Remote Installer

Install signed iOS and Android builds on real devices over the internet

Perfect for AI Agents and vibe coding remotely.

No TestFlight or Google Play Beta. No hosted storage. No waiting for processing.

Remote Desktop → Link / QR code → Phone Install

remote-installer share ./MyAwesome.ipa

Remote Installer validates the build, opens a temporary HTTPS link, and prints a QR code. Scan it with the phone camera or open the page in the phone's browser to install.

iOS: Works with development and ad hoc builds. The target iPhone must already be included in the provisioning profile. Android: Works with a signed standalone APK. Android App Bundles (.aab) and .apks sets are not directly installable and are intentionally rejected. Split-only APKs are rejected when apkanalyzer is available.

Quick start

1. Install

# Install cloudflared for quick tunnels
# It does NOT require Cloudflare account.
brew install cloudflared
# Install remote-installer
# with homebrew
brew install icodesign/tap/remote-installer
# or npm
npm install --global @icodesign/remote-installer

For a one-off run without installing a command globally, use the npm package:

npx --yes @icodesign/remote-installer share /path/to/MyApp.ipa

The Homebrew and npm distributions currently support macOS arm64 (Apple silicon) and macOS x86_64 (Intel). Other host operating systems are not yet included in the release artifacts.

2. Share a build

Share an IPA:

remote-installer share /path/to/MyApp.ipa

Or share a signed .app built for a real device:

remote-installer share [PATH_TO_APP_BUILD_IPA_OR_APK]

3. Install on the phone

1. Keep the command running.
2. Open the link in the phone browser or scan the QR code with the camera.
3. Tap Install.

What you get

• A temporary HTTPS install page and QR code
• Support for .ipa, signed device .app, and signed standalone .apk builds
• Structural validation before the build is exposed, with deeper Android metadata and signature checks when Android SDK tools are available
• Live download progress in the terminal
• Automatic cleanup when sharing ends
• Optional expiry and download limits
• Cloudflare Quick Tunnel by default, or Tailscale Funnel for sensitive builds

Remote Installer distributes an existing build. It does not sign, re-sign, register devices, convert App Bundles or split APKs, or make Simulator and App Store builds installable.

For AI agents

This repository includes a skill for coding agents:

npx skills add icodesign/remote-installer

Example agent request:

Create a new build with latest changes for my iPhone, and give me the install URL with remote-installer.

Common recipes

One person, one hour

remote-installer share MyApp.ipa \
  --max-downloads 1 \
  --expire-after 1h

The command exits when either limit is reached, after allowing an active download to finish.

Useful options

Option	Purpose
--expire-after 30m	Stop sharing after a duration
--timeout 300	Stop sharing after a number of seconds
--max-downloads 3	Stop after a number of downloads
--no-qr	Do not print the terminal QR code

Use either --expire-after or --timeout, not both. Run remote-installer share --help for every option.

Important security notes

• The link is the credential. Anyone who receives it can install the build, and it can be forwarded.
• Use --expire-after and --max-downloads when sharing with someone else.
• The build remains on your Mac rather than being uploaded for storage.
• With Cloudflare, TLS terminates at Cloudflare while the build is transferred.
• Stopping the command closes the tunnel and deletes Remote Installer's temporary copy.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
“Unable to Install”	The iPhone UDID is in the embedded profile, the profile is valid, and the app was rebuilt after registering the device.
Install button does nothing	Open the install page in Safari. Some third-party iOS browsers do not hand the install link to the system.
cloudflared CLI was not found	Run brew install cloudflared, or pass --cloudflared-bin /path/to/cloudflared.
app is not an iphoneos device build	Use Build/Products/Debug-iphoneos/, not Debug-iphonesimulator/.
Provisioning profile expired	Refresh signing in Xcode and rebuild.
Warning: apkanalyzer was not found	Sharing continues without manifest metadata or split-APK validation. Install Android SDK Command-Line Tools for full checks.
Warning: apksigner was not found	Sharing continues without signature verification. Install Android SDK Build Tools for full checks.
APK signature verification fails	Produce a signed debug or release APK; Remote Installer does not sign it.
Android asks to allow this source	Allow APK installation for the browser that opened the link, then open the download again.
Android update is rejected	The APK must use the same signing certificate as the installed app and an acceptable version code.

Most installation failures are signing or provisioning problems. Remote Installer can validate and distribute a build, but it cannot make an incorrectly signed build installable.

For full APK validation, install the Android SDK apkanalyzer and apksigner tools. They are discovered from PATH, ANDROID_SDK_ROOT, ANDROID_HOME, and standard SDK locations. Use --apkanalyzer-bin and --apksigner-bin when the SDK is installed elsewhere. If either tool cannot be discovered, sharing still starts after structural checks and prints a warning describing the skipped validation.