ipa-forge

Build unsigned iOS apps and package them as IPA files for sideloading.

ipa-forge is a small macOS CLI around xcodebuild that builds an unsigned iOS app, places it in a Payload folder, and zips it into an .ipa.

Requirements

• macOS
• Xcode command line tools
• An iOS project with an ios/ directory and an Xcode workspace

Usage

Run from the target project root:

npx ipa-forge --name=Scenario

Or pass the project root explicitly:

npx ipa-forge --name=Scenario --input=/path/to/scenario_expo

Choose the output IPA path:

npx ipa-forge --name=Scenario --input=/path/to/scenario_expo --output=~/Downloads/Scenario.ipa

Sideloading

ipa-forge creates an unsigned .ipa that can be used with sideloading tools such as AltStore.

This CLI does not install the app on your device. It only builds and packages the .ipa; use AltStore or another sideloading tool to install it.

Flags

--name=AppName              Required. App name. Also used as the default scheme and workspace name.
--input=/path/to/project    Project root to build from. Defaults to the current directory.
--output=/path/to/file.ipa  Final IPA path. Defaults to ~/Downloads/Payload.ipa.
--scheme=AppName            Xcode scheme. Defaults to --name.
--workspace=path            Xcode workspace. Defaults to ios/{name}.xcworkspace.
--configuration=Release     Xcode build configuration. Defaults to Release.
--derived-data=path         Derived data path. Defaults to {input}/ios/build.
--help                      Show help.

Defaults

For this command:

npx ipa-forge --name=Scenario

ipa-forge assumes:

input:        current directory
workspace:    ios/Scenario.xcworkspace
scheme:       Scenario
configuration: Release
derived data: {input}/ios/build
output:       ~/Downloads/Payload.ipa