AltStore
An app store designed for sideloading iOS 12.2+
Software Introduction
AltStore is an iOS app that allows you to sideload other apps (.ipa files) onto your iOS device using only your Apple ID. AltStore re-signs the apps using your personal development credentials and sends them to the desktop app AltServer, which uses iTunes WiFi Sync to install the re-signed AltStore re-signs the app using your personal development certificate and sends it to the desktop app AltServer, which uses iTunes WiFi Sync to install the re-signed app back onto your device. To prevent apps from expiring, the AltStore also periodically refreshes your apps in the background when using the same WiFi as AltServer.
Software Features
- Using AltServer to install applications over WiFi
- Use your Apple ID to sign out and install any apps
- Refresh applications periodically in the background to prevent them from expiring (when using the same WiFi as AltServer)
- Handle app updates directly through the AltStore
AltStore is an app store designed specifically for sideloading.Each app in AltStore comes with a beautiful store page containing detailed information that makes sideloading fun and easy. Browse apps from trusted developers or add other "sources" to further increase your options.
In addition, AltStore was designed with security in mind. You can view a full list of app permissions from the app's store page, and AltStore will even automatically alert you if permissions change so you can sideload with confidence.
Download AltStore
Requires Windows 10 or higher
Requires macOS 11 or later
macOS 10.14/10.15
Installation of AltStore
More Help
History Updates
AltStore 1.7
September 18, 2023
additional
- "Active Apps" widget (iOS 17+)
- View the number of days remaining for all active apps on the home screen
- Refresh the app directly from the home screen by tapping on the countdown timer
revised
- Shortcut command support
- Convert existing "Refresh Application" shortcuts to application shortcuts.
- Available by default in the "Apply Shortcuts" section of the Shortcuts application.
- Show accurate progress in the Quick Command app when refreshing the app
- widgets
- Update existing home screen widgets to support tap countdown to refresh app (iOS 17+)
- Explicitly reload the widget timeline on app launch
fixes
- Fixed issue with updating apps after manually removing app extensions (e.g. uYou+)
- Fixed an issue where the AltStore was not refreshed when the last app was refreshed via a shortcut command
- Fixed competing conditions that caused duplicate background refresh notifications (or no notifications)
- Fixed bug log not showing all details for some bugs
AltStore 1.6.3
April 12, 2023
fixes
- Fixed an issue where getting Friend Zone supporters was wrong due to unexpected empty names
- Fixed incorrect cell height for some news items
AltStore 1.6.2
March 22, 2023
fixes
- Fixed "No profile with request identifier..." error when sideloading and refreshing the application
AltStore 1.6.1
February 20, 2023
additional
- "Clear Cache" button
- Remove temporary files and deleted application backups to free up disk space
- You can sideload more than 3 apps through the MacDirtyCow vulnerability by disabling the new setting "Force 3 app limit "*.
- Fixed crash when viewing sources on iOS 12
* Requires iOS 14.0 - 16.1.2 (excluding 15.7.2). Does not support iOS 16.2 or later.
AltStore 1.6
January 30, 2023
additional
- Lock screen widgets (iOS 16 only)
- Calculate the number of days until the AltStore expires
- Two different styles are available: "text" and "icon".
