Extract .ipa Files Using Apple Configurator
- Peter Krassay
- Tech Tips
- January 1, 2025
When you need to inspect how an iOS app has been built or analyze its contents, extracting the .ipa file can be valuable. Here’s how to do it using Apple Configurator:
- Download your target app from the App Store to your iPhone
- Launch Apple Configurator 2 on your Mac and sign in (Account → Sign in…)
- Connect your iPhone via cable
- Select your iPhone in Apple Configurator 2
- Click the Add (+) button at the top, then select Apps
- Choose your app and click Add
- When prompted about an existing app, don’t respond yet - the
.ipawill be temporarily available in:~/Library/Group Containers/K36BKF7T3D.group.com.apple.configurator/Library/Caches/Assets/TemporaryItems/MobileApps/
The .ipa file is immediately deleted if you proceed with the prompt or if you skipped step 1. To avoid manual timing and copying, I’ve created a script that watches this folder for changes using fswatch and automatically copies any .ipa files to your ~/Downloads folder (or any other folder by modifying DEST_DIR).
Start the script before you’re downloading .ipa files, and it will handle the copying automatically. Save it, e.g.: monitor_ipa_with_fswatch.sh, make it executable with chmod +x monitor_ipa_with_fswatch.sh, and run it using ./monitor_ipa_with_fswatch.sh.
#!/bin/bash
# Define the folder to monitor and the destination
MONITOR_DIR="$HOME/Library/Group Containers/K36BKF7T3D.group.com.apple.configurator/Library/Caches/Assets/TemporaryItems/MobileApps/"
DEST_DIR="$HOME/Downloads"
# Function to check if a command exists
command_exists() {
command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1
}
# Ensure fswatch is installed
if ! command_exists fswatch; then
echo "fswatch is not installed. Installing via Homebrew..."
if ! command_exists brew; then
echo "Error: Homebrew is not installed. Please install Homebrew first."
exit 1
fi
brew install fswatch
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
echo "Error: Failed to install fswatch. Exiting."
exit 1
fi
fi
# Ensure the directories exist
if [ ! -d "$MONITOR_DIR" ]; then
echo "Error: The directory $MONITOR_DIR does not exist."
exit 1
fi
if [ ! -d "$DEST_DIR" ]; then
echo "Error: The destination directory $DEST_DIR does not exist."
exit 1
fi
echo "Monitoring $MONITOR_DIR for .ipa files..."
# Use fswatch to monitor for new files
fswatch -0 "$MONITOR_DIR" | while IFS= read -r -d '' NEW_FILE; do
# Check if the new file is an .ipa file and ensure it still exists
if [[ "$NEW_FILE" == *.ipa && -f "$NEW_FILE" ]]; then
# Get the filename
BASENAME=$(basename "$NEW_FILE")
DEST_PATH="$DEST_DIR/$BASENAME"
# Skip if the file was already copied
if [ -f "$DEST_PATH" ]; then
echo "File $BASENAME already copied. Skipping."
continue
fi
echo "Detected new .ipa file: $NEW_FILE"
cp "$NEW_FILE" "$DEST_DIR"
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
echo "Copied $NEW_FILE to $DEST_DIR"
else
echo "Error copying $NEW_FILE"
fi
fi
done
