macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install libimobiledevicelocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install libimobiledeviceMacPorts ports tree · devel/libimobiledevice/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install libimobiledevice with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Library to communicate with iOS devices natively. Version 1.4.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add libimobiledeviceAlpine Linux edge package indexes · libimobiledevice · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-1.0-6Debian stable package indexes · libimobiledevice-1.0-6 · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libimobiledeviceFedora Rawhide package metadata · libimobiledevice · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#libimobiledevicenixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/li/libimobiledevice/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S libimobiledeviceArch Linux sync databases · libimobiledevice · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
Ubuntu aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-devUbuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · libimobiledevice-dev · source: archive.ubuntu.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install imobiledevice-toolsopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · imobiledevice-tools · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Library to communicate with iOS devices natively
Project links
Commands and aliases
- afcclient
- idevice_id
- idevicebackup
- idevicebackup2
- idevicebtlogger
- idevicecrashreport
- idevicedate
- idevicedebug
- idevicedebugserverproxy
- idevicedevmodectl
- idevicediagnostics
- ideviceenterrecovery
- ideviceimagemounter
- ideviceinfo
- idevicename
- idevicenotificationproxy
- idevicepair
- ideviceprovision
- idevicescreenshot
- idevicesetlocation
- idevicesyslog
history
Project history and usage
libimobiledevice is the core C library and tool suite for talking to iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Apple TV, and related iOS-family devices using native protocols. It is one of the canonical open source answers to using Apple mobile devices from Linux and other non-iTunes environments.
Project history
The project README says development began in August 2007 with the goal of bringing support for Apple mobile devices to the Linux desktop. The project site describes the original motivation more pointedly: iTunes was not available for Linux, so libiphone was created and later became libimobiledevice to let Linux systems communicate with Apple devices.
The library grew from device discovery and file access into a wider service layer: pairing, AFC filesystem access, backup and restore, diagnostics, screenshots, syslog relay, provisioning, debug services, developer disk image mounting, and other native device services. The 1.3.0 release was part of a June 15, 2020 release round that also included usbmuxd, libplist, libirecovery, idevicerestore, ifuse, and related projects.
Version 1.4.0, released on October 10, 2025, was labeled a development release with plans for more frequent releases. Its notes included MbedTLS support, reverse proxy work, wireless pairing for Apple TV, iOS 17+ personalized developer disk image mounting, new tools, and API additions.
Adoption history
libimobiledevice became a dependency hub for Linux desktop integration, package-manager utilities, mobile-device automation, and restore workflows. Its own README lists testing on Linux, macOS, Windows, and Android, and the project site cites integration by community projects and larger deployments handling more than 10,000 devices.
How it is used
Users usually meet the package through tools such as idevice_id, ideviceinfo, idevicepair, idevicebackup2, ideviceimagemounter, idevicescreenshot, idevicesyslog, and afcclient. Developers use the library when they need Apple-device protocols without linking to Apple proprietary libraries or requiring jailbreaks.
Why package nerds care
For package maintainers, libimobiledevice is important because it coordinates a small ecosystem of tightly related libraries: libplist for property lists, libusbmuxd and usbmuxd for USB multiplexing, libimobiledevice-glue for shared helpers, libirecovery for recovery-mode communication, and idevicerestore for firmware workflows. Keeping these versions aligned is the package-manager puzzle.
Timeline
- 2007-08: Development began with the goal of supporting Apple mobile devices on the Linux desktop.
- 2015-02-02: libimobiledevice 1.2.0 was published on GitHub releases.
- 2020-06-15: The project announced a release round including libimobiledevice 1.3.0, libirecovery 1.0.0, idevicerestore 1.0.0, and related components.
- 2025-10-10: libimobiledevice 1.4.0 was released with MbedTLS support, wireless-pairing work, new tools, and API additions.
- 2025-10-24: Project API documentation was updated for the 1.4.0 release.
Related projects
- Related projects include libplist, libusbmuxd, usbmuxd, libimobiledevice-glue, libirecovery, libtatsu, libideviceactivation, ideviceinstaller, idevicerestore, and ifuse. Together they form the open source Apple-device access stack used by many Unix-like packages.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: orange
infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.
Risk classifier
orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure
Why
- infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal
Signals
- text:provision
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 6 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 4 build dependencies.
