# IDA iOS Helper

> IDA Pro plugin that cleans up Hex-Rays pseudocode and adds navigation helpers for iOS user-mode binaries and the kernelcache, enabling its components according to the loaded file. For Objective-C and Swift code it hides reference-counting calls, selectors and static class arguments, collapses os_log sequences, turns property helpers into plain assignments or field reads, lists cross-references to a method's selector, and adds Swift type declarations and readable stack strings. For kernelcaches it types the results of safeMetaCast and typed operator new, names and types kalloc_type_view globals, fixes this arguments and lists the possible implementations of a virtual call, while shared helpers remove __break calls, rewrite ranged conditions, collapse block initializers and mark outlined functions.

- Type: Tool
- Targets: App · Binary
- Category: Native analysis tools
- Relationship: Foundation tool
- Sources reviewed: 2026-10-20
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-02
- Original resource: <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/blob/65c7b03171f006c4fe476bca4bceefe25d24769f/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/ida-ios-helper/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/ida-ios-helper/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/ida-ios-helper/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- Requires IDA Pro 9.0+, and most listed features rewrite Hex-Rays pseudocode, so they assume IDA's decompiler is available. Installation uses IDA's own pip to install the ida-ios-helper package, which needs Python 3.10+ and pins the author's idahelper library at 1.0.18, and then copies ida-plugin.json and ida_plugin_stub.py into IDA's plugins folder.
- Latest release at review: 1.0.23, published 2026-06-25 with the wheel and source archive that are also on PyPI. The reviewed master commit is six commits ahead, adding an Objective-C fast-enumeration component and Swift type fixes that are not yet released, and its ida-plugin.json still declares version 1.0.19 and pins ida-ios-helper==1.0.19.
- The iOS binaries or kernelcaches come from the analyst. Virtual-call navigation needs vtable symbols in the database, and typing typed operator new results first needs the Locate all kalloc_type_view action. A Swift importer added in June 2026 and not described in the README runs the separate ipsw tool's swift-dump command on the input file to name and type Swift class methods.
- CI only checks Python 3.10 compatibility with vermin and runs ruff lint and format checks; there are no automated tests. The repository also holds headless idat probing scripts and a Claude Code skill used while developing the plugin. GPL-3.0.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/blob/65c7b03171f006c4fe476bca4bceefe25d24769f/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/blob/65c7b03171f006c4fe476bca4bceefe25d24769f/src/ioshelper/core.py>
3. <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/blob/65c7b03171f006c4fe476bca4bceefe25d24769f/pyproject.toml>
4. <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/blob/65c7b03171f006c4fe476bca4bceefe25d24769f/ida-plugin.json>
5. <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/blob/65c7b03171f006c4fe476bca4bceefe25d24769f/src/ioshelper/plugins/swift/swift_dump_import/importer.py>
6. <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/blob/65c7b03171f006c4fe476bca4bceefe25d24769f/.github/workflows/main.yml>
7. <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/blob/65c7b03171f006c4fe476bca4bceefe25d24769f/.claude/skills/probe-ida-function/SKILL.md>
8. <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/blob/65c7b03171f006c4fe476bca4bceefe25d24769f/LICENSE>
9. <https://github.com/yoavst/ida-ios-helper/releases/tag/1.0.23>
10. <https://pypi.org/project/ida-ios-helper/1.0.23/>

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## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.