Discovers connected Android and iOS devices, sets up USB tunnels, restarts the app on each device, waits for Erlang nodes to come online, then drops into an IEx session connected to all of them.

mix dala.connect

Options

• --no-iex — set up connections but don't start IEx (print node names instead)
• --name — local node name for this session (default: dala_dev@127.0.0.1)
• --cookie — Erlang cookie (default: dala_secret)

Multiple simultaneous sessions

Because Erlang distribution allows many nodes to connect to the same device, you can run multiple independent sessions at the same time. Use --name to give each one a unique identity:

# Terminal 1 — interactive developer session
mix dala.connect --name dala_dev_1@127.0.0.1

# Terminal 2 — agent or second developer
mix dala.connect --name dala_dev_2@127.0.0.1

Both see the same live device state and can call Dala.Test.* and nl/1 independently without interfering with each other.

IEx + dashboard in one process

For an interactive session alongside the dev dashboard, use:

iex -S mix dala.server

This starts the dashboard at localhost:4040 and gives you an IEx prompt in the same process. Run mix dala.connect (or let the dashboard auto-connect) to attach to device nodes, then call Dala.Test.* directly from the IEx prompt. This is the recommended setup when working alongside an agent — the agent uses Tidewave to execute Dala.Test.* calls in the same running session.

iOS physical device connectivity

Physical iPhones support three connection modes. The BEAM picks the right one automatically at startup based on which network interfaces are present:

WiFi is preferred over USB so the node IP stays stable across cable plug/unplug. Plugging or unplugging the USB cable does not change the node name as long as WiFi is available. The node only falls back to the USB link-local address when there is no WiFi at all.

The node name is still fixed at app launch. If distribution isn't working, force-quit the app on the iPhone and relaunch it so it picks up the current network state.

USB is the default and works with no setup. Plug in the cable and run mix dala.connect.

WiFi works automatically when the Mac and iPhone are on the same network. If it doesn't connect, check: was the app last launched with USB plugged in? If so, force-quit and relaunch the app (without USB), then run mix dala.connect again. Public WiFi and corporate networks often block device-to-device traffic (client isolation) — use Tailscale in those environments.

Tailscale lets you connect over any network including cellular. It is a free mesh VPN (free for personal use at tailscale.com). Install it on both the Mac and iPhone, sign in to the same account, and mix dala.connect works the same way regardless of what network either device is on. Tailscale must be active on the iPhone before the app launches — the node name is fixed at BEAM startup.

Personal Hotspot (iPhone sharing its cellular connection as WiFi) also works automatically — the Mac connects to the hotspot and the LAN detection picks up the 172.20.10.x address.

Under the hood

mix dala.connect is a convenience wrapper around standard Erlang distribution setup:

Android: set up adb port tunnels so the device BEAM registers in the Mac's EPMD

adb reverse tcp:4369 tcp:4369 # EPMD: device → Mac adb forward tcp:9100 tcp:9100 # dist port: Mac → device

iOS simulator shares the Mac's network stack — no tunnelling needed

iOS physical: BEAM registers its own in-process EPMD on the device;

Mac connects directly to the device IP (USB link-local, WiFi, or Tailscale)

Then, in Elixir:

Node.start(:"dala_dev@127.0.0.1", :longnames) Node.set_cookie(:dala_secret) Node.connect(:"my_app_android@127.0.0.1") Node.connect(:"my_app_ios@127.0.0.1")

You can do all of this by hand in any IEx session — mix dala.connect just discovers the device node names and wires up the tunnels automatically.