How to use examples/real_airtag.py without a Mac

[varac]

The README.md says:

Cross-platform: no Mac needed

But when trying ./examples/real_airtag.py I get:

Usage: ./examples/real_airtag.py <path to accessory plist>

The plist file should be dumped from MacOS's FindMy app.

Is there a way to use real airtags without a Mac ?

[malmeloo]

Unfortunately not right now. You need to extract the accessory's secrets from a mac in order to be able to query it. However, since this is a one-time process, you can set up a temporary OSX-KVM to extract the secrets.

There is a way to do it without a mac, but it's quite a process (we need to hook into Apple's keychain syncing for that.) I haven't entirely figured out how that works yet, let alone written any code for it, so don't expect that to come anytime soon.

[varac]

Ok, thanks for the explanation. It would be good to document the setup process, but I think I'll figure it out somehow and will give Docker-OSX a chance.

[malmeloo]

I agree that we should have better documentation; we're getting very close to a point where I'm happy with the state of the library, so after that I'll probably focus more on documenting everything we've learned so far. In the meantime, feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

[malmeloo]

Documentation is being worked on, Mac-free setup can be discussed here: #173