AltServer

AltServer running on your Raspberry Pi! This is to refresh AltStore and sideloaded apps on your iPhone or iPad.

If you have any trouble, read the tutorial that this guide is based on. It provides more detail on certain parts that I skipped over: https://gist.github.com/jschiefner/95a22d7f4803e7ad32a95b0f3aa655dc

Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
  • 1. Installing libplist
  • 2. Installing libimobiledevice-glue
  • 3. Installing libimobiledevice
  • 4. Installing Rust
  • 5. Enable Services
• Installation
• Configuration
  • 1. Configuring AltServer and AltStore on Your Devices
  • 2. Configuring Services to Run Automatically on the Pi
• Troubleshooting
• Sources

Prerequisites

1. Open Terminal and run (sudo apt update) then (sudo apt upgrade)

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
   

1.1. Create a folder on your Pi to store the files we'll be downloading. We'll make one at the default path, which is /home/pi:

cd pi
mkdir alt-server

2. cd to your folder. You can double-check if your folder path is /home/pi/alt-server by entering pwd:

   cd alt-server
   

2.1. For the Raspberry Pi W 2, you will need to increase the swap size to 512MB in order to install the rust toolchain with rustup.

sudo dphys-swapfile swapoff
sudo nano /etc/dphys-swapfile

Change CONF_SWAPSIZE=100 to CONF_SWAPSIZE=512

sudo dphys-swapfile setup
sudo dphys-swapfile swapon
sudo reboot

cd alt-server

3. Install some things before getting started:

   sudo apt install -y \
     libavahi-compat-libdnssd-dev \
     usbmuxd \
     ninja-build \
     ldc \
     libplist-dev \
     libimobiledevice-dev \
     libgtk-3-0 \
     dub \
     openssl
   

1. Installing libplist

4. Install libplist from source by first installing dependencies and build tools (each at one time):

   sudo apt-get install \
       build-essential \
       checkinstall \
       git \
       autoconf \
       automake \
       libtool-bin
   

5. Clone and cd to the repository (this is all still inside of your alt-server folder):

   git clone https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libplist.git
   cd libplist
   

6. Build and install it:

   sudo ./autogen.sh
   

   sudo make
   

   sudo make install
   

7. You should currently by in the libplist folder, so after finishing, go back to the alt-server folder:

   cd ..
   

2. Installing libimobiledevice-glue

8. Next we need to do a similar process and install libimobiledevice-glue from source:

   sudo apt-get install \
       build-essential \
       pkg-config \
       checkinstall \
       git \
       autoconf \
       automake \
       libtool-bin \
       libplist-dev
   

   git clone https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice-glue.git
   cd libimobiledevice-glue
   

   sudo ./autogen.sh
   

   sudo make
   

   sudo make install
   

   cd ..
   

2.1 Installing libtatsu

sudo apt-get install \
     build-essential \
     pkg-config \
     checkinstall \
     git \
     autoconf \
     automake \
     libtool-bin \
     libplist-dev \
   libcurl4-openssl-dev

git clone https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libtatsu
cd libtatsu

sudo ./autogen.sh

sudo make

sudo make install

cd ..

3. Installing libimobiledevice

9. Next we need to do a similar process again and install libimobiledevice from source:

   sudo apt-get install \
       build-essential \
       pkg-config \
       checkinstall \
       git \
       autoconf \
       automake \
       libtool-bin \
       libplist-dev \
       libusbmuxd-dev \
       libssl-dev \
       usbmuxd
   

   git clone https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice.git
   cd libimobiledevice
   

   sudo ./autogen.sh
   

   sudo make
   

   sudo make install
   

   cd ..
   

10. Run the command to update the links and cache:

    sudo ldconfig
    

4. Installing Rust

11. Time to install rustup. Just enter 1 for the default installation when prompted:

    curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
    

12. Reboot your Pi and then cd back to your alt-server folder:

    sudo reboot
    

    cd alt-server
    

13. Setup the toolchain:

    rustup toolchain install stable
    rustup default stable
    

5. Enable Services

14. Edit the usbmuxd service file:

    sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/usbmuxd.service
    

15. Enter the following at the end of the service file so it can be enabled with systemctl:

    # Taken from https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/31056
    [Install]
    WantedBy=multi-user.target
    

16. Enable the services:

    sudo systemctl enable --now avahi-daemon.service
    sudo systemctl enable --now usbmuxd
    

Installation

1. Head to the AltServer-Linux release page here and download the AltServer-aarch64 binary.
2. Next, head to the netmuxd release page here and download the aarch64-linux-netmuxd binary.
3. Place the two binaries within our alt-server folder. You can do this easily if you have Netatalk installed or an alternative method of your choice.
4. While in our alt-server folder inside the terminal, enter the following to make the binaries executable:

   chmod +x AltServer-armv7
   chmod +x armv7-linux-netmuxd
   

Docker:

Installation

1. Update and Upgrade:

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
   

2. Install Docker:

   curl -sSL https://get.docker.com | sh
   

3. Add a Non-Root User to the Docker Group:

   sudo usermod -aG docker pi
   

4. Then add permissions to the current user:

   sudo usermod -aG docker ${USER}
   

5. Check it running with:

   groups ${USER}
   

6. Reboot:

   sudo reboot
   

7. Install Docker-Compose:

   sudo apt-get install docker-compose
   

8. Enable the Docker system service to start your containers on boot:

   sudo systemctl enable docker
   

9. Have Docker installed on your Pi. If you don't have it installed, follow my guide for it. Run the following command to create the Docker container:

   docker run -d --restart always --name anisette-v3 -p 6969:6969 --volume anisette-v3_data:/home/Alcoholic/.config/anisette-v3/lib/ dadoum/anisette-v3-server
   

Configuration

Note: you can do this with multiple devices at a time.

1. Configuring AltServer and AltStore on Your Devices

1. Connect your device (iPhone/iPad) to your Mac/PC with a USB cable, and enable "Show this iPhone/iPad when on Wi-Fi" in the Finder or in iTunes, then hit Sync/Apply.
2. Disconnect your device from USB, and make sure your device is broadcasting itself by checking if your Mac/PC can still see the device in Finder or in iTunes.
   • If you don't see it, you can check if your device is broadcasting itself to your network by entering the following on your Pi:

     sudo apt-get install avahi-utils
     

     avahi-browse -a
     

   • You can also run the following on Mac. It will show you the "Instance Name" which can be found under "General > About > Wi-Fi Address" of your device:

     dns-sd -B _apple-mobdev2._tcp local
     

3. Once your device is broadcasting itself, connect your device to your Pi via USB, and tap Trust on the device to trust the Pi. If you are trying to do this on two devices at the same time, just do one at a time (only have one device connected to the Pi at a time) for this step and the next step.
4. Verify that the device was paired by entering the following command:

   idevicepair validate
   

   • If you get an error: idevicepair: error while loading shared libraries..., enter the following again:

     sudo ldconfig
     

5. Disconnect your device from the Pi, and run netmuxd:

   sudo ./armv7-linux-netmuxd
   

   • You should see an output like this if it's successful. Ideally, nothing else should be outputing after "Adding device ...", but if it keeps saying "Adding device..." and "Removing device...", you can ignore it but try restarting the Pi and try again.

     Starting netmuxd
     Starting mDNS discovery for _apple-mobdev2._tcp.local with mdns
     Listening on /var/run/usbmuxd
     Adding device 00008110-0123A456B789D012 # or similar, this should appear after a few seconds
     

   • If it's not "Adding device", then your device isn't properly broadcasting itself or paired. Retrace your steps and troubleshoot the problem.
6. While netmuxd is running, open another terminal tab for your Pi, and install the AltStore app to your devices (note: replace 00008110-0123A456B789D012 with your device code from the above step):

   sudo curl -L https://cdn.altstore.io/file/altstore/apps/altstore/2_0.ipa > AltStore.ipa
   

   • Replace 1_6_3 with the most recent version
   • You can find the latest AltStore version here https://faq.altstore.io/release-notes/altstore

     sudo ALTSERVER_ANISETTE_SERVER=http://127.0.0.1:6969 ./AltServer-armv7 -u 00008130-001A0D380CD2001C -a <apple-id-email> -p <apple-id-password> AltStore.ipa
     

   • Replace 00008130-001A0D380CD2001C with your device code from the above step
   • If your Apple ID password ends with !! or !?, the command might not run. Change the ending of your password to letters.
   • For the first time, you'll likely need to enter a 2FA code. Enter it in the terminal when prompted. After verifying, the Raspberry Pi appears as MacbookPro - MacBook Pro 13" under your Apple ID trusted devices.
   • AltStore should now be installed on your device from your Raspberry Pi! The output should be something like this:

     Installation Progress: 1
     Notify: Installation Succeeded
         AltStore was successfully installed on unknown.
     Finished!
     

   • If it doesn't finish and freezes, restart the Pi and start from Step 5 again.