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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
afcclient | cli | global executable | |
idevice_id | cli | global executable | |
idevicebackup | cli | global executable | |
idevicebackup2 | cli | global executable | |
idevicebtlogger | cli | global executable | |
idevicecrashreport | cli | global executable | |
idevicedate | cli | global executable | |
idevicedebug | cli | global executable | |
idevicedebugserverproxy | cli | global executable | |
idevicedevmodectl | cli | global executable | |
idevicediagnostics | cli | global executable | |
ideviceenterrecovery | cli | global executable | |
ideviceimagemounter | cli | global executable | |
ideviceinfo | cli | global executable | |
idevicename | cli | global executable | |
idevicenotificationproxy | cli | global executable | |
idevicepair | cli | global executable | |
ideviceprovision | cli | global executable | |
idevicescreenshot | cli | global executable | |
idevicesetlocation | cli | global executable | |
idevicesyslog | cli | global 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 version1.4.0
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevicenone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:libimobiledevice |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.4.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/libimobiledevice |
| Homepage | https://www.libimobiledevice.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice#readme |
| License | LGPL-2.1-or-later |
| Source archive | https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice/releases/download/1.4.0/libimobiledevice-1.4.0.tar.bz2 |
| Dependencies | libimobiledevice-glue, libplist, libtasn1, libtatsu, libusbmuxd, openssl@3 |
| Build dependencies | autoconf, automake, libtool, pkgconf |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | libimobiledevice |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
libimobiledevice-1.0-6 1.3.0+git20250228-2
Library for communicating with iPhone and other Apple devices
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-1.0-6- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 5 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Debian apt95%
libimobiledevice-dev 1.3.0+git20250228-2
Development files for libimobiledevice
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 8 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Debian apt95%
libimobiledevice-doc 1.3.0+git20250228-2
Library for communicating with iPhone and other Apple devices (documentation)
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-doc- Section: doc
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Debian apt95%
libimobiledevice-utils 1.3.0+git20250228-2
Utitilies for communicating with iPhone and other Apple devices
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-utils- Section: utils
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Debian apt95%
python3-imobiledevice 1.3.0+git20250228-2
Python 3 bindings for communicating with iPhone and other Apple device
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install python3-imobiledevice- Section: python
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 6 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Nix95%
libimobiledevice
nix profile install nixpkgs#libimobiledevice- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Ubuntu apt95%
libimobiledevice-dev 1.3.0-8.1build3
Development files for libimobiledevice
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Ubuntu apt95%
libimobiledevice-doc 1.3.0-8.1build3
Library for communicating with iPhone and other Apple devices (documentation)
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-doc- Section: doc
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Ubuntu apt95%
libimobiledevice-utils 1.3.0-8.1build3
Utitilies for communicating with iPhone and other Apple devices
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-utils- Section: universe/utils
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Ubuntu apt95%
libimobiledevice6 1.3.0-8.1build3
Library for communicating with iPhone and other Apple devices
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install libimobiledevice6- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 4 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
Ubuntu apt95%
python3-imobiledevice 1.3.0-8.1build3
Python 3 bindings for communicating with iPhone and other Apple device
https://www.libimobiledevice.org/
sudo apt install python3-imobiledevice- Section: universe/python
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 6 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
apk95%
libimobiledevice 1.4.0-r0
Library that talks iPhone and iPod Touch protocols on Linux
sudo apk add libimobiledevice- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
apk95%
libimobiledevice-dev 1.4.0-r0
Library that talks iPhone and iPod Touch protocols on Linux (development files)
sudo apk add libimobiledevice-dev- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
apk95%
libimobiledevice-doc 1.4.0-r0
Library that talks iPhone and iPod Touch protocols on Linux (documentation)
sudo apk add libimobiledevice-doc- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
apk95%
libimobiledevice-progs 1.4.0-r0
Tools that talks iPhone and iPod Touch devices' protocols on Linux
sudo apk add libimobiledevice-progs- License: LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
dnf95%
libimobiledevice 1.4.0-4.fc45
Library for connecting to mobile devices
sudo dnf install libimobiledevice- License: LGPL-2.0-or-later AND MIT AND Zlib
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: libimobiledevice
- 7 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Libimobiledevice
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.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
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