---
title: "Simulators"
canonical_url: https://developer.repebble.com/pebbleos/docs/drivers/simulators/
last_updated: 2026-11-13
sdk_version: 4.44
---
# Simulators

Source: https://developer.repebble.com/pebbleos/docs/drivers/simulators/

A simulator is a driver of a class with no hardware behind it: tests set what it reads, feed it data or watch what it is told to do through a simulator API next to its class. The emulator and native boards use them for the devices they do not emulate, and any board can swap one in for testing.

| 

Class

 | 

Kconfig

 | 

Device

 | 

API

 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 

Accelerometer

 | 

`ACCEL_SIM`

 | 

`SIM_ACCEL`

 | 

`pbl/drivers/imu/sim.h`

 |
| 

Ambient light

 | 

`ALS_SIM`

 | 

`SIM_ALS`

 | 

`pbl/drivers/als/sim.h`

 |
| 

Audio capture

 | 

`AUDIO_SIM_MIC`

 | 

`SIM_MIC`

 | 

`pbl/drivers/audio/sim.h`

 |
| 

Battery

 | 

`BATTERY_SIM`

 | 

 | 

`pbl/drivers/battery/sim.h`

 |
| 

Magnetometer

 | 

`MAG_SIM`

 | 

`SIM_MAG`

 | 

`pbl/drivers/imu/sim.h`

 |
| 

Temperature

 | 

`TEMP_SIM`

 | 

`SIM_TEMP`

 | 

`pbl/drivers/temp/sim.h`

 |
| 

Vibration

 | 

`VIBE_SIM`

 | 

`SIM_VIBE`

 | 

`pbl/drivers/vibe/sim.h`

 |

Each simulator is a single device its driver defines, with no devicetree node. A board or an application selects it for a role in its `roles.yml` (see [Devicetree](https://developer.repebble.com/pebbleos/docs/development/build_system/devicetree.md)) and enables it in Kconfig:

```
accel:symbol: SIM\_ACCELinclude: pbl/drivers/imu/sim.h
```

Simulators know nothing of where their data comes from. On the emulator and native boards, the QEMU host channel (`pebble/comm/qemu/serial.c`) decodes the host’s messages and calls the simulator APIs, so the host tools drive them unchanged. Unit tests call the same APIs directly.

Generated from PebbleOS [f4926c952](https://github.com/coredevices/pebbleos/commit/f4926c952bf9b82bce9e3cdb44645a59531c0ee9). This page is maintained in the pebbleos repository: [docs/drivers/simulators.md](https://github.com/coredevices/pebbleos/blob/f4926c952bf9b82bce9e3cdb44645a59531c0ee9/docs/drivers/simulators.md).