.ipa
zip, JAR |
---|
A .ipa file is an
Most .ipa files cannot be installed on the
ipa is a de facto format used by Apple and there are no specifications of it. A form of digital rights management exists in the format to control redistribution to a single Apple ID.[2] Prior to iTunes 12.7 (September 2017), users had direct access to ipa files in the form of App Store downloads.[3]
Structure of a .ipa file
An IPA has a built-in structure for
/Payload/ /Payload/Application.app/ /iTunesArtwork /iTunesArtwork@2x /iTunesMetadata.plist /WatchKitSupport/WK /META-INF
As shown above, the
. The iTunesMetadata.plist contains various bits of information, ranging from the developer's name and ID, the bundle identifier, copyright information, genre, the name of the app, release date, purchase date, etc.It is common but undocumented to use a JPEG file for iTunesArtwork.[citation needed]
Since 2017, Apple has used LZFSE instead of registered Zip algorithms in IPAs. The "compression method" field in this case is set to 99.[5]
Code signing is handled in the .app bundle directory. The META-INF folder only contains metadata about what program was used to create the IPA.[6]
Unsigned .ipa executables
An unsigned .ipa can be created by copying the folder with the extension .app from the Products folder of the application in Xcode to a folder called Payload and compressing the latter using the command zip -0 -y -r myAppName.ipa Payload/
.
It is then possible to install unsigned .ipa files on iOS jailbroken devices using third party software. AppSync is the tool for installing such homebrew apps. Similar to the case of game console hacking, people are known to use this installation for piracy, against the tool developer's wishes:[7] some underground communities form around buying an app and then sharing its DRM-free unsigned version.
See also
References
- ^ "How to open an IPA file on Windows". Reincubate. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
- ^ "itunes – How does iOS app DRM work, exactly?". Ask Different. 2012.
- ^ Clover, Juli (2017-09-12), Apple Releases iTunes 12.7 With Major Changes, Including No Built-In App Store, MacRumors, retrieved 2024-03-08
- ^ "Reverse Engineering iOS Applications" (PDF). ARXAN. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
- ^ "unzip with lzfse support". sskaje. 23 August 2017. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ "Pulling apart an iOS App". Raz. 29 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "AppSync Unified :: Karen's Repo". cydia.akemi.ai.