Prerequisites
Requirements
To install SideStore, you will need:
- An iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with a passcode running iOS/iPadOS 15.0 or higher
- A computer running Windows 8 or higher, macOS High Sierra or higher, an up-to-date Linux distribution, or a recent un-enrolled Chromebook; only for initial install
- An Apple Account (also called an Apple ID)
- A Wi-Fi connection
- Some time! This is a quick and easy process, but you should leave time for troubleshooting
Preparing Your Devices
SideStore utilizes an on-device VPN which allows SideStore to communicate with internal services.
- Install the LocalDevVPN app from the Apple App Store or from the AltStore PAL source.
- Connect to the VPN. If you are prompted to "Allow VPN Configurations", tap 'Allow' and enter your passcode.
This VPN is required to be turned on any time you wish to install, update, or refresh apps in SideStore.
Now, follow the instructions to install iloader corresponding to your computer's OS:
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- Chromebook
Download and install iloader.
32-bit versions of Windows, as well as Windows 10 on Arm, are not supported.
Most versions of Windows are 64-bit. However, if you want to determine if you are using an unsupported version of Windows or not, you can follow these instructions.
- Open the Run dialog with Windows+R (or Command+R or Super+R).
- Enter
control /name microsoft.system. The Control Panel will open. - Under the "System" tab, locate "System type".
- If you have a "32-bit Operating System", your version of Windows is not supported.
- If you have an "ARM64 processor" AND you're using Windows 10, your version of Windows is not supported.
- Download and install iTunes from the Microsoft Store or directly from Apple.
- Download the iloader installer as an MSI (recommended) or as an EXE.
- Run the installer.
Most Linux distributions are 64-bit. To determine your distribution type, open a terminal and run uname -m. The expected output is x86_64 for Intel/AMD, or aarch64 for ARM.
- Download and install
usbmuxd. It may be preinstalled with your distribution, otherwise you can install it with your package manager: a Google search for "install usbmuxd [distribution name]" might help you. - Download and install iloader for your distribution. It is available as a DEB for Debian/Ubuntu, RPM for Fedora/openSUSE, and as an AppImage for others. Additionally, for ARM processors there are also DEB, RPM, and AppImage builds. (There are also community-maintained packages, such as this one on the Arch Linux AUR, but please know that we cannot guarantee their safety or security. You should always do your due diligence before installing unknown packages onto your system.)
This will not work with enrolled Chromebooks if the Administrator disabled it, and may not work with old Chromebooks. Usually enrolled Chromebooks have Linux development environment disabled, or for old Chromebooks, they do not provide such options.
- Enable
Linux development environment. You can read the Set up Linux on your Chromebook guide by Google to see how to set it up, following theTurn on Linuxsteps. - Ensure all packages are updated by opening the Terminal, running the following command:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade - Open the Files app, right click on the
Downloadsfolder in the left sidebar, and clickShare with Linux. (It will be shared in/mnt/chromeos/MyFiles/Downloads) - Download and install
usbmuxdandfuse. You can install it with your package manager by running the following command in the Terminal:sudo apt-get install usbmuxd fuse - Download and install iloader. It is available as an AppImage. To know which version to download, determine your Chromebook's architecture using
uname -m. If the command outputsx86_64, download theamd64version here: https://github.com/nab138/iloader/releases/latest/download/iloader-linux-amd64.AppImage. Otherwise if it outputsaarch64, download theaarch64version here: https://github.com/nab138/iloader/releases/latest/download/iloader-linux-aarch64.AppImage. Download the file to your Downloads folder. - If
usbmuxdisn't already started, run the following command in the Terminal:sudo systemctl restart usbmuxd. - Navigate to
Manage USB devices(in Settings -> About ChromeOS -> Developers -> Linux development environment), then connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (iDevice) to your Chromebook via a USB cable. As soon as you see the device, quickly enable it from the list. If you are prompted on your iDevice, trust the computer and enter your passcode.
Enabling the iDevice quickly in Manage USB devices is necessary due to a bug with the Linux development environment. ChromeOS automatically claims the iDevice (which is why it appears in the Files app), preventing the Linux container from seeing it. Manually enabling it in Manage USB devices quickly before ChromeOS claims the iDevice will pass control to the container instead. You can follow Step 8 to verify the container sees the iDevice.
- Verify the
Linux development environmentrecognizes your iDevice by runninglsusbin the Terminal. Your iDevice should appear in the list. If it doesn't, try unplugging, and repeating the previous step.
The output for lsusb should look something like this, with iPhone (or similar device) being an existing entry:
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 008: ID 05ac:12a8 Apple, Inc. iPhone 5/5C/5S/6/SE/7/8/X/XR
The exact device name and bus/device numbers may vary, but they are not significant.
- Run the following command in the Terminal to allow iloader to be executable, and to launch iloader (ensure the filename matches what was downloaded, if the file name contains
amd64, replaceaarch64withamd64):
cd /mnt/chromeos/MyFiles/Downloads
chmod +x iloader-linux-aarch64.AppImage
./iloader-linux-aarch64.AppImage
- If iloader isn't showing your iDevice, you can try manually running
usbmuxdby running the following commands in the Terminal in another tab:sudo systemctl stop usbmuxdandsudo usbmuxd -v -f. You may be prompted on your iDevice.