I see logs", "console.log not showing on device", "no logs in Console.app", "get the crash log", "logcat too noisy". Do not use for diagnosing the bug once logs are in hand (debugging-capacitor), production crash SDKs (capacitor-native-observability), MCP log tooling (capacitor-mcp), or profiling (capacitor-performance).
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/cap-go/capgo-skills --skill ios-android-logs- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads ios-android-logs automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
iOS and Android Logs for Capacitor Apps
Pick the log channel that actually carries the message you need, filter to the app, capture to a file, hand off to diagnosis.
When to Use
TRIGGER when:
- User asks how to view, stream, filter, or save device/simulator logs.
console.logoutput or⚡️Capacitor lines are missing on iOS/Android.- User needs a crash report (
.ips, tombstone, ANR) from a device or simulator. - Logcat or the unified log is too noisy; user wants only their app or plugin.
- A log command fails or misbehaves:
--level errorstill shows everything,unable to find utility "devicectl",Error: Unexpected argument 'log',adb: no devices/emulators found.
Do not use:
- Interpreting the error and fixing the app ->
debugging-capacitor. - Production crash/ANR reporting (Sentry, Crashlytics, Datadog) ->
capacitor-native-observability. - AI agent log streaming via MCP servers ->
capacitor-mcp. - CPU/memory profiling ->
capacitor-performance. - UIScene lifecycle migration ->
capacitor-uiscene-migration.
Where Capacitor Output Goes (the main trap)
| Source | iOS | Android |
|---|---|---|
Capacitor bridge messages (⚡️ Loading app at ..., ⚡️ To Native ->, errors) | stdout only (print) | logcat tag Capacitor and Capacitor/<Sub> |
JS console.log/warn/error mirrored natively | stdout as ⚡️ [log] - ... | logcat tag Capacitor/Console as File: ... - Line N - Msg: ... |
| JS console, full fidelity (objects, stack traces) | Safari Web Inspector | chrome://inspect |
Plugin/app code using os.Logger / NSLog | unified log (Console.app, log stream) | n/a |
Plugin code using android.util.Log / Capacitor Logger | n/a | logcat |
| Native crash | .ips crash report | FATAL EXCEPTION in logcat + crash buffer; tombstone for native code |
Consequences:
- On iOS, Console.app and
log streamwill not show Capacitor's⚡️lines or mirrored JS console. Use Xcode's console,xcrun simctl launch --console-pty, orxcrun devicectl device process launch --console. - Mirroring obeys
loggingBehavior(none|debug|production, defaultdebug): Release builds produce no Capacitor logs unless set toproduction. - The iOS process name is the executable (
Appin the Capacitor template), not the display name. Filter withprocess == "App".
Quick Commands
# iOS Simulator: Capacitor + JS console (stdout), relaunching the app
xcrun simctl launch --console-pty --terminate-running-process booted com.example.app
# iOS Simulator: unified log for the app (os_log / NSLog / system messages)
xcrun simctl spawn booted log stream --level debug --predicate 'process == "App"'
# iPhone: install + launch with stdout attached (Xcode 15+ devicectl)
xcrun devicectl list devices
xcrun devicectl device process launch --console --terminate-existing --device <id> com.example.app
# iPhone: unified log snapshot of the last 10 minutes
sudo log collect --device-udid <udid> --last 10m --output /tmp/iphone.logarchive
log show /tmp/iphone.logarchive --predicate 'process == "App"' --info --debug
# Android: only this app (re-run after each app restart, PID changes)
adb logcat --pid="$(adb shell pidof -s com.example.app)"
# Android: Capacitor + JS console only
adb logcat -s Capacitor:V Capacitor/Console:V
# Android: crashes only
adb logcat -b crash
Procedure
- Identify target: Simulator/emulator vs physical device; Debug vs Release; which layer emitted the message (table above).
- Check connectivity:
xcrun simctl list devices booted,xcrun devicectl list devices(device must be unlocked, trusted, Developer Mode on),adb devices -l. - Clear and reproduce:
adb logcat -con Android; on iOS start the stream before relaunching the app. - Filter early by process/PID, then by subsystem/tag, then by text. Never paste unfiltered system logs into a conversation.
- Save to a file (
> app.log,.logarchive,adb bugreport) when the user needs to share it; redact tokens, emails, and auth headers before sharing outside the team. - Hand off the relevant lines to
debugging-capacitorfor root-cause work.
Error Handling
| Message | Fix |
|---|---|
--level error still shows every message | log stream --level only understands default, info, debug (it sets the floor, not a ceiling). Filter errors with --predicate 'messageType == error OR messageType == fault'. |
xcrun: error: unable to find utility "devicectl" | Active dev dir is Command Line Tools. sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer. |
Error: Unexpected argument 'log' (devicectl) | devicectl has no log streaming subcommand. Use --console for stdout, Console.app or log collect --device-udid for unified logs. |
log collect fails with a permission error | Run with sudo; device must be unlocked and trusted. |
No devices are booted. (simctl) | xcrun simctl boot "<device name>" or open Simulator. |
adb: no devices/emulators found / unauthorized | Enable USB debugging, accept the RSA prompt, adb kill-server && adb start-server. |
adb logcat --pid= prints everything / errors | App not running so pidof returned nothing. Launch the app first. |
No Capacitor/Console lines on Android | loggingBehavior: 'none', or Release build with default debug. |
JS logs show but objects print as [object Object] | Native mirroring stringifies; use the WebView inspector for structured output. |
Verification
- iOS sim: launch with
--console-pty, see⚡️ Loading app at capacitor://localhostand a testconsole.log('log-check')as⚡️ [log] - log-check. - iOS device: same via
devicectl device process launch --console. - Android:
adb logcat -s Capacitor/Console:VshowsMsg: log-check. - Unified log: a plugin
Logger(subsystem: "com.example.app", category: "test").info("log-check")appears with--predicate 'subsystem == "com.example.app"' --level info.
References
Only load a reference when its topic is in play.
| File | Load when |
|---|---|
references/ios-logs.md | Unified log predicates, Console.app, log collect/log show, iOS crash reports via devicectl/Xcode, adding os.Logger to a plugin |
references/android-logs.md | logcat buffers/formats/filters, Android Studio Logcat queries, ANRs, tombstones, bugreports, WebView (chromium) noise |
Resources
FAQ
What does the ios-android-logs skill do?
Gets, filters, streams, and saves logs and crash reports from Capacitor apps on iOS Simulator, iPhone, Android emulator and devices. Explains where Capacitor output goes (iOS bridge and mirrored JS console lines are stdout-only, so missing from Console.app and log stream; Android tags Capacitor and Capacitor/Console). Covers xcrun simctl spawn booted log stream --predicate, simctl launch --console-pty, xcrun devicectl device process launch --console, log collect --device-udid, Console.app, devicectl systemCrashLogs, adb logcat --pid, -b crash, Android Studio package:mine, tombstones, ANRs, adb bugreport. Use for "how do I see logs", "console.log not showing on device", "no logs in Console.app", "get the crash log", "logcat too noisy". Do not use for diagnosing the bug once logs are in hand (debugging-capacitor), production crash SDKs (capacitor-native-observability), MCP log tooling (capacitor-mcp), or profiling (capacitor-performance).
How do I install ios-android-logs?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/cap-go/capgo-skills --skill ios-android-logs in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/ios-android-logs/ (personal) or .claude/skills/ios-android-logs/ (project).
Which AI agents can use ios-android-logs?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is ios-android-logs safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains ios-android-logs?
It is published by cap-go in cap-go/capgo-skills. It has 1,268 recorded installs.
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