Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install ios-deploy with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix

Install and debug iPhone apps from the command-line. Version 1.12.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install ios-deploy

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install ios-deploy

MacPorts ports tree · devel/ios-deploy/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#ios-deploy

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/io/ios-deploy/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Install and debug iPhone apps from the command-line

Commands and aliases

  • ios-deploy

history

Project history and usage

ios-deploy is a command-line tool for installing, launching, debugging, and inspecting iOS apps on physical devices. The upstream README positions it as a way to install and debug apps from the command line, especially for un-jailbroken devices before the iOS 17 tooling shift.

Project history

The repository dates to 2013 and the package.json names Greg Hughes as author. The project historically gave non-Xcode workflows a scriptable bridge to Apple device deployment and LLDB debugging, with a binary exposed as ios-deploy for npm and package-manager installs.

The README records an important later transition: Apple changed the system frameworks used for device communication in iOS 17 and supplied command-line tools that can largely replace ios-deploy. It also notes that the old 1.x branch was archived and that planned 2.x restructuring was abandoned in favor of simpler master-branch development.

Adoption history

ios-deploy became part of the Cordova/PhoneGap-style and CI-friendly iOS developer-tool chain because it made device install/debug operations addressable from scripts. npm registry metadata shows npm distribution beginning in 2013, and Homebrew, MacPorts, and Nix packaging in the input metadata show broader package-manager adoption.

How it is used

Typical invocations install an app bundle, launch it under LLDB, list connected devices, upload and download files from an app container, inspect installed bundle IDs, manage provisioning profiles, and emit JSON output for scripts. The README requires macOS, Xcode, and a valid iOS development certificate.

Why package nerds care

ios-deploy is a package-nerd landmark because it turned a GUI-centered Apple workflow into a composable CLI. It became the sort of package CI scripts and hybrid-app toolchains could depend on, while also exposing how sensitive these packages are to private or shifting Apple device-communication frameworks.

Timeline

  • 2013: GitHub repository created and npm package publication began.
  • 2013: Version 1.0 tag appears in the Git history.
  • 2023: Version 1.12.2 tag used by Homebrew as the stable source archive.
  • 2023: iOS 17 changed the underlying Apple frameworks, and the README points users toward Apple command-line replacements for many workflows.

Related projects

  • The README links SDMMobileDevice as a source for error-code handling and points to PhoneGap milestones, reflecting the tool's relationship to hybrid mobile development. It overlaps functionally with Xcode, LLDB, Apple device tools, and higher-level build systems that need command-line deployment.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 10 platform targets.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
ios-deploycliglobal executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08
manager version1.12.2
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detected1.12.2

https://github.com/ios-control/ios-deploy

  • infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:ios-deploy
Version1.12.2
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ios-deploy
Homepagehttps://github.com/ios-control/ios-deploy
Repositoryhttps://github.com/ios-control/ios-deploy
Upstream docshttps://github.com/ios-control/ios-deploy#readme
LicenseGPL-3.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause
Source archivehttps://github.com/ios-control/ios-deploy/archive/refs/tags/1.12.2.tar.gz
Bottleavailable (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, monterey, sonoma, ventura)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Nameios-deploy
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Requirements
  • macos
  • xcode
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • head
  • stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

ios-deploy

nix profile install nixpkgs#ios-deploy
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Ios Deploy
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/io/ios-deploy/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
MacPorts95%

ios-deploy

sudo port install ios-deploy
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Ios Deploy
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: devel/ios-deploy/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • ios-deploySame normalized package name appears in another local ecosystem. Shared terms: apps, deploy, ios, ios-deploy, line.
  • ios-webkit-debug-proxyPackage names and metadata indicate a similar tool family. Shared terms: cli, debug, debugging, developer, developer-tools.

Same workflow

  • ios-simShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ios, mobile-development.
  • ipapatchShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ios, mobile-development.
  • ipatoolShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ios, mobile-development.
  • react-native-cliShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ios, mobile-development.
  • rswiftShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ios, mobile-development.
  • ideviceinstallerShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ios, iphone, mobile-development.
  • ios-deploySame normalized package name in another local ecosystem.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment