Mobile Device Setup

Testing mobile apps is the primary use case for Ghost at Hepsiburada. This page explains how to connect different types of mobile devices — iOS Simulators, Android emulators, physical iPhones, and physical Android phones — so their network traffic flows through Ghost for capture and inspection.

The basic idea is the same for all device types: (1) tell the device to send its internet traffic through Ghost’s proxy, and (2) install Ghost’s CA certificate so the device trusts Ghost’s HTTPS interception. The specific steps vary by device type.

Quick Reference

Device Type	Certificate Install	Proxy Configuration	Mobile Inspector Support	Difficulty
iOS Simulator	One-click (Ghost runs simctl for you)	Automatic (inherits Mac’s system proxy)	Yes — screenshots via simctl, UI tree via WDA	Easiest
Android Emulator	One-click (Ghost pushes via adb)	One-click (Ghost sets via adb)	Yes — screenshots via screencap, UI tree via uiautomator	Easy
iOS Physical Device	Manual — download profile, install, trust in Settings	Manual — configure Wi-Fi proxy settings	Limited without a companion app	Moderate
Android Physical Device	Manual — download cert, install from Settings	Manual — configure Wi-Fi proxy settings	Yes — connect via ADB over USB or Wi-Fi	Moderate

Prerequisites

Before setting up any mobile device, make sure:

1. Ghost is running with the proxy started (green “Capturing” indicator in the status bar)
2. The CA certificate is installed on your Mac/PC (completed during first-run setup)
3. For physical devices: Your phone and your computer must be on the same Wi-Fi network (so the phone can reach Ghost’s proxy server)

Network Info

Ghost provides all the connection details you need in Settings → Mobile Setup. You’ll see:

• Proxy Address: {your_local_ip}:4545 — your computer’s IP address on the local network, plus Ghost’s proxy port. For example, 192.168.1.100:4545. This is the address you’ll enter on your mobile device.
• Certificate URL: http://{your_local_ip}:4545/ghost-ca.crt — a direct download link for Ghost’s CA certificate. Open this URL on your mobile device’s browser to download the certificate.
• Landing Page: http://ghost.proxy — a special page served by Ghost when any device is using its proxy. It provides the certificate download and setup instructions.
• Two QR codes — one for the proxy address, one for the certificate URL. Scan these from your phone’s camera instead of typing long IP addresses manually.

Caution

VPN users: If you’re running a VPN on your computer (like GlobalProtect, Cisco AnyConnect, etc.), the IP address shown might be a VPN tunnel address that isn’t reachable from your phone. Ghost’s mobile setup panel shows the correct non-tunnel interface address — use that one. If you’re having connection issues, see the VPN Coexistence guide.

iOS Simulator

iOS Simulators run on your Mac as part of Xcode. They’re the easiest devices to set up because Ghost can configure everything automatically using Apple’s simctl command-line tool.

1. Simulators are auto-detected

   Launch an iOS Simulator (from Xcode, or by running open -a Simulator). Ghost uses xcrun simctl list devices --json to automatically detect all booted (running) simulators. They appear in the Mobile Setup panel within seconds — no manual pairing needed.

   You can have multiple simulators running simultaneously (for example, an iPhone 15 Pro and an iPad Pro). Ghost detects all of them.

2. One-click certificate install

   Click the Install Certificate button next to any detected simulator. Ghost writes the CA certificate to a temporary file and runs:

   xcrun simctl keychain <UDID> add-root-cert /tmp/ghost-ca-xxxxx.crt

   The <UDID> is the simulator’s unique device identifier — Ghost fills this in automatically from the detected device list. This adds Ghost’s CA certificate to that specific simulator’s trust store. The temp file is cleaned up afterward. No manual steps needed — no navigating to Settings, no profile installation, no trust toggle.