2. Configuring Services to Run Automatically on the Pi

7. We need to make netmuxd and AltServer run on start if the Pi is rebooted. Open up crontab:

   sudo crontab -e
   

8. Then add the following lines:

    @reboot sleep 25 && nohup /home/pi/alt-server/armv7-linux-netmuxd > /home/pi/alt-server/log/netmuxd.log 2>&1
    @reboot sleep 25 && nohup env ALTSERVER_ANISETTE_SERVER=http://127.0.0.1:6969 /home/pi/alt-server/AltServer-armv7 > /home/pi/alt-server/log/altserver.log 2>&1
   
    */15 * * * * /home/pi/check_and_run.sh
    0 */3 * * * pkill -f armv7-linux-netmuxd && sleep 5 && nohup /home/pi/alt-server/armv7-linux-netmuxd > /home/pi/alt-server/log/netmuxd.log 2>&1 &
    0 */3 * * * pkill -f AltServer-armv7 && sleep 10 && ALTSERVER_ANISETTE_SERVER=http://127.0.0.1:6969 nohup /home/pi/alt-server/AltServer-armv7 > /home/pi/alt-server/log/altserver.log 2>&1 &
   
   
   
   
   

9. In your alt-server folder, make a log folder:

   mkdir log
   

10. Do a sudo reboot and make sure netmuxd and AltServer are running with the following lines:

    ps aux | grep netmuxd
    ps aux | grep AltServer
    

---

Failsave

Step 1: Navigate to the Directory

Navigate to the directory where you want to create the script. You can move to your home directory or any other directory you prefer. For example:

cd /home/pi

Step 2: Create the Shell Script File

Use the nano text editor to create a file called check_and_run.sh (or any name you choose):

nano check_and_run.sh

Step 3: Write the Script

In the nano editor, copy and paste the following script:

#!/bin/bash

# Define the process you want to check (e.g., armv7-linux-netmuxd)
PROCESS_NAME="armv7-linux-netmuxd"
PROCESS_PATH="/home/pi/alt-server/$PROCESS_NAME"

# Check if the process is running using pgrep
if ! pgrep -f "$PROCESS_NAME" > /dev/null
then
    # If the process is not running, start it
    echo "$PROCESS_NAME not running. Starting it now..."
    nohup "$PROCESS_PATH" > /home/pi/alt-server/log/netmuxd.log 2>&1 &
else
    # Process is running
    echo "$PROCESS_NAME is already running."
fi

Step 4: Save the Script in Nano

Once you’ve pasted the script, follow these steps to save it:

• Press CTRL + O to save the file.
• Press Enter to confirm the filename.
• Then press CTRL + X to exit nano.

Step 5: Make the Script Executable

Now that the script is created, you need to make it executable. Run the following command to give execute permissions to the script:

chmod +x check_and_run.sh

Step 6: Test the Shell Script

Run the script manually to test it using the following command:

./check_and_run.sh

Step 7: Check the Output

• The script will check if the process is running.
• If the process is not running, it will start the process and log the output to /home/admin/alt-server/log/netmuxd.log.
• If the process is already running, it will display the message: "armv7-linux-netmuxd is already running."

Step 8: Schedule the Script with Cron

Once you're satisfied with the script, you can schedule it to run every 15 minutes using cron.

Edit the Crontab File

Open the crontab file by running:

crontab -e

Add the Cron Job

Add the following line to run the script every 15 minutes:

*/15 * * * * /home/pi/check_and_run.sh

Save and Exit

After adding the cron job, save and exit the crontab file. If you're using nano, press CTRL + O to save and CTRL + X to exit.

This script ensures that your process (armv7-linux-netmuxd) is checked every 15 minutes and is restarted if it’s not running.

---

Troubleshooting

• The Raspberry Pi appears as MacbookPro - MacBook Pro 13" under your Apple ID trusted devices. If you accidentally remove the trusted device, you'll have to start the installation again by first removing the docker container and reinstalling the anisette server. Here's how you can remove it:

  docker stop anisette
  docker rm anisette
  docker volume rm lib_cache
  

  Then reinstall the container:

  docker run -d -v lib_cache:/opt/lib/ --restart=always -p 6969:6969 --name anisette dadoum/anisette-server:latest
  

  Check if the services are running:

  sudo systemctl status avahi-daemon.service
  sudo systemctl status usbmuxd
  

  If they're not running, enter the following:

  sudo systemctl enable --now avahi-daemon.service
  sudo systemctl enable --now usbmuxd
  

  Next, search in your device settings for "Clear Trusted Computers" and tap it to clear it. Finally, do the "Configuration" steps 1-6 again and reboot the Pi.
• Unfortunately, updating your device may break your setup. It could also just break on its own. If your device stops refreshing, check in Finder/iTunes if it can still see your device over WiFi and attempt to sync. If it can't sync over WiFi, you'll have to restart your device and clear trusted computers on it, then do "Configuration" steps 1-6 again and reboot the Pi.

Sources

• https://gist.github.com/jschiefner/95a22d7f4803e7ad32a95b0f3aa655dc
• https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libplist
• https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice-glue#debian--ubuntu-linux
• https://github.com/libimobiledevice/libimobiledevice#debian--ubuntu-linux
• https://rustup.rs/
• https://github.com/NyaMisty/AltServer-Linux
• https://github.com/jkcoxson/netmuxd