DLiPA: fetching and sideloading App Store apps on iOS

A release page, not a source repository

DLiPA is an iOS app inspired by the ipatool project, and it lets users download, install and share App Store applications using their own Apple ID, with support for downloading older versions and no jailbreak required.

The repository layout is the first fact worth knowing. The top level entries are README.md and images/, and nothing else. There is no source tree, no package manifest, no build configuration, and no LICENSE file. What the repository is, is a release page with documentation and screenshots, and the deliverable is the app itself, downloaded from the Releases page.

That has direct consequences for anyone evaluating it. You cannot read the code, you cannot check what it does with your Apple ID credentials beyond what the README says, and you cannot build it yourself. The README acknowledges the ipatool project by Majd Alfhaily as the origin of the idea, and the project is a Swift and Objective-C iOS app, but the code itself is not published here.

The licence is also unreported as unknown, and the repository carries no licence file. So the app is distributed as a binary under terms that are not stated in the repository. That is not a complaint so much as a fact to weigh before you sign in with an Apple ID on a device.

The supported platform range is given plainly as iOS 13 and later, and the release history shows v1.4 on 2026-08-03, v1.3 on 2026-06-17 and v1.2 on 2026-02-22, with the last push to the main branch on the same day as v1.4.

What the feature list actually covers

The feature list in the README is a checklist, and it is worth reading in order because each line corresponds to a distinct capability.

You can select an available storefront, and search for applications by name, by Bundle ID, or by link. From a result you can copy the Bundle ID, the application ID or the link itself. There is multiple account support, and the requirement is stated as purchase only free apps, so no paid content is involved. Each account has separate downloads, which is a convenience detail that matters if you keep more than one Apple ID.

The download side has three distinct capabilities. You can download an app as an IPA file, download an app with older versions, and download a specific app version via a Version ID. That last one is the most precise and the most useful if you are chasing a particular build.

The output side has three as well. You can share apps as an IPA file, install apps on the device, and the app supports non-jailbroken devices.

The one explicit warning in the README concerns installation from inside the app. Installing apps directly from within DLiPA may cause issues such as missing automatic updates, and the recommendation is to use AirDrop to install them by sharing from another device. That is a real limitation of the re-signing model, since a sideloaded app installed this way loses the update path it would have on the App Store.

Installing it: AltStore, iOS App Signer, or the app itself

The installation instructions cover three routes, and the detail that matters most in all of them is the Apple ID sign-in.

The primary route is AltStore. The requirements are a computer running macOS or Windows, an internet connection, an Apple ID with email and password, and, if you are on iOS 16, possibly needing to enable Developer Mode under Settings, Privacy & Security, Developer Mode.

The steps are to download and install AltServer from altstore.io, then right-click the AltServer icon with the phone connected and choose Install AltStore, then the name of your phone. When prompted you sign in with your Apple ID. Two-factor authentication is supported, but app-specific passwords are not.

The second route uses an IPA you downloaded from the Releases page and copied to the phone through iCloud Drive, AirDrop or any other method. You then open AltStore, go to the My Apps tab, choose the plus in the top right, open the IPA file, and sign in with your Apple ID when prompted, with the same two-factor and app-specific-password limitation.

The third route is the iOS App Signer, and for that the README simply points at the instructions published for that project rather than duplicating them.

The app-specific password limitation is the detail with the most operational weight. It means you cannot use a dedicated signing Apple ID kept separate from your personal one, which is the usual advice for anyone sideloading, and the credential handling is on a third party device that you did not build.

What a sideload actually costs you in updates

The README gives one warning and it is the one that should shape your expectations before you start.

Installing an app directly from within DLiPA may cause issues such as missing automatic updates, and the recommendation is that for best results you use AirDrop to install them by sharing from another device. The mechanism behind that warning is the re-signing model. An app obtained outside the App Store has to be signed with a certificate that expires, and the renewal of that signature is what a sideloading tool like AltStore handles. Install from within the app and the signing and the update schedule are not properly coordinated, and the app stops receiving updates when they should arrive.

There is a second cost that the README does not spell out but which follows from the same design. An application installed this way is a separate copy from the App Store version, with its own data container. So an app you already have from the App Store and the same app sideloaded side by side are not the same installation, and migrating to a sideloaded copy means starting from its own state rather than the one you have been using.

For a build that is no longer on the store, or a version the store no longer serves, that trade is usually worth it. For an app you update daily, it is not, and the App Store remains the better route.

The version listing is where the tool is hardest to replace. Being able to pick a specific Version ID means you can reproduce an environment that a colleague is on, or match a build to a bug report, and that is a capability the App Store interface does not offer at all.

Fifteen languages, five screenshots, and a PayPal link

Two smaller parts of the repository are worth noting for what they indicate about the project rather than for their technical content.

The supported languages table lists fourteen of them, arranged in two columns. Arabic, English, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Hindi, Indonesian and Italian are in the first column, and Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese in the second. For a tool whose primary user base is people who want a specific build of an app on a device they cannot jailbreak, that language coverage is a meaningful part of the value, and it is not unusual to see a project like this maintain translations as a first class task.

The five screenshots in the images/ directory show the app interface, and the icon is the sixth image. That is the entire visual documentation; the README does not describe the screens in text.

The support section asks for contributions rather than linking a subscription, and the only payment route offered is a PayPal button for supporting DLiPA directly. There is no sponsor tier and no service agreement, which is the normal arrangement for a hobby project that ships binaries.

The README also says the author is grateful for support in continuing the project, which is a hint that the pace of releases may follow the available time rather than a schedule. The recent tags are roughly two months apart, and the last commit coincided with the latest tag.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt DLiPA if you need an older or specific build of a free App Store app on a device that is not jailbroken, because the version listing and the IPA download are the whole feature and they work through your own Apple ID rather than any shared credential. Do not adopt it expecting a source-level tool, since the repository holds only the README and screenshots and the deliverable is a signed IPA in the releases, so you cannot audit what you are installing. Before you use it, read the note about missing automatic updates after installing from within the app and use the AirDrop route instead, and check the Apple ID handling, since app-specific passwords are not supported and the sign-in is done on a third party device.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. AhmedBafkir/DLiPA on GitHub
2. Issues
3. README
4. Releases