A cross-platform FOSS library written in C to communicate with iOS devices natively.
... and a bunch of libraries and command-line utilities.
Get StartedThe library implements the native protocols needed to communicate with services running on iOS devices. Due to the reimplemention it does not depend on using or bundling any existing libraries from Apple.
The C programming language enables cross-platform use of the library. It has already been built and run on Linux, Mac, Windows, Android and embedded ARM SoCs.
The architecture of the library and dependencies has been designed with an OOP approach in mind. Thus bindings for other programming languages are easier to create and allow an OOP based API.
Linux enthusiasts were not amused about great but incompatible hardware like the iPhone 2G. As iTunes was not available for Linux libiphone was born. This became libimobiledevice with the goal to bring freedom and "allow penguins to talk to fruits".
Many command-line utilities come bundled with the library that allow interacting with iOS device services already. This covers retrieving basic device information up to restoring official firmware images.
Devices that have "Wifi Sync" enabled can be accessed wirelessly and do not require a wired USB connection anymore with iOS 11 and later.
Due to being in development since 2007 the library supports the range from the first to the latest iOS device. This is an achievement of many years of research and development.
Being integrated by popular community projects as well as large implementations which interact with more than 10.000+ of devices provide a good reference point for high scalability and efficiency of this solution.
Native Protocols
The library has been architected for easy access to native device features using an object-oriented higher-level API.
This allows interacting with various native device service APIs to manage Apps, Backup, Filesystem, Debugging, Activation, Provisioning, SpringBoard, Syslog, Firmware Updates and much more.
You can also use the bundled command-line utilities for these if you do not actually develop an application.
Get Started...
#include <libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice.h>
/* Unique Device Identifier */
static char *udid = NULL;
/* Device Handle */
idevice_t device = NULL;
/* Try to connect to first USB device */
if (idevice_new_with_options(&device, NULL, IDEVICE_LOOKUP_USBMUX) != IDEVICE_E_SUCCESS) {
printf("ERROR: No device found!\n");
return -1;
}
/* Retrieve the udid of the connected device */
if (idevice_get_udid(device, &udid) != IDEVICE_E_SUCCESS) {
printf("ERROR: Unable to get the device UDID.\n");
idevice_free(device);
return -1;
}
/* Outputs device identifier */
printf("Connected with UDID: %s\n", udid);
/* Cleanup */
idevice_free(device);
free(udid);
......
#include <libimobiledevice/lockdown.h>
#include <plist/plist.h>
/* Lockdown Service Handle */
lockdownd_client_t lockdown = NULL;
/* Handshake with lockdownd */
lockdownd_client_new_with_handshake(device, &lockdown, "myapp");
/* Use the plist format */
plist_t node = NULL;
/* Our result */
char *value = NULL;
/* Retrieve "DeviceColor" setting value from device */
if(lockdownd_get_value(lockdown, NULL, "DeviceColor", &node) != LOCKDOWN_E_SUCCESS) {
lockdownd_client_free(lockdown);
idevice_free(device);
printf("ERROR: Unable to retrieve setting key DeviceColor from device.\n");
return -1;
}
/* Get string value from node */
plist_get_string_val(node, &value);
/* Output device color value */
printf("%s value is: %s\n", "DeviceColor", value);
/* Cleanup */
plist_free(node);
free(value);
lockdownd_client_free(lockdown);
...$ ideviceinfo -k ProductVersion
12.4
$ ideviceinfo -s
BasebandCertId: xxxxxxxxxx
BasebandKeyHashInformation:
AKeyStatus: 2
SKeyHash: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
SKeyStatus: 0
BasebandSerialNumber: xxxxxxxx
BasebandVersion: 7.80.04
BoardId: 4
BuildVersion: 16G77
ChipID: 28672
DeviceClass: iPhone
DeviceColor: #e1e4e3
DeviceName: iPhone 6 Plus
DieID: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
HardwareModel: N56AP
HasSiDP: true
PartitionType: GUID_partition_scheme
ProductName: iPhone OS
ProductType: iPhone7,1
ProductVersion: 12.4
ProductionSOC: true
ProtocolVersion: 2
TelephonyCapability: true
UniqueChipID: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
UniqueDeviceID: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
WiFiAddress: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
$ ideviceactivation state
ActivationState: Activated
$ idevicediagnostics restart
Restarting device.Please select a component to view download, release, and dependency information of the latest release.
