LiveContainer

Run iOS app without actually installing it!

• Allows you to install unlimited apps (10 apps limit of free developer account do not apply here!), have multiple versions of an app installed and multiple data containers.
• When JIT is available, codesign is entirely bypassed, no need to sign your apps before installing. Otherwise, app will be signed with the same certificate used by LiveContainer.

Compatibility

Unfortunately, not all apps work in LiveContainer, so we have a compatibility list to tell if there is apps that have issues. If they aren't on this list, then it's likely going run. However, if it doesn't work, please make an issue about it.

Usage

Requires AltStore or SideStore

• Build from source or get prebuilt ipa in the Actions tab
• Open LiveContainer, tap the plus icon in the upper right hand corner and select IPA files to install.
• Choose the app you want to open in the next launch.
• You can long-press the app to manage it.

Without JIT

Without JIT, guest apps need to be codesigned, which requires retrieving the certificate and password from SideStore or AltStore. This process involves applying a tweak to SideStore/AltStore, allowing it to expose the certificate to LiveContainer.

• Open Settings in LiveContainer, tap "Patch SideStore/AltStore", and the app will switch to SideStore/AltStore to reinstall it with the tweak applied. If you use AltWidget, select "Keep Extension."
• Wait for the installation to finish, then reopen SideStore/AltStore.
• Return to LiveContainer and press "Test JIT-Less Mode." If it says "Test Passed," JIT-less mode is ready.
• Install your app via the "Apps" tab.
• Tap the run icon, it will attempt to restart LiveContainer with guest app loaded.

Note: If you update or reinstall SideStore/AltStore, you'll need to reapply the patch. Re-patch is not needed when you refresh your store.

With JIT (requires SideStore)

• Tap the play icon, it will jump to SideStore and exit.
• In SideStore, hold down LiveContainer and tap Enable JIT. If you have SideStore build supporting JIT URL scheme, it jumps back to LiveContainer with JIT enabled and the guest app is ready to use.

Add to Home Screen

Long press the app and you will see 2 ways to add your app to home screen:

1. Launch URL: Copy the provided URL, create a shortcut that opens the app, and add it to your home screen. You’ll need to create a separate shortcut for each app.
2. Create App Clip: Install an App Clip MDM profile, which adds the app to your home screen. Note that launching the app includes an extra jump, and the App Clip will remain in the app switcher.

Multiple LiveContainers

Using two LiveContainers allows you to run two different apps simultaneously, with almost seamless data transfer between the LiveContainers.

To install a second LiveContainer, go to Settings and tap "Install Another LiveContainer."

The first LiveContainer (blue icon) always launches by default. If an app is already running in the first container, you'll be prompted to either open it in the second LiveContainer (gray icon) or terminate the current app and relaunch it in the first. If the app is already running in the second container, it will switch automatically. To use an app in the second container, you must convert this app to a shared app. You can do that by opening the first LiveContainer (blue), long press on your app, open the settings of your app and then "Convert to Shared App". After that, you can launch your app using LiveContainer2 (grey).

Fix File Picker & Local Notification

Some apps may experience issues with their file pickers or not be able to apply for notification permission in LiveContainer. To resolve this, enable "Fix File Picker & Local Notification" in the app-specific settings.

"Open In App" Support

• Tap the link icon in the top-right corner of the "Apps" tab and input the URL. LiveContainer will detect the appropriate app and ask if you want to launch it.
• What's more, you can share a web page to LiveContainer using this shortcut. Be sure to add this shortcut to "Favorites" in share sheet actions.

JIT Support

To enable JIT for a guest app:

• Enter your SideJITServer/JITStreamer address and device UDID in LiveContainer settings.
• Enable "Launch with JIT" in its app-specific settings.
• LiveContainer will communicate with the server before launching the app to enable JIT.

Installing external tweaks

LiveContainer comes with its own TweakLoader, which automatically load CydiaSubstrate and tweaks. TweakLoader is injected to every app you install. You can override TweakLoader.dylib symlink with your own implementation if you wish.

.dylib files in Tweaks folder are global, they are loaded to all apps. You can create app-specific tweaks folder and switch between them instantly.

