Capture other devices

WireLens for Mac can capture more than the Mac it runs on. Any device on the same network can use it as its proxy, and so can simulators and emulators.

Let other devices connect#

1. Open Settings ▸ Remote Devices and turn on Accept devices on this network. This also starts capture.

2. Find your Mac's address and port. While the switch is on, Settings ▸ Remote Devices shows Server and Port with copy buttons, and Capture ▸ Copy LAN Proxy Endpoint copies something like 192.168.1.20:9090.

3. Decide who may connect, under Access control:

   • Ask on this Mac (the default). The first time a device uses the proxy, the Mac asks Allow ‹name› to use this Mac? with Allow and Deny. Until you answer, the device gets a "Waiting for approval…" page.
   • Allowed devices only. New devices are refused without asking. They still appear in the list, where you can allow them.
   • Allow all devices. Use this only on a network you trust.

   Approved devices are listed with a Remove button. An approval belongs to the device, not its IP address: if the router gives that address to another device, WireLens asks again.

   Other devices cannot reach anything your Mac only serves to itself (localhost) through WireLens. To send a device's requests to a local server, use a Map Remote rule.

The Setup Assistant's last step has the same setup as a sheet: iPhone & Android opens Add a Phone or Tablet.

iPhone and iPad#

1. On the iPhone, open Settings ▸ Wi-Fi, tap the ⓘ next to your network, then Configure Proxy ▸ Manual. Enter your Mac's address as the Server and 9090 as the Port.
2. In Safari, open http://wire.lens/, or scan the QR code in Settings ▸ Remote Devices (Scan to install the WireLens certificate). Allow the iPhone on the Mac when asked, then reload the page. It shows the install steps for that device.
3. Install the profile from Settings, then turn on full trust in Settings ▸ General ▸ About ▸ Certificate Trust Settings. The certificate is named after the Mac it came from, for example WireLens CA (15 Oct 2026, MacBook-Pro).

This needs neither the WireLens app nor a VPN on the iPhone. Turn the Wi-Fi proxy back off when you finish, or the iPhone loses its connection whenever WireLens is not running.

Nearby iPhones#

With WireLens on both devices, the Mac can connect to a nearby iPhone directly and receive its capture. The link uses AWDL, the radio AirDrop uses. The iPhone needs no Wi-Fi proxy and can be on a different network from the Mac.

1. On the Mac, open Settings ▸ Remote Devices ▸ Nearby iPhones and turn on Look for nearby iPhones.
2. On the iPhone, open WireLens ▸ Settings ▸ Capture on Mac, turn on Discoverable, and start capture.
3. On the Mac, click Connect next to the iPhone.
4. On the iPhone, check that the code matches the one on the Mac, then tap Allow or Always Allow.

Disconnect ends the link. The iPhone lists the Macs it remembers, with Forget, and can save the Mac's certificate from the same screen.

iOS Simulator#

A simulator is a process on your Mac and uses its network, and capture already covers it. It keeps its own list of trusted certificates, though. Tools ▸ iOS Simulators installs the WireLens certificate into each booted simulator with Install Certificate, or from Terminal:

xcrun simctl keychain booted add-root-cert "$HOME/Library/Application Support/WireLens/ca/wirelens-root.pem"

A simulator has to be booted before a certificate can be installed. Its traffic appears under Remote Devices in the sidebar. An AI agent can do the same through the MCP server with setup_simulator.

Android#

WireLens also runs on the phone itself: see Install WireLens for Android. To read an Android device on the Mac instead:

• Emulator. Settings ▸ Remote Devices ▸ Android emulators lists running emulators. Use WireLens points one at your Mac, and Stop puts it back. Inside the emulator your Mac is 10.0.2.2, not localhost. By hand:

  bash

  adb shell settings put global http_proxy 10.0.2.2:9090
  

  While capture is stopped, an emulator still set to WireLens has no network.

  For HTTPS, Use WireLens also puts wirelens-ca.pem in the emulator's Downloads folder. Install it from Settings ▸ Security & privacy ▸ More security settings ▸ Install from device storage ▸ CA certificate, then pick wirelens-ca.pem in Downloads. Apps only trust it if their debug build opts in, as described under Certificates below.

• Physical device. In Settings ▸ Wi-Fi, edit the network and set Proxy to Manual with your Mac's address and port. Then open http://wire.lens/ in Chrome, download the certificate, and install it from Settings as a CA certificate.

• Certificates. Android 7 and later ignore certificates you install unless the app opts in. A debug build of your own app can, with a network security config in the debug source set:

  xml

  <network-security-config>
    <debug-overrides>
      <trust-anchors>
        <certificates src="user" />
      </trust-anchors>
    </debug-overrides>
  </network-security-config>
  

  Emulator images without Google Play can take the certificate as a system one instead. Tools ▸ Client Setup has recipes for the emulator, for Google APIs and Google Play images, and for devices over ADB, with Set Proxy and Push CA and Install system CA (userdebug) buttons.

Another Mac#

On the other Mac, open System Settings ▸ Network, choose the network service, then Details ▸ Proxies. Turn on Web proxy (HTTP) and Secure web proxy (HTTPS) with your capturing Mac's address and port. Then install and trust that Mac's certificate: visit http://wire.lens/ through the proxy, or copy the exported file across (Certificate ▸ Export Root Certificate PEM…).

Windows#

1. Open Settings ▸ Network & internet ▸ Proxy ▸ Manual proxy setup, click Set up, turn on Use a proxy server, and enter your Mac's address and port.

2. Download the certificate from http://wire.lens/ through the proxy, then add it to the trusted roots from a Command Prompt:

   bat

   certutil -user -addstore Root "%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\wirelens-root.pem"
   

   Run it without -user from an administrator prompt to trust the certificate for every account on that PC.

Turn the proxy back off when you finish, or the PC loses its connection whenever WireLens is not running.

Apple TV, Apple Watch and Vision Pro#

Tools ▸ Client Setup includes tvOS, watchOS and visionOS recipes. Their simulators use your Mac's network like the iOS Simulator, so each one only needs the WireLens certificate. Install CA into tvOS Simulator and the matching buttons boot the first simulator if none is running.

• Apple Watch Simulator. A watch simulator is paired with an iPhone simulator, and many watch requests leave through watchProxy on the paired iPhone rather than from the watch itself. Install the certificate on both: the watch from Client Setup, the iPhone from Tools ▸ iOS Simulators. If no rows appear, capture the paired iPhone simulator.
• Physical Apple Watch and Vision Pro are not supported. A watch has no HTTP proxy setting, and WireLens cannot capture a Vision Pro.
• No simulator to pick? Install the runtime in Xcode ▸ Settings ▸ Components.

When no traffic arrives#

• Accept devices on this network is off, or the device is on a different network.
• The macOS firewall is blocking incoming connections to WireLens.
• The device was denied, or the Mac is set to Allowed devices only and has not approved it. Allow it in Settings ▸ Remote Devices.
• Only CONNECT rows appear: the host is not on the SSL Proxying Include list, or the device does not trust your Mac's certificate. See SSL Proxying.