A cross-platform protocol library to communicate with iOS devices
Download (tar.bz2) LGPL-2.1 LicenseDevelopment release.
--enable-debug-code configure option to --enable-debuglibimobiledevice-1.0lockdownd_pair_with_options() functionIDEVICE_E_UNKNOWN_ERRORIDEVICE_DEVICE_PAIRED event typeidevice_new_with_options() functionidevice_get_device_list_extended() to also list network deviceslockdown_strerror() helper to get error representation as stringsyslog_relay_start_capture_raw() for raw syslog capture--network and --version options to all toolssocket_connect_addr() not connecting to network devices using IPv6 in some cases.Maintenance release.
ListListeners usbmux command handlingclock_gettime() instead of gettimeofday() to avoid timing issues when calculating packet timeoutsMaintenance release.
.DS_Store and hidden files when parsing ZIP files-n option to make waiting on install/uninstall notification optional--network and --version options to ideviceactivation toolSIGPIPE signalFirst official public release!
.shsh filesMaintenance release.
--list-apps option to print list of apps with file sharing enabled--network option to allow connecting to network devices--list-apps outputA client library to multiplex connections from and to iOS devices
Download (tar.bz2) LGPL-2.1 LicenseMaintenance release.
libusbmuxd-2.0select()socket_create() with proper use of getaddrinfo--version argument to output version information to toolsMaintenance release.
plist_from_memory() gets additional format parameterRename PLIST_UINT to PLIST_INT and add plist_new_int() and plist_get_int_val()
plist_sort() functionplist_write_to_string/_stream/_file() functionsplist_print() functionplist_read_from_file() functionplist_mem_free() functionPLIST_NULL typeLibrary and utility to talk to iBoot/iBSS via USB on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
Download (tar.bz2) LGPL-2.1 LicenseFirst public release.
libirecovery-1.0LIBIRECOVERY_DEBUG_LEVEL environment variable--version argument to irecoveryMaintenance release.
libideviceactivation-1.0--network and --version options to ideviceactivation toolSIGPIPE signalA library with common code used by libraries and tools around the libimobiledevice project
Download (tar.bz2) LGPL-2.1 LicenseFirst public release.
Please choose your platform of choice below to see instructions on how to get started.
Open a command-line terminal on your machine.
Enter the commands provided below.
$ sudo apt-get install \
build-essential \
checkinstall \
git \
autoconf \
automake \
libtool-bin \
libplist-dev \
libimobiledevice-glue-dev \
libusbmuxd-dev \
libssl-dev \
usbmuxdEnter the commands provided below.
$ ./autogen.sh \
--prefix=/opt/local \
--enable-debug
$ makeEnter the commands provided below.
$ sudo make installOpen a command-line terminal on your machine.
Enter the commands provided below.
$ sudo apt-get install usbmuxd libimobiledevice6 libimobiledevice-utilsOpen a command-line terminal on your machine.
Enter the commands provided below.
$ sudo zypper install libimobiledevice6 usbmuxdOpen a command-line terminal on your machine.
Enter the commands provided below.
$ sudo port install libimobiledeviceOpen a command-line terminal on your machine.
Enter the commands provided below.
$ brew install libimobiledeviceOpen a command-line terminal on your machine.
Enter the commands provided below.
$ sudo apt-get install \
build-essential \
checkinstall \
git \
autoconf \
automake \
libtool-bin \
libplist-dev \
libusbmuxd-dev \
libssl-dev \
usbmuxdEnter the commands provided below.
$ ./autogen.sh \
--prefix=/opt/local \
--enable-debug
$ makeEnter the commands provided below.
$ sudo make installOpen a command-line terminal on your machine.
Enter the commands provided below.
$ sudo apt-get install usbmuxd libimobiledevice6 libimobiledevice-utils
Want features to get implemented faster?
Want to thank us for our countless hours of work?
Want to help us to support newer devices and firmware versions?
... or help us to buy lightning cables that just break so fast?
This website is now up on GitHub! As announced before we have made the move to allow public contributions from the community.
Welcome to our new project website! Finally the old paint is gone and a new state of art modern look is here.
The API Documentation for libimobiledevice has been updated. A refresh of this website is planned next.
Our growing community created a wide variety of applications, language bindings, binary builds, integrations and other resources that can be helpful. Below is a collection of links to some of the most popular resources and related people.
We are thrilled that you would like to contribute to this project. Your help is essential for keeping it great.
We'll miss you, Steve.
