# majd/ipatool

Command-line tool that allows searching and downloading app packages (known as ipa files) from the iOS App Store

Repository: https://github.com/majd/ipatool
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ipatool
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: ios, appstore, apple, ipa, itunes, cli, macos, reverse-engineering, security, swift, tool, go, command-line, command-line-tool, golang, golang-library, research
Last push: 2026-08-03T08:00:05+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 88/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 95, release rhythm 72, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1929, "days_push": 30, "days_rel": 30, "gap_med": 119, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 9934, forks 859 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:38.841125+00:00)

## What it is
A command-line tool written in Go that lets users search the iOS App Store and download app packages (ipa files) using their Apple ID. It supports authentication, app search, license purchase, and version listing.

## Use cases
- download ipa files from the app store
- search ios apps from the command line
- purchase a free app license to enable ipa download
- list available versions of an ios app
- download old versions of an app for research
- authenticate an apple id for app store api access

## When to choose
- you need to programmatically retrieve ipa packages for security research or analysis
- you want a scriptable, cross-platform cli instead of itunes
- you need to download specific app versions from the app store

## When to avoid
- you want to install apps directly on a device
- you need to download paid apps you have not purchased
- you want a graphical app store client

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, http-client, auth, reverse-engineering, security
- domain: apple-ecosystem, security, reverse-engineering, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cli
- tags: ipa, app-store, ios, apple-id, app-download, golang, command-line, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- majd/ipatool (main) score 88

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:38.841125+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:20:17.809457+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/majd/ipatool (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:38.841125+00:00, sha 11a8fc12418b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.