Open source alternative to Signulous and BuildStore
Last verified
Deploy any IPA to your iPhone or iPad without jailbreaking. iloader signs apps with your Apple ID using Apple's own developer APIs.
iloader automates the full SideStore setup. It logs into your Apple ID, places pairing files, signs the SideStore IPA, and installs it on your device. This is the primary use case the tool was built around.
If you already have SideStore installed and just want to install additional apps, you do not need iloader. SideStore handles app installation on its own.
Build your app locally, export the IPA, then use iloader to sign and install it on a device using your free Apple ID. No Apple Developer account subscription required for testing on your own device.
If you need to distribute a TestFlight build or run apps across multiple devices owned by others, you need Apple's official developer tools and a paid Developer account.
Import any IPA from a trusted source and iloader signs and installs it, whether it is an archived version of an app that left the store, an open source app not submitted to Apple, or a utility Apple would not approve.
Verify the source and legal status of any IPA before installing. iloader does not validate the content of the apps you install.
Installing apps outside the App Store on iPhone requires either jailbreaking the device, paying for a commercial certificate signing service, or manually configuring Apple's developer tools. Free personal certificates issued through Apple expire every 7 days and must be re-signed regularly to keep apps running. Paid sideloading services charge monthly or annual fees and use shared certificates that Apple actively revokes, which can disable every app installed through that service at once.
For users wanting to run SideStore or other unsigned apps, the historical process was fragmented. Pairing files, Xcode configuration, and iTunes setup had to be coordinated manually, and a revoked certificate from a shared service left users with no recourse until a new one was issued.
Installs SideStore or LiveContainer+SideStore in a guided, automated flow, including placing the required RPPairing and Lockdown pairing files into companion tools like StikDebug and Protokolle. No manual pairing file management required.
Imports any IPA and signs it with your Apple ID developer credentials before installing it on your device. Handles provisioning profile registration, App ID creation, and certificate signing in a single operation.
Detects and diagnoses common sideloading failures, then displays actionable fix suggestions. Covers authentication errors, certificate problems, and device connection issues, with full log export for harder cases.
Displays all development certificates and App IDs associated with your Apple account. Lets you revoke certificates directly from the app, without logging into Apple's developer portal.
Runs natively on Windows, macOS, and Linux (x86_64 and ARM). Connects to iOS devices over USB or wirelessly, with Windows requiring iTunes for device communication and macOS having no prerequisites.
Signulous and BuildStore are paid iOS sideloading services. iloader solves the same problem, installing apps outside the App Store onto iPhone and iPad, but as a free, open source desktop application that signs apps locally using your own Apple ID rather than a third-party certificate service.
| Feature | iloader | Paid signing services |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT (open source) | Proprietary |
| Cost | Free | Subscription-based |
| Signing method | Your Apple ID, local | Third-party certificates |
| Source visibility | Full source on GitHub | Closed source |
| Revocation risk | Personal account only | Shared certificate pools |
iloader is the better choice when you want no recurring cost, full transparency into the signing process, and no dependency on a third-party service's continued operation. Because apps are signed with your own Apple ID, Apple cannot revoke a third-party certificate and affect your device. iloader is also a better fit for anyone who wants to verify what the tool does with their credentials, since the full source is on GitHub and builds are reproducible from CI.
Paid services like Signulous and BuildStore may be a better fit for users who want a simpler setup without installing a desktop application, or who want access to a curated catalog of pre-signed apps without sourcing their own IPAs.
Install iloader by building from source after installing Node.js and Rust.
```bash
git clone https://github.com/nab138/iloader
npm install
npm run tauri build
```Yes. iloader is free to download and MIT licensed. There is no subscription, no certificate purchase, and no paid tier. The maintainer states it will always be free and will never sell apps or certificates.
No. iloader uses Apple's own developer APIs to sideload apps, the same process Xcode uses for testing. No jailbreak or exploit is required, and iloader does not modify your device's operating system.
iloader supports Windows (requires iTunes), macOS (no prerequisites), and Linux (x86_64 and ARM, requires usbmuxd, usually bundled with most distributions). All builds are available from the GitHub releases page and the official website.
iloader authenticates with Apple's servers directly using Apple's own GrandSlam protocol, and your credentials are used only to generate a developer session. The maintainer recommends reviewing the source code to verify this. Builds are uploaded via GitHub Actions and are reproducible from the source.
iloader-next is the next major version of iloader, currently in beta. It is a complete rewrite featuring a web version (no download needed, available at beta.iloader.app in Chromium on macOS and Linux), a redesigned interface, and wireless pairing for iOS 27+. The current stable version only receives bug fixes while iloader-next is in development.
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