# checkra1n/PongoOS

pongoOS

Repository: https://github.com/checkra1n/PongoOS
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pongoos
Homepage: https://checkra.in
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: checkra1n, bootloader, ios
Last push: 2025-07-03T07:14:34+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 36/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 29, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2401, "days_push": 426, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2746, forks 486 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:17.410191+00:00)

## What it is
PongoOS is a pre-boot execution environment for Apple boards, built on top of the checkra1n jailbreak tool. It provides an interactive shell and modular framework for loading kernel patchfinders and other modules before iOS boots.

## Use cases
- boot a custom pre-boot environment on Apple devices
- load a kernel patchfinder to jailbreak iOS
- interactively debug Apple hardware over USB with a shell
- develop and load custom PongoOS modules
- patch the XNU kernel before boot on checkm8 devices

## When to choose
- you are jailbreaking an iPhone 5s through iPhone X with checkra1n
- you need a low-level pre-boot shell on Apple A7-A11 hardware
- you want to experiment with bare-metal code on Apple boards

## When to avoid
- you need a general-purpose bootloader for non-Apple hardware
- you want a stable production tool rather than a beta jailbreak component
- you need Windows support, which checkra1n does not yet offer

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: embedded, security, developer-tools, cli
- domain: security, operating-systems, apple-ecosystem, developer-tools
- platform: embedded, cli
- tags: bootloader, jailbreak, ios, pre-boot-execution-environment, kernel-patchfinder, checkra1n, aarch64, bare-metal, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- checkra1n/PongoOS (main) score 36

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:17.410191+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 2026-08-30T08:19:02.688651+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/checkra1n/PongoOS (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:17.410191+00:00, sha cb32c83afa9c)
  - homepage: https://checkra.in (fetched 2026-08-29T09:57:06.667566+00:00, sha a7a88f0273c3)
  - site_page: https://checkra.in/releases/0.12.4-beta (fetched 2026-08-29T09:57:06.677115+00:00, sha 791b9ec92792)
  - site_page: https://checkra.in/linux (fetched 2026-08-29T09:57:06.679087+00:00, sha 87897b9fe658)
  - site_page: https://checkra.in/releases (fetched 2026-08-29T09:57:06.680902+00:00, sha adad176421f9)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.