# libimobiledevice

> C library and command-line tools that speak iOS devices' native service protocols without Apple's proprietary libraries or a jailbreak. Over usbmuxd or Wi-Fi sync it implements lockdownd pairing and services such as AFC file access, backup, app installation, crash reports, syslog, debugserver and WebKit inspection, plus Cython bindings.

- Type: Tool
- Targets: App · Protocol
- Category: Protocol analysis tools
- Relationship: Foundation tool
- Sources reviewed: 2026-10-19
- Added to the catalog: 2026-10-30
- Original resource: <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/blob/fa0f79190142bc309307967c058f89c1b36eb6b8/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/libimobiledevice/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/libimobiledevice/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/libimobiledevice/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- Latest release: 1.4.0 (2025-10-10), which NEWS calls a development release; it added MbedTLS support, Apple TV wireless pairing and iOS 17+ personalized developer disk image mounting, among other changes. The reviewed master commit of 2026-06-10 is nine commits ahead, mostly AFC and afcclient fixes.
- Source builds use autotools and pkg-config with libplist 2.3.0+, libusbmuxd 2.0.2+, libimobiledevice-glue 1.3.0+ and libtatsu 1.0.3+ from the same organization (README says libtatsu must be built from source), plus OpenSSL by default, GnuTLS or MbedTLS; Doxygen and Cython are optional. The README dependency list includes the usbmuxd daemon and says the library is tested on Linux, macOS, Windows and Android.
- Work starts from an iOS device the user controls and pairs with the host (idevicepair); the repository contains no Apple software. Screenshots and location simulation need a mounted Apple developer disk image, which is not included. README says library documentation is not yet available and points to the bundled utilities' source; each utility has a manual page.
- GitHub Actions builds and installs the library on Ubuntu, macOS and Windows (MSYS2 MINGW64 and MINGW32) against the latest builds of its sibling libraries, on pushes, pull requests and a monthly schedule. The repository has no test suite, and no workflow exercises a device.
- LGPL-2.1 for the library and utilities. The bundled ed25519 (zlib-style license) and Stanford SRP-based libsrp6a-sha512 (BSD-style) keep their own licenses. README states that the project is independent and not authorized, sponsored or approved by Apple.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/blob/fa0f79190142bc309307967c058f89c1b36eb6b8/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/blob/fa0f79190142bc309307967c058f89c1b36eb6b8/NEWS>
3. <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/blob/fa0f79190142bc309307967c058f89c1b36eb6b8/configure.ac>
4. <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/blob/fa0f79190142bc309307967c058f89c1b36eb6b8/.github/workflows/build.yml>
5. <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/tree/fa0f79190142bc309307967c058f89c1b36eb6b8/src>
6. <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/blob/fa0f79190142bc309307967c058f89c1b36eb6b8/3rd_party/README.md>
7. <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/blob/fa0f79190142bc309307967c058f89c1b36eb6b8/COPYING>
8. <https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/releases/tag/1.4.0>

## More in Protocols

- [Sniffle](https://awesomerea.org/resources/sniffle/index.md) · Tool
- [Packetry](https://awesomerea.org/resources/packetry/index.md) · Tool
- [Caring Caribou](https://awesomerea.org/resources/caringcaribou/index.md) · Tool
- [protodump](https://awesomerea.org/resources/protodump/index.md) · Tool
- [CAN Commander](https://awesomerea.org/resources/can-commander/index.md) · Tool
- [Automated CAN Payload Reverse Engineering](https://awesomerea.org/resources/can-reverse-engineering/index.md) · Tool

## 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.