vphone-cli

Boot a virtual iPhone via Apple's Virtualization.framework using PCC research VM infrastructure.

Prerequisites

Host:

• Apple Silicon
• macOS 15+ (Sequoia)
• Xcode + iOS SDK (cross-compiles the guest daemon)
• SIP/AMFI relaxation to allow private PV=3 entitlements with unsigned-binary

Dependencies:

brew install python@3.13 aria2 wget gnu-tar openssl@3 ldid-procursus sshpass keystone cmake libusb ipsw zstd

Install

brew install zqxwce/tap/vphone-cli

Build

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/Lakr233/vphone-cli.git

./scripts/setup_tools.sh      # install deps, build toolchain submodules, create the Python venv
./scripts/build.sh            # build + sign vphone-cli, bundle the .app, cross-compile vphoned

cd .build/vphone-cli.app/Contents/MacOS/
vphone-cli --help

Quick Start

One command creates a VM end-to-end (download → patch → DFU restore → CFW install → first boot):

vphone-cli vm create myphone -V jb        # -V / --variant

vphone-cli vm launch myphone

Commands

vphone-cli vm create runs the whole pipeline; the individual steps below let you drive it manually or re-run one stage.

Manage

vphone-cli vm list                         # list VMs (--json for scripting)
vphone-cli vm info myphone                  # show one VM
vphone-cli vm new myphone                   # create an empty bundle (cpu/mem/disk options)
vphone-cli vm config myphone --cpu 8 --memory 8192
vphone-cli vm clone myphone myphone-2       # fast APFS clone, fresh device identity
vphone-cli vm export myphone --out myphone.tzst   # zstd fast by default (--max = xz -9); --out may be a dir (auto-names <vm>.tzst/.txz); skips restore dir + staging files
vphone-cli vm import myphone.tzst --name restored
vphone-cli vm rename myphone iphone16
vphone-cli vm delete iphone16

Build a VM manually (what vm create automates)

vphone-cli vm new myphone                              # 1. empty bundle
vphone-cli fw prepare myphone --iphone-version 26.1     # 2. download + merge IPSWs
vphone-cli fw patch myphone --variant jb                # 3. patch the boot chain

vphone-cli vm launch myphone --dfu &                    # 4. boot into DFU (background)
vphone-cli restore myphone --get-shsh                   #    fetch SHSH
vphone-cli restore myphone                              #    DFU restore
vphone-cli vm stop myphone                              #    stop the DFU boot

vphone-cli cfw install myphone --variant jb             # 5. install CFW (host-mount; asks for sudo)
vphone-cli vm launch myphone                            # 6. first boot

Update to a newer iOS by pointing fw prepare at an IPSW: --iphone-source /path/to.ipsw --cloudos-source /path/to.ipsw.

Firmware Variants

Five patch variants with increasing security bypass — pass one to --variant:

See research/0_binary_patch_comparison.md for the per-component breakdown.

Running & Connecting

• SSH (jailbreak): ssh -p 22222 mobile@<vm-ip> (password alpine)
• SSH (regular/dev): ssh -p 22222 root@<vm-ip>
• VNC: vnc://<vm-ip>:5901

Locations

Everything vphone-cli creates lives under ~/.vphone/ — kept outside the repo and the .app so the signed bundle stays portable. Redirect the whole tree with $VPHONE_ROOT:

Precedence: the per-item overrides ($VPHONE_LIBRARY_ROOT, $VPHONE_VENV_DIR) win over $VPHONE_ROOT, which wins over the ~/.vphone default. The ipsws/, tools/, and debs/ caches always sit directly under whichever root is active.

SIP/AMFI Relaxation

Option A — fully disable SIP, then disable AMFI via boot-arg (most permissive).

In Recovery (long-press power → Terminal):

csrutil disable
csrutil allow-research-guests enable

Then reboot into macOS and set the AMFI boot-arg (needs SIP fully off to take effect):

sudo nvram boot-args="amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1 -v"   # reboot after

Option B — keep SIP on (debug-only relaxed), then allowlist the binary with amfidont (leaves AMFI enabled system-wide).

In Recovery:

csrutil enable --without debug
csrutil allow-research-guests enable

Then reboot into macOS and:

vphone-amfidont         # .build/vphone-cli.app/Contents/Resources/vphone-amfidont for local builds

Tested Environments

FAQ

zsh: killed ./vphone-cli — AMFI/debug restrictions aren't bypassed; see Prerequisites (amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1 or amfidont).

Virtualization is not available on this hardware — your Mac is itself a VM; PV=3 guest boot can't nest. Use a non-nested macOS 15+ host.

Stuck on "Press home to continue" — connect via VNC and right-click (two-finger click) to simulate the home button.

System apps won't install — during iOS setup, don't pick Japan or the EU as your region (extra regulatory checks the VM can't satisfy); pick e.g. United States.

App crashes on launch with EXC_GUARD / GUARD_TYPE_MACH_PORT — re-patch with vphone-cli fw patch <name> --variant <v> --force-exc-guard, then re-restore/install (#291). Always on for iOS 18 bases.

Install a .ipa/.tipa — use the running VM's Install menu (drag-drop or file picker).

cfw install hangs re-signing a system binary (e.g. Campo), memory climbing unbounded — known bug in ldid-procursus up to 2.1.5-procursus7 (the current Homebrew stable): bytes(uint64_t) calls __builtin_clzll(0) with no zero-guard, which is undefined behavior, and on this build resolves to a 0-length that underflows an unsigned loop counter — ldid spins writing one byte at a time into a growing buffer instead of terminating. Triggered by any entitlements plist containing an integer value of exactly 0 (some real Apple system binaries have these). Fixed upstream but not yet in a tagged release; rebuild from source: brew install --HEAD ldid-procursus && brew link --overwrite ldid-procursus. Kill the hung ldid process first (sudo kill -9 <pid>) if you already hit it.

Automation

vphone-cli exposes a host control socket (<bundle>/vphone.sock) for programmatic control — screenshots, touch, swipes, hardware keys, clipboard — each action returning an inline screenshot for AI-driven E2E testing. See vphone-mcp for an MCP server wrapping it.

Acknowledgements

• wh1te4ever/super-tart-vphone-writeup