- error log
- View past errors in more detail
- Click Error to copy the error message or error code
- Search for error codes directly in AltStore FAQs
- "View more details" button to view detailed error information
- Accessed in the new "Technology Related" section of AltStore Settings
- iOS Version Compatibility
- Support for application updates with minimum or maximum operating system requirements
- Hide app updates if they are not compatible with the current device
- Fallback to download the last compatible version on older devices
- View all unsupported updates in the My Apps tab
- Error handling improvements
- Completely improved error handling, including as much information as possible to make debugging certain problems easier
- Revised error messages are more descriptive and provide more suggestions
- The format of the revised error field is [Module]. [ErrorType]
- AltStore.OperationError code starts at 1000
- AltServer.ServerError Code from 2000
- AltStore.AppleDeveloperError code starts at 3000
- Use the underlying error message for several AltServer.ServerError errors (if available)
- Encodes/decodes all Codable user information values, not just recognized types
revised
- Source verification
- Verify that the source does not contain duplicate application package identifiers
- Verify that the source does not contain duplicate application versions
- If the source is not configured correctly an error is displayed instead of a silent failure
- Other improvements
- Update LaunchViewController error alerts to show more detailed error messages
- Always show loading indicator when getting Friend Zone supporters
- Improved error message when .ipa does not exist on the provided download URL
- Cache MergeErrors when refreshing sources to view later from the source page
fixes
- Fixed CollapsingTextView incorrectly displaying "More" buttons
- Fixed "Error when migrating persistent storage" issue
- Fixed an issue where widgets might not be updated after refreshing the app
- Fixed issue with multiple AltStores accessing the database at the same time
- Fixed incorrect app name and iOS version in "Unsupported iOS version" error message
- Fixed issue with refreshing modified apps for deleted app extensions
- Fixed error when coding CodableError Int/UInt user information values
- Fixed failure to add nil localizedFailureReasons to NSErrors
- Fixed incorrect toast view color on failed login attempts
AltStore 1.5.1
July 14, 2022
fixes
- Fixed Apple ID sign-in issue that included capital letters
- Fixed Apple ID sign-in issue for 2FA-enabled Apple IDs that are not enrolled in any trusted devices
- Fixed an issue where certain users were repeatedly asked to log in every time the app was refreshed
- Fixed "Application is missing application-identifier" error when sideloading or (un)activating some applications.
- Fixed "Incorrect Apple ID or password" error after changing the primary email address of an Apple ID
- Fixed crash when receiving unknown error code from AltServer
AltStore 1.5
May 6, 2022
additional
- fiduciary source
- Fully download and update certain third-party applications through the AltStore
- Adding a trusted source directly from the new sources page
- Trusted sources are explicitly approved by us because they meet our safety standards
- Adding any source via URL will be supported later
- AltJIT
- Allow sideloaded applications to use Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation
- Long press an app in My Apps and select "Enable JIT" - after a few seconds you should see the AltStore notification "JIT enabled successfully".
- Your device must be on the same WiFi network as the AltServer or connected to your computer via USB.
- JIT will remain enabled until the application exits from the application switcher or is cleared in the background
- Requires iOS 14 or later
- Requires AltServer 1.5 or higher
revised
- Support landscape app screenshots
- Adding Shane to the Acknowledgments and Patreon Screens
- Prefetch and cache Friend Zone supporters to offset Patreon API's slow response time
fixes
- Fixed potential crash when sideloading certain apps
- Fixed an issue where some apps could still access the AltStore's app groups after (de)activation
- Fixed crash when adding or deleting sources containing news items
- Fixed core data error when not connected to the Internet due to saving non-NSSecureEncoding entries from NSError's userInfo
AltServer 1.7.1 (macOS only)
November 30, 2023
revised
- Increase the default AltJIT timeout to 90 seconds
- Change the AltJIT timeout via a terminal command:
defaults write com.rileytestut.AltServer JITTimeout [seconds]- Adding the altjit CLI tool
---timeoutparameters
AltServer 1.7 (macOS only)
September 18, 2023
additional
- No more mail plug-ins!
- Support for macOS 14 Sonoma
- altjit CLI
- Command line tool to enable JIT on iOS 17 devices
- Used internally by AltServer, but can be run manually from a terminal
- Example:
AltServer.app/MacOS/altjit enable DolphiniOS --udid [device id] - Additional dependencies need to be installed (check the AltJIT page for instructions)
- Thanks to pymobiledevice3 for contributing to the iOS 17 Developer Disk format!
fixes
- Fixed AltJIT on iOS 17
- Fixed an issue where the About panel was displayed behind other apps
- Renewal of copyright year to 2023
AltServer 1.6.2 (macOS only)
September 28, 2023
additional
- No more mail plug-ins!
