Arshes CLI

A CLI tool that works with the Arshes iOS app to edit and preview shaders from your PC. Supports file-watching mode (serve) and MCP server mode (mcp) for AI agent integration.

Installation

go install github.com/shivaduke28/arshes-cli/cmd/arshes@latest

Requirements

• Go 1.24 or later
• Arshes iOS app
• PC and iPhone on the same local network (Wi-Fi)

Serve

Start a WebSocket server that watches a shader file and sends updates to iPhone in real-time.

# Start server (auto-generates a new shader file)
arshes serve

# Specify an existing shader file
arshes serve shader.slang

# Custom port
arshes serve --port 9000

# Enable logging to arshes.log
arshes serve --log

If no file is specified, a timestamped file (e.g., shader_20260125200800.slang) is created automatically.

Connecting from iPhone

1. Open the Remote Editor feature in the Arshes iOS app
2. Enter the server address (e.g., 192.168.1.5:10080) and connect

Once connected, saving the shader file on your PC automatically sends it to iPhone for compilation and preview.

Flags

Flag	Description
-p, --port int	Server port (default: 10080)
--log	Enable logging to arshes.log

MCP

Start an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server via stdio with a WebSocket bridge to iPhone. This allows AI agents like Claude Code to compile and preview shaders on the connected iPhone.

arshes mcp

# Custom port
arshes mcp --port 9000

MCP Tools

Tool	Description
compile_shader	Send shader code to iPhone for compilation. Accepts code (inline) or file (path to .slang file). Optionally save rendered image to image path.
get_shader	Get the last synced shader code from iPhone.
get_shader_spec	Get the Slang shader API specification (available uniforms, parameter attributes, entry point signature).
get_status	Get iPhone connection status and WebSocket server address.

Configuration

Add to your .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arshes": {
      "command": "arshes",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Example Shader

import Arshes;

[shader("fragment")]
float4 fragmentMain(float2 uv : TEXCOORD) : SV_Target {
    return float4(uv, 0.5, 1.0);
}