idevicerestore(1)

📦
version 1.0.0+git20251002 · 4 versions
, in fedora 44, nixos 26.05, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

✨ idevicerestore — the manual page, but make it cute ✨

okay so bestie, welcome to idevicerestore, section 1 of the General Commands Manual. this is the girl who restores IPSW firmware onto iOS devices and she does NOT play around 💅

🌸 NAME 🌸

idevicerestore — Restore IPSW firmware at PATH to an iOS device

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

idevicerestore [OPTIONS] PATH

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

She restores firmware files to iOS devices, and she's got two whole modes depending on the vibe you're going for: either erasing the device completely, or updating it so content and settings stay exactly where they are 🫶

PATH can be either a compressed .ipsw file, or a directory that contains all the files extracted from an IPSW. either way, she eats.

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • -i, --ecid ECID — target one specific device by its ECID, like 0xaabb123456 (hex) or 1234567890 (decimal). no ambiguity, no confusion, just vibes 🎯
  • -u, --udid UDID — target one specific device by its device UDID.
NOTE: this only works with devices in normal mode. so if your device is out here in some other mode, this flag is not the moment 😭
  • -l, --latest — use the latest available firmware, with download on demand. before doing literally anything, it will interactively ask you to select one of the currently signed firmware versions — unless you also passed -y, in which case it just goes for it.

The PATH argument is ignored when you use this option. she doesn't even look at it 💀

DO NOT USE if you need to preserve the baseband/unlock!
USE WITH CARE if you want to keep a jailbreakable firmware!
  • -e, --erase — perform a full restore instead of an update, erasing all data.
DO NOT USE if you want to preserve user data on the device! this is the "oops I deleted everything" speedrun and you do NOT want that record 🏃‍♀️
  • -y, --no-input — non-interactive mode, she won't ask for any input at all.
WARNING: this will disable certain checks/prompts that are supposed to prevent DATA LOSS. use with caution, bestie, fr fr 🙈
  • -n, --no-action — don't perform any restore action. but if you combine it with the -l option, the on-demand ipsw download still gets performed before she exits. lowkey a little sneak peek 👀
  • --ipsw-info — print information about the IPSW at PATH and exit. she's just reading, not touching 📖
  • -h, --help — prints usage information.
  • -C, --cache-path DIR — use the specified directory for caching extracted or otherwise reused files.
  • --logfile PATH — write logging output to the file at PATH. if PATH equals NULL or NONE, no log file will be written at all. this disables automatic log file creation. periodt.
  • -d, --debug — enable communication debugging. she's telling you everything she's thinking 🗣️
  • -v, --version — prints version information.

🔥 ADVANCED/EXPERIMENTAL OPTIONS 🔥

okay these ones are the main character energy options, proceed with the awareness that they're labeled advanced/experimental for a reason 💀

  • -c, --custom — restore with a custom firmware (requires bootrom exploit).
  • -s, --server URL — override the default signing server request URL. if the URL doesn't contain a path component, the default path /TSS/controller?action=2 will be added. she fills in the blanks for you 🎀
  • -x, --exclude — exclude nor/baseband upgrade.
NOTE: this option only works with legacy devices and/or custom firmware.
  • -t, --shsh — fetch TSS record and save to a .shsh file, then exit. grab it and go ✨
  • -z, --no-restore — do not restore, and end after booting to the ramdisk.
  • -k, --keep-pers — write personalized components to files for debugging.
  • -p, --pwn — put device in pwned DFU mode and exit (limera1n devices only).
  • -P, --plain-progress — print progress as plain step and progress.
  • -R, --restore-mode — allow restoring from Restore mode.
  • -T, --ticket PATH — use the file at PATH to send as AP ticket.
  • --variant VARIANT — use the given VARIANT to match the build identity to use, e.g. 'Customer Erase Install (IPSW)'.
  • --ignore-errors — try to continue the restore process after certain errors (like a failed baseband update).
WARNING: this might render the device unable to boot or only partially functioning. use with caution. seriously, she means it 😭

👑 AUTHORS 👑

  • Martin Szulecki
  • Nikias Bassen
  • Joshua Hill

iconic trio, no cap 💜

🌈 ON THE WEB 🌈

and that's the whole page bestie 🫶 this was idevicerestore(1) from the General Commands Manual — shoutout to the <rainbow>libimobiledevice</rainbow> crew for the source and version, and yes, she's dated idevicerestore(1), so you know exactly which edition of the manual you just read. slay, go restore something responsibly ✨💅🎀

📦 where this page comes from