sootsim open
load a target into the current sim or open a new one
sootsim open
Resolve a port, dev-server URL, bundle URL, or full shell URL, then load it into the current sim by default. Fresh sims open in a separate window. Named profiles force a fresh Electron or Playwright sim because storage isolation is fixed at window/context construction time. A SootSim preview/build link (e.g. https://sootsim.com/preview/<id>) is a full player page, not a driveable sim — open recognizes it and launches it in your browser for viewing instead of mis-loading the HTML as a bundle (a remote preview can never attach to the local CLI bridge, which only binds from localhost).
terminal
Options
| flag | description |
|---|---|
--new | open a fresh sim instead of reusing the current sim |
--profile <id> | open with an isolated persistent storage profile |
--ephemeral | open with a temporary isolated storage profile |
--driver <id> | launch through a specific driver (electron and playwright support profiles) |
--headless | pass headless=true to the launch driver (useful with --driver playwright for CI runs) |
--cdp-port <number> | expose Chrome remote debugging on this port so the sim can be cpu-profiled while still driveable over the bridge (playwright driver only) |
--base-url <url> | base shell URL to wrap around bundle targets |
--replace <module>=<file> | replace a Metro module with a local file for this run — useful for swapping in a deterministic fixture component during demos. repeatable |
--no-describe | skip the automatic describe snapshot that prints right after open finishes (useful when scripting and you only want open’s own output) |
--port <number> | bridge port (defaults to 7668) |
Examples
terminal
Resolution Rules
open accepts four inputs:
- a raw dev-server port like
8081 - a dev-server base URL like
http://localhost:8081 - a full bundle URL
- a full sootsim shell URL
For raw targets, open now hands the input to the shell instead of guessing a fallback bundle URL. Numeric targets open as /rn/<port>, while non-port inputs fall back to /rn?open=... so ConnectRN can resolve them inside the shell.
Desktop Preference
When the desktop companion is installed, open prefers it first. If the companion does not connect back to the bridge in time, the command falls back to the bridge-owned browser path and finally a plain browser open.
That policy gives you one command that works whether you live in the browser, in Electron, or in a mixed workflow.