fixes
- Fixed an issue where the About panel was displayed behind other apps
- Renewal of copyright year to 2023
AltServer 1.6.1 (Windows only)
February 20, 2023
revised
- Support for Apple IDs with Advanced Data Protection (ADP) enabled
AltServer 1.6
January 30, 2023
additional
- Error handling improvements
- Completely improved error handling, including as much information as possible to make debugging certain problems easier
- Revised error messages are more descriptive and provide more suggestions
- Add "View More Details"/"Help" buttons to error alerts to view detailed error messages
- Add "Search FAQ" button for false alarms
- The format of the revised error field is [Module]. [ErrorType]
- AltServer.ServerError Code from 2000
- AltStore.AppleDeveloperError code starts at 3000
- Use the underlying error message for several AltServer.ServerError errors (if available)
- Encodes/decodes all Codable user information values, not just recognized types
- iOS Version Compatibility
- Check iOS compatibility before installing AltStore
- Download the latest compatible AltStore version for your iOS device
revised
- Use CFBundleDisplayName instead of CFBundleName for application name (Windows)
- Revised error message matches AltServer macOS (Windows)
fixes
- Fixed problem with incorrectly encoding CodableError Int/UInt user information values
- Fixed failure to add nil localizedFailureReasons to NSErrors
- Fixed crash when receiving occasional AltStore requests (macOS)
- Fixed an issue where installation alerts showed "iPhone" instead of the actual device name (macOS)
- Fixed AltServer notification icon not appearing in Windows 11 22H2 taskbar (Windows)
AltServer 1.5.1
July 14, 2022
fixes
- Fixed Apple ID sign-in issue that includes capital letters
- Fixed Apple ID sign-in issue for 2FA-enabled devices that are not enrolled in any trusted devices
- Fixed the error "Developer disk incompatible with [iOS version]" when AltJIT is enabled
- Fixed issue with reinstalling mail plugin after uninstalling (macOS)
- Fixed memory leak when refreshing the app over WiFi (macOS)
- Fixed issue causing wired connections to occasionally stall (macOS)
- Fixed infinite high CPU utilization caused by enabling AltJIT (Windows)
- Fixed infinite high CPU utilization caused by updating AltStore (Windows)
AltServer 1.5
May 3, 2022
additional
- AltJIT
- Allow sideloaded applications to use Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation
- From the AltServer menu, select "Enable JIT" > [Your Device] and then select a sideloaded application.
- Your device must be on the same WiFi network as the AltServer or connected to your computer via USB.
- JIT will remain enabled until the application exits from the application switcher or is cleared in the background
- Requires iOS 14 or later
- Direct .ipa sideload
- Sideload apps (.ipa) directly to iOS devices without installing AltStore first
- Hold down Option (macOS) or Shift (Windows) while clicking the AltServer icon to display the new "Sideload .ipa..." menu option
- Support for iPhone and iPad running iOS 9.3 or later
- Support for Apple TV running tvOS 9.3 or later (macOS)
- Currently, the Apple TV must first be manually paired via Xcode
- Applications sideloaded with AltServer must be manually reinstalled every 7 days.
- Install AltStore to automatically refresh your sideloaded apps in the background
- Multi-device support
- Install AltStore on multiple iOS devices with the same Apple ID
- You must use the same computer to install AltStore each time.
- Mail plugin improvements (macOS)
- AltPlugin can now be updated independently of AltServer!
- If System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Apple Mobile File Integrity (AMFI) are disabled, AltPlugin is no longer needed!
revised
- Add "..." to menu items that require additional user input to comply with macOS HIG (macOS)
- If an Apple ID is associated with more than one Apple Developer team, select the "personal" paid team in preference to the free team.
- Revoke a previous iOS Developer Certificate created by AltStore (if it exists) instead of revoking a random one
- Updated "Cannot activate more than 3 apps" error alert to list all sideloaded app package IDs
- Revised code signing logic to more accurately match Apple's codesign tool
- Improved error message when authenticating with invalid anisette data
- Improved error messages for libimobiledevice errors
- Improved error messages for various AltServer-specific errors
- Update libimobiledevice dependencies to 1.3.0
- Update LaunchAtLogin dependency to 4.1.0 (macOS)
fixes
- Fixed "App group does not exist" error when sideloading apps
- Fixed potential crash when disconnecting iOS device from computer
- Fixed potential crash when sideloading certain apps
- Fixed an issue where app groups could be registered twice when sideloading apps that contain app extensions
- Fixed "RSTPlaceholderView.nib could not be saved" error when sideloading the app (macOS)
- Fixed duplicate "Revoke Developer Certificate" alerts when sideloading apps (macOS)
- Fix problem when decompressing .ipa containing unexpected files in Payload directory (Windows)
- Fixed ignoring certain error responses from Apple Developer Server (Windows)
- Fixed memory leak when parsing Apple Developer Server responses (Windows)
- Fixed various memory leaks when managing configuration files for devices (Windows)
- Fixed various memory leaks when installing AltStore or sideloading .ipa (Windows)