3. Proxy is automatic

   Here’s the best part: iOS Simulators automatically inherit your Mac’s system proxy settings. If Ghost’s system proxy is enabled (the “SYS” badge is showing in the status bar), the simulator’s traffic is already routing through Ghost.

   You should see the simulator’s traffic appearing in Ghost’s flow list as soon as you browse in Safari or use any app within the simulator.

That’s it for iOS Simulators. Two steps total: click “Install Certificate,” then browse. Ghost handles everything else.

Android Emulator

Android emulators (from Android Studio) require a couple more steps than iOS Simulators, but Ghost automates most of them through ADB (Android Debug Bridge — a tool that lets your computer communicate with Android devices).

1. Emulators are auto-detected

   Launch an Android emulator from Android Studio or the AVD Manager. Ghost uses adb devices to detect running emulators. They appear in the Mobile Setup panel.

   Make sure ADB is in your system PATH. Ghost looks for it automatically. If you installed Android Studio, ADB is usually at ~/Library/Android/sdk/platform-tools/adb on macOS.

2. Set Proxy (one click)

   Click the Set Proxy button next to any detected emulator. Ghost runs:

   adb -s emulator-5554 shell settings put global http_proxy 10.0.2.2:4545

   The address 10.0.2.2 is Android’s special alias for “the host machine’s localhost.” This is how the emulator reaches Ghost’s proxy running on your computer. You don’t need to figure out your IP address — 10.0.2.2 always works for emulators.

3. Push Certificate (one click)

   Click the Push Certificate button. Ghost pushes the CA certificate file to the emulator’s storage:

   adb -s emulator-5554 push ~/.ghost/ca.crt /sdcard/ghost-ca.crt

   Then you need to install it on the emulator manually (this step can’t be fully automated because Android requires user confirmation):

   • On the emulator, go to Settings → Security → Encryption & credentials → Install a certificate → CA certificate
   • Navigate to the Downloads or internal storage and select ghost-ca.crt
   • Confirm the installation

   After this, the emulator trusts Ghost’s certificates for HTTPS interception.

4. Clear Proxy when done

   When you’re finished testing, click Clear Proxy to remove the proxy configuration from the emulator. This runs:

   adb -s emulator-5554 shell settings put global http_proxy :0

   If you don’t clear the proxy, the emulator will try to route traffic through Ghost even when Ghost isn’t running, causing all network requests to fail.

iOS Physical Device

Setting up a physical iPhone or iPad requires manual steps because Ghost can’t directly configure a physical device’s settings.

1. Connect to the same Wi-Fi network

   Make sure your iPhone/iPad is on the same Wi-Fi network as your Mac running Ghost. The phone needs to be able to reach your Mac’s IP address.

2. Configure Wi-Fi proxy

   On your iPhone/iPad:

   • Open Settings → Wi-Fi
   • Tap the (i) icon next to your connected network
   • Scroll down to HTTP Proxy and select Manual
   • Enter the server address and port from Ghost’s mobile setup panel:
     • Server: your Mac’s IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.100)
     • Port: 4545

3. Install the CA certificate

   You have two options:

   Option A — Configuration Profile (recommended): Open Safari (it must be Safari — other browsers can’t install profiles) and navigate to http://ghost.proxy/ghost-profile.mobileconfig or scan the QR code from Ghost’s mobile setup panel. This downloads an iOS Configuration Profile that bundles Ghost’s CA certificate. Allow the download, then:

   • Go to Settings → General → VPN & Device Management (or “Profiles” on older iOS versions)
   • You’ll see “Ghost CA Certificate” listed as a downloaded profile
   • Tap it and tap Install (enter your device passcode if prompted)
   • Important extra step: Go to Settings → General → About → Certificate Trust Settings
   • Find “Ghost CA” and toggle it ON to enable full trust
   • Without this second step, iOS downloads the certificate but doesn’t actually trust it for HTTPS

   Option B — Direct certificate download: Navigate to http://ghost.proxy in Safari. The landing page has a “Download Certificate” button that serves ghost-ca.crt directly. Follow the same Settings steps above to install and trust it.

