iphone-use-app

Let an AI model use your iPhone, from the iPhone itself. No Mac at run time (one-time pairing only), no extra hardware, no jailbreak.

Left: "Select a Lyft to the Eiffel Tower (don't book yet)" (4× speed): the agent leaves its own app, opens Lyft, types the destination, picks it and stops at the ride options. Middle: the finished run, each step with its screenshot. Right: a new chat.

Features

• No computer at run time: the agent runs on the iPhone and controls that same iPhone, no extra hardware or jailbreak. A Mac is only needed once, to make the pairing file
• Start it from anywhere: the chat, Siri, the "Run Agent" Shortcut or an iphoneuse://run?prompt=… link.

How it compares

Requirements

Limitations

• Shortcut needed on cellular: iOS refuses new loopback VPN connections on cellular data, so the app runs a Cellular Toggle shortcut that turns data off while it connects, then back on (or turn it off by hand).
• No other VPN at the same time: it needs a loopback VPN (the built-in one, or LocalDevVPN), and iOS allows one VPN at a time, so Tailscale and similar stop while it is on.
• "Viewed remotely from Mac" notice on every run: iOS shows "Device Hub: This device was viewed remotely from Mac" when its developer services are used, even though the "Mac" here is the app itself. Nothing leaves the phone (except calls to LLMs).
• Permissions: requires Developer Mode, a VPN configuration, Local Network access (to find the phone's pairing service), and Location set to "Always" (keeps runs alive in the background, alongside silent audio). Microphone only for voice prompts.
• Pairing files expire: make a new one when the app says so.
• Sideloaded build only: it needs Developer Mode and developer services, so it can't go on the App Store.
• A few seconds per step: most of it is the model.

How it works

flowchart LR
  subgraph App["iphone-use-app"]
    L["LLM calling"]
    D["Mount developer image"]
    O["Orchestrator"]
  end
  L <-- "screenshot + history /<br/>tool call" --> R["OpenRouter"]
  D -- "DDI mount" --> V["Loopback VPN<br/>10.7.0.1"]
  O <-- "screenshot / tap, swipe, type" --> V

The app mounts a developer image, then uses a loopback VPN to screenshot and control the iPhone it runs on. Each step, the screenshot goes to the model, which answers with a tool call (tap, long press, swipe, type, open app) until it's done. A Live Activity shows progress with a Stop button, and every run is saved as a chat.

Benchmark

One decision is one screenshot → one tool call. scripts/eval.sh replays 11 recorded steps (open Lyft, search a destination, pick a ride, stop before paying; write a note) against each model through OpenRouter, run twice (22 decisions per row). November 2026; times are full round trips from a Mac.

Quick start

1. Make a pairing file

This is the one step that needs a Mac. Plug the phone into the Mac, unlock it (tap Trust if asked), then:

git clone https://github.com/jkcoxson/idevice && cd idevice
cargo build --release -p idevice-tools --bin idevice-tools
./target/release/idevice-tools rppairing pair my-mac pairingFile.plist

The file keeps working until the phone stops trusting that host (Reset Location & Privacy, Developer Mode turned off). Make a new one if the app says the pairing file is invalid or expired.

2. Install the app

Without building: add this source in SideStore or AltStore: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/EliotAndres/iphone-use-app/main/source.json (or sideload the .ipa from Releases). It is the free Apple ID build: install LocalDevVPN too.

From source (needed for the built-in VPN, which takes a paid team):

# once: the prebuilt Rust lib (45 MB, gitignored) from the latest release...
curl -L -o iPhoneUse/idevice/libidevice_ffi.a https://github.com/EliotAndres/iphone-use-app/releases/latest/download/libidevice_ffi.a
# ...or build it yourself (needs rustup + the aarch64-apple-ios target)
scripts/build-idevice.sh
open iPhoneUse.xcodeproj        # set your team, run the iPhoneUse scheme on the phone

3. Set up (once, in the app)

1. Settings (gear, top right) → Import Pairing File.¹
2. Allow the Add VPN Configuration prompt. It only routes 10.7.0.1 back to the phone. With LocalDevVPN instead: turn it on, and pick LocalDevVPN in Settings → Phone Connection (picked for you if the built-in VPN fails).
3. Settings → Model: pick a provider, paste the key, pick a model.
4. Wait for the "not connected" line above the input to go away (the developer disk image downloads on first run).

¹ Or copy it over once the app is installed: xcrun devicectl device copy to --device <udid> --domain-type appDataContainer --domain-identifier blog.eliot.iphoneuse --source pairingFile.plist --destination Documents/pairingFile.plist

4. Give it a task

Type a goal, for example "Open Settings and turn on Dark Mode", and send it. Stop it from the Dynamic Island or the chat.

DEV=<udid> scripts/runscript.sh "open com.apple.Preferences; wait 1.5; tap 0.5 0.9; shot a" a

Responsible use

Only automate devices and accounts you own or may use, and respect the terms of the apps involved. The agent acts with your hands: watch it, and keep Stop within reach.

Credits

License

AGPL-3.0. See LICENSE.