IPATool

ipatool is a command line tool that allows you to search for iOS apps on the App Store and download a copy of the app package, known as an ipa_ file.

• Requirements
• Installation

• Usage
• Compiling
• License
• Releases
• FAQ

Requirements

• Supported operating system (Windows, Linux or macOS).
• Apple ID set up to use the App Store.

Installation

Manual

You can grab the latest version of ipatool from GitHub releases.

Package Manager (macOS)

You can install ipatool using Homebrew.

$ brew install ipatool

Usage

To authenticate with the App Store, use the auth command.

Authenticate with the App Store
Usage:   ipatool auth [command]
Available Commands:   info        Show current account info   login       Login to the App Store   revoke      Revoke your App Store credentials
Flags:   -h, --help   help for auth
Global Flags:       --format format     sets output format for command; can be 'text', 'json' (default text)       --non-interactive   run in non-interactive session       --verbose           enables verbose logs
Use "ipatool auth [command] --help" for more information about a command.

To search for apps on the App Store, use the search command.

Search for iOS and tvOS apps available on the App Store
Usage:   ipatool search <term> [flags]
Flags:   -h, --help              help for search   -l, --limit int         maximum amount of search results to retrieve (default 5)       --platform string   Platform to search: iphone, ipad, or appletv
Global Flags:       --format format     sets output format for command; can be 'text', 'json' (default text)       --non-interactive   run in non-interactive session       --verbose           enables verbose logs

To obtain a license for an app, use the purchase command.

Obtain a license for the app from the App Store
Usage:   ipatool purchase [flags]
Flags:   -b, --bundle-identifier string   Bundle identifier of the target iOS app (required)   -h, --help                       help for purchase
Global Flags:       --format format     sets output format for command; can be 'text', 'json' (default text)       --non-interactive   run in non-interactive session       --verbose           enables verbose logs

To obtain a list of availble app versions to download, use the list-versions command.

List the available versions of an iOS app
Usage:   ipatool list-versions [flags]
Flags:   -i, --app-id int                 ID of the target iOS app (required)   -b, --bundle-identifier string   The bundle identifier of the target iOS app (overrides the app ID)   -h, --help                       help for list-versions
Global Flags:       --format format                sets output format for command; can be 'text', 'json' (default text)       --keychain-passphrase string   passphrase for unlocking keychain       --non-interactive              run in non-interactive session       --verbose                      enables verbose logs

To download a copy of the ipa file, use the download command.

Download (encrypted) iOS and tvOS app packages from the App Store
Usage:   ipatool download [flags]
Flags:   -i, --app-id int                   ID of the target iOS app (required)   -b, --bundle-identifier string     The bundle identifier of the target iOS app (overrides the app ID)       --external-version-id string   External version identifier of the target iOS app (defaults to latest version when not specified)   -h, --help                         help for download   -o, --output string                The destination path of the downloaded app package       --platform string              Platform to download for: iphone, ipad, or appletv       --purchase                     Obtain a license for the app if needed
Global Flags:       --format format                sets output format for command; can be 'text', 'json' (default text)       --keychain-passphrase string   passphrase for unlocking keychain       --non-interactive              run in non-interactive session       --verbose                      enables verbose logs

To resolve an external version identifier, returned by the list-versions command, use the get-version-metadata command.

Retrieves the metadata for a specific version of an app
Usage:   ipatool get-version-metadata [flags]
Flags:   -i, --app-id int                   ID of the target iOS app (required)   -b, --bundle-identifier string     The bundle identifier of the target iOS app (overrides the app ID)       --external-version-id string   External version identifier of the target iOS app (required)   -h, --help                         help for get-version-metadata
Global Flags:       --format format                sets output format for command; can be 'text', 'json' (default text)       --keychain-passphrase string   passphrase for unlocking keychain       --non-interactive              run in non-interactive session       --verbose                      enables verbose logs

Note: the tool runs in interactive mode by default. Use the --non-interactive flag if running in an automated environment.

Compiling

The tool can be compiled using the Go toolchain.

$ go build -o ipatool

Unit tests can be executed with the following commands.

$ go generate github.com/majd/ipatool/...
$ go test -v github.com/majd/ipatool/...

License

IPATool is released under the MIT license.