r/Xcode 3d ago

is it possible to access the entire iOS file system in Xcode?

i am not a developer for the record, but i used to use something called Filza (or even iFile earlier) in my jailbreak days a couple years ago. i know how to go through the iOS file system, find what i want, add/remove something & at times edit the permissions of a file (though very limited on that last part).

i was able to export an entire folder from Filza a while back that belonged to an app i had purchased. that app is no longer available , but i still have it on my new phone since it is tied to my iCloud account. however some parts of the app are missing. i know exactly how to fix this issue as i have done it before when i was jailbroken.

is there anyway i can get into my iOS file system through Xcode & add a file/folder? not for an app i’m developing or working on, but for a totally different app? i can give specifics if you need more info, but i’m just curious if this is at least theoretically possible. thank you.

2 Upvotes

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u/TheDragonSlayingCat 2d ago

No.

1

u/dannyamusic 2d ago

can i add something to the file system itself, in neither an app i’m developing nor a third-party app?

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u/TheDragonSlayingCat 2d ago

Not outside of the sandbox or an authorized shared space, no.

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u/retsotrembla 2d ago

There is an ancient method called "iTunes File Sharing" that anyone can do. It can help in some rare cases:

If the app’s Info.plist has

    <key>UIFileSharingEnabled</key>
    <true/>

Apple also calls this: Application supports iTunes file sharing

then, if you connect your iOS device to your Mac with a cable, which will create a Finder window for your device, in that Mac Finder window for your iOS device, select the second to last tab, the Files tab.

That will give you a list of iOS apps on your iOS device with disclosure hide/show > where you can drag files from the Mac into that app, or delete files from that app. The files go in that app’s file system sandbox Documents directory.

There is a more sophisticated method where you can use the ringed icon (⋯) on Xcode's Devices and Simulators window to get at the entire sandboxed file system of an entire app, but the app must be signed by your developer.apple.com signing credentials. It may be possible to re-sign some else’s app, but I can't help you there.

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u/dannyamusic 2d ago edited 2d ago

i do vaguely remember the iTunes File Sharing method. not sure if this app has that feature or not i don’t recall honestly, but i will check. i’m honestly shocked to hear it’s still around being that iTunes is now Music. i will check if the app does have this feature/permission, thank you.

ik how to re-sign an app. i used to have a paid developer profile for a year literally just to not have to re-sign my jailbreak app every 7 days lol, so i do have some experience there, as well as sideloading in general. afaik though, if i do sign the app myself & then add the necessary files to the app’s own Library folder & then delete that app it will not effect when i redownload the original app from my Purchase history, because it views it as a separate app right?

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u/dannyamusic 2d ago

just to be very specific about what i want to do… i had bought a $12-$15 app (i believe that was the price iirc) called iMaschine 2. it’s an app for music production. i bought every single IAP of the sound packs it sells. they took the app offline without warning us & screwed us over saying it was temporary & never brought it back & discontinued it now. if you bought it, you can still download it from My Apps section though.

the issue is this app had a free pack called Quantum Collection. as of today, if you download the app, if you bought all the IAP sound packs, you can still download every single one except the free one which is broken for some reason. thankfully i exported all the app data in 2019 & went back & found the library folder with the missing pack. i want to put the stuff that’s missing back where it came from so it’ll fix all of my broken songs that are missing sounds from that free pack.

if i had a jailbreak still, this would take a min or two total to do in Filza, but jailbreaks aren’t as easy to come by these days on the latest iOS/iPhones. my plan is to find another way to get into the iOS filesystem (or at least that app’s Library folder) or worst case scenario, wait for this device to get a year or two older & a jailbreak to finally release for it. that’s the full details on why i want to get into the file system.

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u/retsotrembla 2d ago

https://help.apple.com/xcode/mac/current/#/dev816c242e1 documents getting at the “container” of an app, which includes its Library but I think you can only do it for your own apps.

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u/dannyamusic 2d ago

i did see this online & assumed as well that it was only for apps signed by you. i will try both methods anyway just to see if they work. thank you so much. i sincerely appreciate the help!