Troubleshooting and FAQ

Troubleshooting

My phone shows but says View only. Silan can show and launch apps on it, but not tap or type yet. Press Set up on the phone and pick the Simple way or the Developer way (Devices).

Developer way is greyed out. It needs Xcode on this Mac. Install Xcode, open it once, then come back.

The pointer misses small buttons on the Simple way. That is the Simple way’s limit: taps go through a pointer. For exact taps and the element list, set the device up with the Developer way.

Claude Code (or Codex, Cursor, OpenCode) does not see Silan after Connect. The app finds Silan only when it starts. Start a new session: in Claude Code type /exit, then claude; quit and reopen Cursor or the Claude app; start Codex or OpenCode again.

The agent stopped with “needs your yes” or APPROVAL_REQUIRED. A risky step waits for you. Answer the card in the chat, in Inbox, or with silan approvals approve <id>. Choose how long the yes lasts (Safety).

DEVICE_LEASED. Another agent or the person holds the device. Wait for it with claim_devices and a wait_ms, or take over in the app.

Android device is not listed. Silan needs the Android platform tools. Install them with brew install android-platform-tools, turn on USB debugging on the phone, tap Allow when it asks about this Mac. Settings › Devices & Drivers shows each step ticking.

Test pushes do nothing on my iOS 27 simulator. The system’s push command hangs iOS 27 simulators, so Silan switches the tool off there and shows a warning in the device’s health.

silan: command not found. The command ships inside the app and is not on your PATH. Use /Applications/Silan.app/Contents/MacOS/../Helpers/silan, that is /Applications/Silan.app/Contents/Helpers/silan, or make a link to it.

Exit code 3 or 4 from silan. 3 means no engine answered: open Silan once so the engine starts. 4 means the key was refused: make a new key on the Connections page under For developers. The silan keys create command answers 403 on the current release, because making a key needs the admin right.

A Mac that had Dari installed. Dari was Silan’s old name. Dari’s engine must not run beside Silan’s. Quit Dari, then once, before the first start of Silan:

launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u)/ai.usedari.engine
mv /Applications/Dari.app ~/.Trash/
[ -e ~/Library/Application\ Support/Silan ] || mv ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dari ~/Library/Application\ Support/Silan

Model keys and API keys from Dari are not carried over; make them again in Silan.

I want Silan gone. Help › Uninstall Silan… in the app, or /Applications/Silan.app/Contents/MacOS/Silan --uninstall --dry-run to see what it would remove first.

FAQ

What does Silan run on? A Mac with macOS 15 or later and Apple silicon. Linux: coming. The team relay already runs on Linux.

Which devices? iPhones and iPads on a cable (then Wi-Fi with the Developer way), Xcode simulators Silan makes, and Android emulators. Android phones are in testing. See Devices.

Do I need Xcode? No. The Simple way needs no Xcode and no Apple account. Xcode is needed for the Developer way (exact taps, the element list) and for simulators.

Which AI apps work with Silan? Any MCP client. One-click Connect exists for Claude Code, the Claude app, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode. Your own program can use the REST API, the WebDriver endpoint or the command line.

Does my data leave the Mac? The engine listens on this Mac only. Pictures go to the AI provider you chose, with password fields masked. Team sharing goes through a relay that cannot open the packets it routes. See Safety.

Can the agent see my passwords? No. It asks for a Vault item or a password-manager item by name, and Silan types it. Typing into a password box is refused for every actor but you.

Is Silan open source? The app is not. The skills and plugins are MIT licensed.

Does Silan work with Appium? Silan serves a WebDriver endpoint in the Appium style at /wd/hub, so WebDriver clients can drive a device. It is not a full Appium server.

Can I run Silan on a CI machine with no window? Not yet. The engine ships inside the app, and a person allows each AI app in the app window.

Where is the changelog? Changelog. The app’s What’s new shows the same notes after an update.