iDescriptor is a free cross-platform tool to manage iOS devices from your computer. It connects via USB to let you cast your screen with AirPlay, download apps from the App Store, change virtual GPS location, and browse device files. Works on Windows, macOS and Linux without needing iTunes.
Features include file transfer, photo gallery management, SSH terminal for jailbroken devices, and developer tools. Available as installer or portable app for all platforms. Built with C++ and libimobiledevice.
Use Cases:
Cross-platform, open-source and free idevice management tool written in C++
iDescriptor.exe. No installation required. choco install idescriptor --version=0.1.0
Apple Silicon: Download the .dmg file for M1/M2/M3/MX Macs.
Open the .dmg and drag iDescriptor to Applications.
After moving the app to Applications, run the code below
xattr -c ~/Applications/iDescriptor.app
Click here to learn more about why this is needed.
Intel: Download the .dmg file for Intel-based Macs.
Open the .dmg and drag iDescriptor to Applications.
You shouldn't run into any issues on Intel Macs but if you do, check this out.
sudo pacman -Syu
yay -S idescriptor-git
make sure to do "sudo pacman -Syu" otherwise it's not going to find libimobiledevice>=1.4.0
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| USB Connection | ✅ Implemented | Fully supported on Windows, macOS, and Linux. |
| Wireless Connection (Wi‑Fi) | ⚠️ To be implemented | - |
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AirPlay | ✅ Implemented | Cast your device screen to your computer. |
| Download & Install Apps From Apple Store | ✅ Implemented | Download and install apps directly from the Apple Store. |
| Virtual Location | ✅ Implemented | Simulate GPS location. Requires a mounted Developer Disk Image. ( iOS 6 - iOS 16) |
| iFuse Filesystem Mount | ✅ Implemented | Mount the device's filesystem. (Windows & Linux only) |
| Gallery | ✅ Implemented | - |
| File Explorer | ✅ Implemented | Explore the device's filesystem. |
| Wireless Gallery Import | ✅ Implemented | Import photos wirelessly (requires the Shortcuts app on the iDevice). |
| Cable Info | ✅ Implemented | Check authenticity of connected USB cables and more. |
| Network Device Discovery | ✅ Implemented | Discover and monitor devices on your local network. |
| SSH Terminal (Jailbroken) | ✅ Implemented | Open up a terminal on your iDevice. |
| Query MobileGestalt | ✅ Implemented | Read detailed hardware and software information from the device. |
| Live Screen | ✅ Implemented | View your device's screen in real-time (wired). |
| Developer Disk Images | ✅ Implemented | Manage and mount developer disk images. ( iOS 6 - iOS 16) |
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restart Device | ✅ Implemented | - |
| Shutdown Device | ✅ Implemented | - |
| Enter Recovery Mode | ✅ Implemented | - |
You need to sign in with your Apple ID to use this feature.
Literally mount your iDevice filesystem and use it as a regular drive , read and write are both allowed. Don't try to import photos or videos because it won't work that way, use the Gallery Import feature for that.
Useful if your device does not support AirPlay
You might get this pop-up on any platform this is because this app uses secure backends to retrieve and store your Apple credentials. You can disable this in settings but it is not recommended and not safe for your Apple account. Also if you leave this enabled and sign in you can use the same credentials in ipatool without signing in again.
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iDescriptor will check for udev rules but in case it fails, you can manually add the udev rules by doing similar to the following:
@uncore sudo cat /etc/udev/rules.d/99-idevice.rules
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="05ac", MODE="0666"
✘ Sun 6 Jul - 14:29 ~
@uncore sudo groupadd idevice
Sun 6 Jul - 14:30 ~
@uncore sudo usermod -aG idevice $USER
Sun 6 Jul - 14:30 ~
@uncore sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger
Contributions are welcome!
You can check the source code in some places we have TODOs and FIXMEs that you can work on.
For example
Or if you'd like to introduce new features, feel free to open an issue or a pull request!
If you encounter a similar "damaged" error when trying to open the app on macOS, you can resolve this by running the following command in the terminal:
xattr -c ~/Applications/iDescriptor.app
You need to run this because macOS blocks apps that are not signed by an Apple Developer ID. By clearing the extended attributes, you can bypass this security feature.
This not something specific to iDescriptor, for example check this out (https://github.com/deskflow/deskflow/issues/7606).
You can be more explicit and only remove the quarantine attribute like so:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iDescriptor.app
Star History Chart (https://api.star-history.com/svg?repos=iDescriptor/iDescriptor&type=date&legend=top-left)
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