Tool

pymobiledevice3

Pure Python 3 library and command-line tool for communicating with iPhones, iPads and other iOS devices from Windows, Linux or macOS, implementing usbmux, lockdown and its services, DTX-based developer (DVT) services and the RemoteXPC tunnels that iOS 17+ uses for developer access. Commands cover device discovery and port forwarding, syslog and crash-report collection, AFC file access, app and profile management, PCAP capture of device traffic, Bluetooth HCI logging, WebInspector automation with a Chrome DevTools Protocol bridge for Safari and WebViews, and DVT tooling such as process monitoring and screenshots; firmware update, recovery/DFU and backups are also handled. Its protocol-internals documentation walks through the usbmux, lockdown, DTX and RemoteXPC layers, and helper scripts in misc/ sniff plist and RemoteXPC traffic.

Targets: App · Protocol
Category: Debugging and dynamic analysis
Relationship: Foundation tool
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-19

Stars: 3.0k
Last commit: 2026-11-09
Language: Python
License (GitHub): GPL-3.0

GitHub data as of 2026-11-09

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Requirements & limits

Version v11.38.0 was published to GitHub and PyPI on 2026-10-19. The README names PyPI as the only official distribution channel and says third-party packages such as AUR may be outdated. Requires Python 3.9+.
Needs a connected or networked iOS device the user controls. Windows needs iTunes for the Apple Mobile Device Service and Linux needs usbmuxd; macOS uses the system usbmuxd. OpenSSL is required for iOS versions before 13 and libusb for recovery/DFU. The tunnels guide says iOS 17.4+ developer commands open an in-process tunnel without root, while iOS 17.0-17.3.1 on Linux or Windows needs a root tunneld.
Developer services require Developer Mode and Apple's Developer Disk Image. The auto-mounter's developer_disk_image dependency downloads Apple image files from a separate rehosting repository; Apple's files retain Apple's rights.
GPL-3.0-or-later. The repository also ships a device-operator agent skill for driving devices through the CLI.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{pymobiledevice3,
  title = {{pymobiledevice3}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/doronz88/pymobiledevice3}},
  url = {https://github.com/doronz88/pymobiledevice3},
  urldate = {2026-10-19},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/pymobiledevice3/}}
}

Plain text

pymobiledevice3. https://github.com/doronz88/pymobiledevice3 (accessed 2026-10-19). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/pymobiledevice3/

Useful? Star Awesome REA on GitHub2.4k

About this entry

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Primary sources

README.md GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
docs/installation.md GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
docs/guides/cli-recipes.md GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
docs/guides/ios17-tunnels.md GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
misc/understanding_idevice_protocol_layers.md GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
misc/RemoteXPC.md GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
pymobiledevice3/dtx/README.md GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
misc/remotexpc_sniffer.py GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
pymobiledevice3/services/mobile_image_mounter.py GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
pyproject.toml GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
docs/guides/codex-device-operator-skill.md GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
LICENSE GitHub · doronz88/pymobiledevice3 · Revision 9ea9491
https://github.com/doronz88/pymobiledevice3/releases/tag/v11.38.0
https://pypi.org/project/pymobiledevice3/11.38.0/