Apple Books devtools on macOS Monterey+

robin_reala · 09-26-2022, 04:46 PM

You used to be able to access devtools access to iBooks on macOS using a terminal command. Unfortunately when Monterey launched they replaced the old macOS Books app with, as far as I can work out, a copy of the iOS app. As a reading experience it’s fine, but I can’t get devtools to connect to it any more.

Has anyone got a secret way of doing this?

(if you do, there’s a bountied question on ebooks.stackexchange that I’ll happily award you)

tomsem · 10-01-2022, 01:13 AM

The current documentation has this topic about Using the Book Proofing Tool:

https://help.apple.com/itc/booksasse...#/itc073460726

But it refers to a Books preference 'Enabled Advanced menu in menu bar'. I'm guessing this is what the terminal command did? But the preference does not exist. Looks like they have not updated since last year. I sent feedback FWIW.

robin_reala · 10-02-2022, 03:23 PM

Yep, I think this was removed as well in Monterey when they replaced the Books app with what seems to be iOS version (presumably using the Catalyst framework). It’s a shame, as it makes debugging complex books considerably harder.

I’ve also submitted feedback about the lack of Web Inspector to Apple via the Feedback Assistant.

tomsem · 10-03-2022, 03:16 AM

Well, in theory you could install older version of macOS in a VM. I had some success with using VirtualBox but couldn't figure out how to get it to run in a window larger than 1024x768. I'm sure there's a way to do it, but I lost patience.

Parallels would work too but I don't wanna pay for something I only need for a couple of hours here and there. Used to use Fusion a lot, but we had a site license at that workplace.

robin_reala · 10-04-2022, 12:26 PM

Problem there is that I’m testing an older version of Books too. Not a bad idea, but ideally I’d like to be testing the version that the majority of people are using.

JSWolf · 10-04-2022, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robin_reala

Problem there is that I’m testing an older version of Books too. Not a bad idea, but ideally I’d like to be testing the version that the majority of people are using.

That would be the version of Books that's part of iOS for the iPhone as that's the version most people who have Books have.

robin_reala · 10-05-2022, 02:26 AM

Given that the current macOS Books seems to be basically the iOS version (presumably run through Catalyst) then it’s a good first step.

Of course, seeing as macOS Web Inspector can inspect iOS Safari if you plug your phone in with a cable, it’s be nice if iOS Books would also allow the same 🙂

09-26-2022, 04:46 PM	#1
robin_reala Member Posts: 17 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Apple Books devtools on macOS Monterey+ You used to be able to access devtools access to iBooks on macOS using a terminal command. Unfortunately when Monterey launched they replaced the old macOS Books app with, as far as I can work out, a copy of the iOS app. As a reading experience it’s fine, but I can’t get devtools to connect to it any more. Has anyone got a secret way of doing this? (if you do, there’s a bountied question on ebooks.stackexchange that I’ll happily award you)

10-03-2022, 03:16 AM	#4
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,478 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	Well, in theory you could install older version of macOS in a VM. I had some success with using VirtualBox but couldn't figure out how to get it to run in a window larger than 1024x768. I'm sure there's a way to do it, but I lost patience. Parallels would work too but I don't wanna pay for something I only need for a couple of hours here and there. Used to use Fusion a lot, but we had a site license at that workplace. Last edited by tomsem; 10-03-2022 at 03:20 AM.

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10-01-2022, 01:13 AM	#2
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,478 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	The current documentation has this topic about Using the Book Proofing Tool: https://help.apple.com/itc/booksasse...#/itc073460726 But it refers to a Books preference 'Enabled Advanced menu in menu bar'. I'm guessing this is what the terminal command did? But the preference does not exist. Looks like they have not updated since last year. I sent feedback FWIW.

10-02-2022, 03:23 PM	#3
robin_reala Member Posts: 17 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Yep, I think this was removed as well in Monterey when they replaced the Books app with what seems to be iOS version (presumably using the Catalyst framework). It’s a shame, as it makes debugging complex books considerably harder. I’ve also submitted feedback about the lack of Web Inspector to Apple via the Feedback Assistant.

10-04-2022, 12:26 PM	#5
robin_reala Member Posts: 17 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Problem there is that I’m testing an older version of Books too. Not a bad idea, but ideally I’d like to be testing the version that the majority of people are using.

10-05-2022, 02:26 AM	#7
robin_reala Member Posts: 17 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Given that the current macOS Books seems to be basically the iOS version (presumably run through Catalyst) then it’s a good first step. Of course, seeing as macOS Web Inspector can inspect iOS Safari if you plug your phone in with a cable, it’s be nice if iOS Books would also allow the same 🙂