Physical Devices

The simulator reaches Buoy Desktop at localhost. A physical iPhone or iPad needs your computer's LAN address and two Info.plist changes.

Point Buoy at your computer

The quickest way is a BUOY_SOCKET_URL environment variable in your Run scheme. Set it to the address alone (192.168.1.20) or a full URL (http://192.168.1.20:42831). Buoy uses it only when socketURL is left at its default.

To set it in code instead, do so before calling Buoy.start:

var config = BuoyConfig()
if let brokerURL = URL(string: "http://192.168.1.20:42831") {
    config.socketURL = brokerURL
}
Buoy.start(config)

var config = BuoyConfig()
if let brokerURL = URL(string: "http://192.168.1.20:42831") {
    config.socketURL = brokerURL
}
Buoy.start(config)

Replace the example IP address with your computer's address, and keep your app's startup guard around this code.

Sign in on a device

Your buoy login token works on an iPhone or iPad too, when Xcode runs a dev build. The Run scheme passes BUOY_LICENSE_KEY to the device. An ad hoc, TestFlight or App Store build turns the token down. Those builds sign in with a code. See Test builds.

Info.plist entries

Merge these entries into your app's Info.plist, keeping any transport-security configuration you already have:

<key>NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription</key>
<string>Connects to the Buoy desktop dashboard for debugging.</string>
<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSAllowsLocalNetworking</key>
    <true/>
    <key>NSExceptionDomains</key>
    <dict>
        <key>192.168.0.0/16</key>
        <dict>
            <key>NSExceptionAllowsInsecureHTTPLoads</key>
            <true/>
        </dict>
    </dict>
</dict>

<key>NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription</key>
<string>Connects to the Buoy desktop dashboard for debugging.</string>
<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSAllowsLocalNetworking</key>
    <true/>
    <key>NSExceptionDomains</key>
    <dict>
        <key>192.168.0.0/16</key>
        <dict>
            <key>NSExceptionAllowsInsecureHTTPLoads</key>
            <true/>
        </dict>
    </dict>
</dict>

Since iOS 17, NSAllowsLocalNetworking alone no longer allows plain HTTP to a bare IP address, so the address also needs an NSExceptionDomains entry. Use the range that contains your computer's address (for example 10.0.0.0/8) or the exact IP. CIDR keys require iOS 17; on iOS 16, list the exact IP.

Limit these entries to the builds that include Buoy, for example with a separate Info.plist per build configuration.

Check the setup

On a physical device, Buoy.start prints a [Buoy] setup: line to the Xcode console when the URL still points at localhost or one of these entries is missing.

Allow local-network access when iOS asks, and make sure the device can reach the computer's broker port. These entries do not open a firewall. If the connection fails, check the connection error in the console.

Use a trusted development network. Account validation makes external requests, and device sessions cross your LAN.