Welcome! This guide will help you set up a robust environment on Ubuntu to develop and experiment with jailbreak tools for iOS devices. It covers installing essential dependencies, debugging tools, reverse engineering utilities, and repositories you should know.
Jailbreak tools often require working in C, Objective-C, and Assembly, plus build systems like make. Start with the basics:
sudo apt update sudo apt install build-essential clang llvm git pkg-config libssl-dev curl lldb usbmuxd libusb-1.0-0-dev libplist-utils
clangandllvm: Modern C/C++/Objective-C compiler and tools.lldb: Debugger compatible with iOS debugging.usbmuxd: USB multiplexing daemon, enables communication with iOS.libusb,libplist-utils: Libraries for interacting with Apple devices.git: Version control to manage your projects and get jailbreak repos.
This is a cross-platform library for communicating with iOS devices. Very important for jailbreak tool interactions.
sudo apt install libimobiledevice-dev ideviceinstaller ifuse
It lets you interact with iPhones/iPads over USB without iTunes.
To build tools and patches for iOS, you need a cross-compiler targeting ARM64.
- One popular choice is ios-control toolchain, or you can use
osxcrossif you want macOS SDK integration.
Alternatively, you can build your exploit payloads and tweaks directly on-device or use toolchains included by jailbreak projects.
Understanding iOS internals and kernel exploits calls for strong reverse engineering tools:
- Ghidra (free, open source): Download and install Ghidra for powerful static analysis.
- Radare2 / Cutter: Open source reverse engineering toolset and GUI front-end.
- Hopper (commercial but affordable): Popular disassembler for macOS/iOS binaries, works well under Linux.
- IDA Free: The free version of IDA can work under Linux; powerful but restricted.
Also consider installing Hex editors like hexedit or bless:
sudo apt install hexedit bless
Start by cloning well-known jailbreak projects to study and contribute:
- checkra1n — popular bootrom exploit-based jailbreak.
- palera1n — supports newer devices and bindings on Linux.
- Odyssey Bootstrap — bootstrap loader project.
- Sileo Package Manager — alternative package manager for jailbreak tweaks.
- Theos — Jailbreak tweak development toolkit.
Familiarize yourself with the internal structures, build systems, and scripts.
Theos is the standard development toolkit for creating tweaks and applications running on jailbroken devices.
Install prerequisites:
sudo apt install perl clang libruby-dev libplist-utils build-essential git
Clone Theos:
git clone --recursive https://github.com/theos/theos.git ~/theos
Add these lines to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:
export THEOS=~/theos export PATH=$THEOS/bin:$PATH
Reload your shell and verify with which nic.pl. You can then create tweak projects with nic.pl.
- Use
iproxy(comes with libimobiledevice) for forwarding device ports to your machine for debugging and testing. - LLDB can attach to running processes on jailbroken devices via USB or network.
- Knowledge of iOS internals (kernel, sandbox, code signing) is critical – study Apple security docs and existing exploits.
- Patience is key: developing jailbreaks involves a lot of research, reading, trial and error.
- Get involved in the jailbreak community forums, Discord groups, Reddit >r/jailbreakdev, as you will learn a lot from peers.
Good luck with your jailbreak tool development journey! Feel free to ask if you want a guide on specific topics like kernel exploitation, jailbreaking concepts, or tweak development.