Quick Start

Get tapflow running in under 5 minutes.

1. Install tapflow

npm

npm install -g tapflow

yarn

yarn global add tapflow

pnpm

pnpm add -g tapflow

2. Set up the environment

On the Mac that will run an agent, install the simulator/emulator prerequisites in one step:

tapflow setup

Skip this on a relay-only server (Linux). See Environment Setup for details.

3. Configure tapflow (optional)

Run tapflow init to generate tapflow.config.json. It interactively asks for a tunnel and, on a plain LAN, your streaming performance (HTTP or HTTPS). Skip this step if the defaults are fine — port 4000, no tunnel, HTTP.

tapflow init

For what each prompt sets, the .env credentials file, and the CI flags, see Configuring tapflow.

4. Start the relay + agent

On your Mac, run:

tapflow start
# ✓ Relay started on ws://localhost:4000
# ✓ iOS Agent connected (3 simulators available)

Running the relay on a separate server?

Use tapflow relay start and tapflow agent start. See Self-Hosting the Relay.

5. Create the admin account

tapflow has no default credentials. On first launch, the dashboard redirects you to the setup page:

1. Open http://localhost:4000 in your browser.
2. You are redirected to /setup automatically.
3. Enter your email and password to create the admin account.

One-time only

The setup page only appears when no accounts exist. After this step, invite teammates from Settings → Team in the dashboard.

Headless server?

If you cannot open a browser, use tapflow admin init to create the first admin account via CLI.

6. Open the dashboard

Sign in at http://localhost:4000 with the account you just created.

For the full onboarding flow — team invitations and your first build upload — see First-time Setup.

Environment check

If you run into issues during setup, run tapflow doctor. It automatically diagnoses prerequisites — Node.js version and platform-specific tools.