LiveContainer/LiveContainer

Run iOS apps without actually installing them!

Summary

LiveContainer is a Swift-based iOS app launcher that runs sideloaded apps inside a host process instead of installing them on the device. It patches each guest Mach-O binary (changing MH_EXECUTE to MH_DYLIB, adjusting __PAGEZERO, and injecting a TweakLoader.dylib load command) and launches it through dlopen, allowing a single signing identity to host many apps with isolated data containers.

What it is useful for

• Bypassing the 3-app / 10-app ID limit of free Apple Developer accounts, since only the host app needs a provisioning profile.
• Running multiple versions of the same app side by side, each with its own container, or rotating through many altstore/sideloaded IPAs without juggling signing certificates per build.
• Running apps on iOS below 26 without pre-signing each IPA, as long as a JIT enabler that supports attaching by PID (the README names StikDebug) is available; the codesigning step is entirely bypassed.
• Multitasking several apps at once via in-app virtual windows, resizing/scaling, native Picture-in-Picture, and on iPad, separate system windows.
• Loading Cydia Substrate-style tweaks into guest apps through the bundled TweakLoader and signing host IPAs with the included ZSign.
• Launching URLs or files in a chosen guest app directly from iOS's share sheet.

How engineers can use it

1. Install the documented LiveContainer.ipa (standalone) or LiveContainer+SideStore.ipa from the Releases page using AltStore 2.0+ or SideStore 0.6.0+ on iOS/iPadOS 15+ (multitasking requires 16+).
2. In the app, tap the plus icon, pick IPA files, and launch from the list; long-press an entry to manage it.
3. If a guest app breaks its file picker or notification permissions, enable the matching "Fix File Picker" or "Fix Local Notifications" toggle in app-specific settings.
4. To build from source, open the project in Xcode and set DEVELOPMENT_TEAM[config=Debug] in xcconfigs/Global.xcconfig to your team id, then compile, as stated in the README's Building section. Detailed install steps and troubleshooting are in the linked docs at livecontainer.github.io.
5. Plan around documented limitations: guest entitlements are not applied to the host, app permissions are global, guest containers are not sandboxed so apps can read each other's data, App Extensions are unsupported, remote push notifications will not work, and custom URL scheme queries may fail.