# blacktop/ipsw

iOS/macOS Research Swiss Army Knife

Repository: https://github.com/blacktop/ipsw
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ipsw
Homepage: https://blacktop.github.io/ipsw
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: apple, ios, firmware, ipsw, golang, lzss, kernelcache, macho, dyld, macho-parser, dyld-shared-cache, lzfse, class-dump, img4, macos, ota, swift, swift-dump
Last push: 2026-08-26T18:08:04+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 87, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2930, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 8, "gap_med": 2.0, "n_releases_24m": 173}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3669, forks 300 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:13.449170+00:00)

## What it is
ipsw is a Go-based command-line research framework for downloading, parsing, and analyzing Apple iOS and macOS firmware (IPSW/OTA files), Mach-O binaries, dyld_shared_caches, and kernelcaches. It also provides iOS device interaction, App Store Connect integration, and reverse engineering utilities for security researchers.

## Use cases
- download the latest iOS firmware for a specific device
- extract and analyze the kernelcache from an IPSW file
- parse Mach-O binaries and disassemble ARM code
- dump ObjC and Swift classes from dyld_shared_cache
- analyze IMG4, iBoot, and SEP firmware components
- list connected iOS devices and interact with them
- diff two firmware builds to see what changed
- manage App Store Connect certificates and apps

## When to choose
- you are a security researcher or reverse engineer studying Apple internals
- you need to download, extract, or diff Apple firmware files
- you want to analyze dyld_shared_cache or kernelcache on macOS/Linux/Windows
- you need a scriptable CLI alternative to GUI tools for Apple firmware research

## When to avoid
- you just want to jailbreak or flash a device with a one-click tool
- you need a GUI-based reverse engineering suite like IDA or Ghidra
- you are working with non-Apple firmware or Android images

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: reverse-engineering, parser, security, developer-tools, cli, file-system, http-client
- domain: security, reverse-engineering, apple-ecosystem, developer-tools, operating-systems
- platform: windows, cli, go
- tags: ipsw, firmware-analysis, macho-parser, dyld-shared-cache, kernelcache, img4, class-dump, ota-updates, ios-research, jailbreak, command-line, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- blacktop/ipsw (main) score 95

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:13.449170+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 2026-08-29T18:31:20.443782+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/blacktop/ipsw (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:13.449170+00:00, sha c61805f07e30)
  - homepage: https://blacktop.github.io/ipsw (fetched 2026-08-29T09:25:22.786885+00:00, sha b39f58ecbeaf)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.