4. Verify the connection

   Back in Ghost’s mobile setup panel, click Test Connection. If everything is configured correctly, you’ll see a green “Connected from <device_ip>” message. Traffic from your iPhone should now appear in Ghost’s flow list.

Caution

VPN Warning: If your iPhone has a VPN enabled (like GlobalProtect), the VPN usually overrides your proxy settings. You may need to disconnect the VPN during testing, or configure your VPN’s split tunneling to allow traffic to your Mac’s IP address.

Android Physical Device

Similar to iOS, physical Android devices require manual setup. You can connect via USB (with ADB) or over Wi-Fi.

1. Connect to the same Wi-Fi network

   Make sure your Android phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your computer running Ghost.

2. Configure Wi-Fi proxy

   On your Android phone:

   • Go to Settings → Wi-Fi (or Network & internet → Wi-Fi)
   • Long-press your connected network name (or tap the gear icon)
   • Select Modify network (or Advanced options)
   • Change Proxy to Manual
   • Enter:
     • Proxy hostname: your computer’s IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.100)
     • Proxy port: 4545
   • Save the settings

3. Install the CA certificate

   Open any browser on the phone and navigate to http://ghost.proxy or scan the certificate QR code from Ghost’s mobile setup panel.

   Download the certificate file, then install it:

   • Go to Settings → Security → Encryption & credentials → Install a certificate → CA certificate (exact path varies by Android version and manufacturer)
   • Select the downloaded ghost-ca.crt file
   • Confirm the installation

   On Android 7 (Nougat) and later, user-installed CA certificates are only trusted by apps that explicitly opt in. System apps and most third-party apps use the system trust store. For testing purposes, you may need a rooted device or to use an Android emulator with a writable system partition (API level 28 or lower).

4. Verify the connection

   Click Test Connection in Ghost’s mobile setup panel to confirm the device is routing traffic through Ghost.

ghost.proxy Landing Page

When any device is configured to use Ghost as its proxy, navigating to http://ghost.proxy in any browser shows a branded landing page with:

• A Download Certificate button that serves ghost-ca.crt with the correct MIME type (application/x-x509-ca-cert) so the device recognizes it as a certificate file
• Proxy address — the host IP and port to confirm the connection details
• Certificate URL — the direct download link (e.g., http://192.168.1.100:4545/ghost-ca.crt)
• iOS Quick Setup — step-by-step: download cert → allow profile → install in VPN & Device Mgmt → enable in Certificate Trust Settings
• Android Quick Setup — step-by-step: download cert → install from Settings → Security → select the .crt file

This page works without any DNS configuration — Ghost’s proxy server intercepts any request with Host: ghost.proxy in the header and serves this page directly. Since the device is already using Ghost as its proxy, this “just works.”

The landing page also exposes two special endpoints:

• /ghost-ca.crt — direct certificate download (works on any host, not just ghost.proxy)
• /ghost-profile.mobileconfig — iOS Configuration Profile that bundles the CA certificate for one-tap install
• /verify — returns JSON {"connected": true, "client_ip": "..."} to confirm proxy connectivity

Connection Verification

Each device in the mobile setup panel has a Test Connection button. When clicked, the device hits Ghost’s verification endpoint through the proxy (GET http://ghost.proxy/verify), which returns:

{
  "connected": true,
  "client_ip": "192.168.1.42"
}

A green “Connected from 192.168.1.42” message confirms that the device is successfully routing traffic through Ghost. If the test fails, common issues include:

• Device and computer are on different networks — they must be on the same Wi-Fi
• Proxy address is wrong — double-check the IP and port
• Ghost proxy is not running — check the status bar indicator
• Firewall is blocking port 4545 — ensure your firewall allows incoming connections on this port
• VPN is overriding proxy settings — temporarily disable the VPN to test