Run any app in iOS 10+ from command line without jailbreaking

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Is there a way to run any app in iOS 10+ from command line/Mac without jailbreaking?

Re-signing and none of the existing tools seem to work (ios-deploy, Instruments) nor have I been able to find a way via iTunes or other programs.

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There are 5 answers

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Leon S. On

From the comments in @BHendricks answer, it seems you want to use the command line on your computer to start apps that are installed on an iOS 10+ device.

This is not possible without jailbreaking the phone!

On a jailbroken phone it might be possible to write something that connects over ssh and starts apps, but on vanilla iOS this is disabled for security. You could search for an app that you can send commands, but I highly doubt iOS apps have access to system features like starting other apps, as this is also a large security risk.

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BHendricks On

Not quite sure I fully understand your emphasis on any app, but here is what I understand:

1) If you mean you want to run any app from the app store that can currently be downloaded, and you have a .ipa file, you can definitely install it manually to another device using this method (iTunes drag and drop)

2) If, however, you're trying to run an .ipa on a Simulator, that's not possible, as described by this answer.

3) Lastly, if you have source, which I'm confused about since you mention re-signing, then you can easily build that source into an executable for either Simulator or device using either Xcode, or since you asked about command line, you could also use xcodebuild, info found here

I hope one of these 3 options is what you're looking for, as it's hard to tell from the wording of the question. If it's not, expanding on exactly what use case you're trying to resolve would be very helpful.

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der_michael On

Yes it is possible for any App you have the source code for.

No it is not possible for any App you acquired from the App store or direct download.

0
Yuchen On

If you have the ipa, you can install the app via iTunes. This is what we used to ask QAs to test apps on devices and it works fine. Please refer to this [SO] for detail Install IPA with iTunes 12.

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Jakeashacks On

Use Cydia Impactor (cydiaimpactor.com) to sign the app. 99% chance it will work