To install tweaks, you can use the built-in tweak manager in LiveContainer, which will automatically sign tweaks as you import. Otherwise, you can manually add them and then use the tweak manager to sign them.

Hiding Apps

LiveContainer offers three levels of app hiding:

• Lock Apps: In the app-specific settings, you can lock an app, requiring Face ID or a password to launch it.
• Hide Locked Apps: Once locked, you can hide the app. It will appear as a placeholder in the "Hidden Apps" section, and authentication is needed to view or launch it.
• Strict Hiding Mode: For complete invisibility, enable "Strict Hiding Mode" in LiveContainer's settings after authentication. Hidden apps will no longer appear in the interface. To access them, triple-tap the "x Apps in total" text on the main screen and authenticate to unlock the apps when you relaunch LiveContainer.

Building

export THEOS=/path/to/theos
git submodule update --init --recursive
make package

Project structure

Main executable

• Core of LiveContainer
• Contains the logic of setting up guest environment and loading guest app.
• If no app is selected, it loads LiveContainerSwiftUI.

LiveContainerSwiftUI

• SwiftUI rewrite of LiveContainerUI (by @hugeBlack)
• Lanaguage file Localizable.xcstrings is in here for multilingual support

TweakLoader

• A simple tweak injector, which loads CydiaSubstrate and load tweaks.
• Injected to every app you install in LiveContainer.

AltStoreTweak

• The tweak that got injected into SideStore/AltStore to retrieve certificate from it everytime it launches.

ZSign

• The app signer shipped with LiveContainer.
• Originally made by zhlynn.
• LiveContainer uses Feather's version of ZSign modified by hcrysalis.
• Changes are made to meet LiveContainer's need.

How does it work?

Patching guest executable

• Patch __PAGEZERO segment:
  • Change vmaddr to 0xFFFFC000 (0x100000000 - 0x4000)
  • Change vmsize to 0x4000
• Change MH_EXECUTE to MH_DYLIB.
• Inject a load command to load TweakLoader.dylib

Patching @executable_path

• Call _NSGetExecutablePath with an invalid buffer pointer input -> SIGSEGV
• Do some magic stuff to overwrite the contents of executable_path.

Patching NSBundle.mainBundle

• This property is overwritten with the guest app's bundle.

Bypassing Library Validation

• JIT is optional to bypass codesigning. In JIT-less mode, all executables are signed so this does not apply.
• Derived from Restoring Dyld Memory Loading

dlopening the executable

• Call dlopen with the guest app's executable
• TweakLoader loads all tweaks in the selected folder
• Find the entry point
• Jump to the entry point
• The guest app's entry point calls UIApplicationMain and start up like any other iOS apps.

Multi-Account support & Keychain Semi-Separation

3 keychain access groups are created and LiveContainer allocates them to each container of same app. So you can create 3 container with different keychain access groups.

Why only 3?

The original thought was 256, but due to a SideStore bug (latest AltStore don't have it), we can only declare 3 keychain access groups before SideStore fails to sign. So the limit is 3.

Limitations

• Entitlements from the guest app are not applied to the host app. This isn't a big deal since sideloaded apps requires only basic entitlements.
• App Permissions are globally applied.
• Guest app containers are not sandboxed. This means one guest app can access other guest apps' data.
• App extensions aren't supported. they cannot be registered because: LiveContainer is sandboxed, SpringBoard doesn't know what apps are installed in LiveContainer, and they take up App ID.
• Only one guest app can run at a time. This is much more like 3 apps limit where you have to disable an app to run another (switching between app in LiveContainer is instant).
• Remote push notification might not work. If you have a paid developer account then you don't even have to use LiveContainer
• Querying custom URL schemes might not work(?)

TODO

• Use ChOma instead of custom MachO parser

License

Apache License 2.0

Credits

• xpn's blogpost: Restoring Dyld Memory Loading
• LinusHenze's CFastFind: MIT license
• fishhook: BSD 3-Clause license
• MBRoundProgressView
• @haxi0 for icon
• @Vishram1123 for the initial shortcut implementation.
• @hugeBlack for SwiftUI contribution
• @Staubgeborener for automatic AltStore/SideStore source updater
• @fkunn1326 for improved app hiding
• @slds1 for dynamic color feature