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vphone-cli

Boot a virtual iPhone (iOS 26) via Apple's Virtualization.framework using PCC research VM infrastructure.

Tested Environments

Host	iPhone	CloudOS
Mac16,12 26.3	17,3_26.1_23B85	26.1-23B85
Mac16,12 26.3	17,3_26.3_23D127	26.1-23B85
Mac16,12 26.3	17,3_26.3_23D127	26.3-23D128

Firmware Variants

Three patch variants are available with increasing levels of security bypass:

Variant	Boot Chain	CFW	Make Targets
Regular	41 patches	10 phases	fw_patch + cfw_install
Development	52 patches	12 phases	fw_patch_dev + cfw_install_dev
Jailbreak (WIP)	66 / 78 patches	14 phases	fw_patch_jb + cfw_install_jb

66 = default JB kernel method plan; 78 = default + optional kernel methods (VPHONE_JB_ENABLE_OPTIONAL=1).

See research/00_patch_comparison_all_variants.md for the detailed per-component breakdown.

Prerequisites

Host OS: macOS 15+ (Sequoia) is required for PV=3 virtualization.

Configure SIP/AMFI — required for private Virtualization.framework entitlements and unsigned binary workflows.

Boot into Recovery (long press power button), open Terminal, then choose one setup path:

• Option 1: Fully disable SIP + AMFI boot-arg (most permissive)

  In Recovery:

  csrutil disable
  csrutil allow-research-guests enable

  After restarting into macOS:

  sudo nvram boot-args="amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1 -v"

  Restart once more.

• Option 2: Keep SIP mostly enabled, disable only debug restrictions, use amfidont

  In Recovery:

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

  After restarting into macOS:

  xcrun python3 -m pip install amfidont
  sudo amfidont --path [PATH_TO_VPHONE_DIR]

Install dependencies:

brew install ideviceinstaller wget gnu-tar openssl@3 ldid-procursus sshpass keystone autoconf automake pkg-config libtool

Submodules — this repo uses a git submodule for resource archives. Clone with:

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

Quick Start

make setup_machine            # full automation through "First Boot" (includes restore/ramdisk/CFW)

Manual Setup

make setup_tools              # install brew deps, build trustcache + libimobiledevice, create Python venv
make build                    # build + sign vphone-cli
make vm_new                   # create vm/ directory (ROMs, disk, SEP storage)
make fw_prepare               # download IPSWs, extract, merge, generate manifest
make fw_patch                 # patch boot chain (regular variant)
# or: make fw_patch_dev       # dev variant (+ TXM entitlement/debug bypasses)
# or: make fw_patch_jb        # jailbreak variant (+ full security bypass) (WIP)

Restore

You'll need two terminals for the restore process. Keep terminal 1 running while using terminal 2.

# terminal 1
make boot_dfu                 # boot VM in DFU mode (keep running)

# terminal 2
make restore_get_shsh         # fetch SHSH blob
make restore                  # flash firmware via idevicerestore

Install Custom Firmware

Stop the DFU boot in terminal 1 (Ctrl+C), then boot into DFU again for the ramdisk:

# terminal 1
make boot_dfu                 # keep running

# terminal 2
make ramdisk_build            # build signed SSH ramdisk
make ramdisk_send             # send to device

Once the ramdisk is running (you should see Running server in the output), open a third terminal for the iproxy tunnel, then install CFW from terminal 2:

# terminal 3 — keep running
iproxy 2222 22

# terminal 2
make cfw_install

First Boot

Stop the DFU boot in terminal 1 (Ctrl+C), then:

make boot

This gives you a direct console on the VM. When you see bash-4.4#, press Enter and run these commands to initialize the shell environment and generate SSH host keys:

export PATH='/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/games:/iosbinpack64/usr/local/sbin:/iosbinpack64/usr/local/bin:/iosbinpack64/usr/sbin:/iosbinpack64/usr/bin:/iosbinpack64/sbin:/iosbinpack64/bin'

mkdir -p /var/dropbear
cp /iosbinpack64/etc/profile /var/profile
cp /iosbinpack64/etc/motd /var/motd

# generate SSH host keys (required for SSH to work)
dropbearkey -t rsa -f /var/dropbear/dropbear_rsa_host_key
dropbearkey -t ecdsa -f /var/dropbear/dropbear_ecdsa_host_key

shutdown -h now

Note: Without the host key generation step, dropbear (SSH server) will accept connections but immediately close them because it has no keys to perform the SSH handshake.

Subsequent Boots

make boot

In a separate terminal, start iproxy tunnels:

iproxy 22222 22222   # SSH
iproxy 5901 5901     # VNC
iproxy 5910 5910     # RPC

Connect via:

• SSH: ssh -p 22222 root@127.0.0.1 (password: alpine)
• VNC: vnc://127.0.0.1:5901
• RPC: rpcclient -p 5910 127.0.0.1

FAQ

Before anything else — run git pull to make sure you have the latest version.

Q: I get zsh: killed ./vphone-cli when trying to run it.

AMFI/debug restrictions are not bypassed correctly. Choose one setup path:

• Option 1 (full AMFI disable):

  sudo nvram boot-args="amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1 -v"

• Option 2 (debug restrictions only): use Recovery mode csrutil enable --without debug (no full SIP disable), then install/load amfidont while keeping AMFI otherwise enabled.

Q: System apps (App Store, Messages, etc.) won't download or install.

During iOS setup, do not select Japan or European Union as your region. These regions enforce additional regulatory checks (e.g., sideloading disclosures, camera shutter requirements) that the virtual machine cannot satisfy, which prevents system apps from being downloaded and installed. Choose any other region (e.g., United States) to avoid this issue.

Q: I'm stuck on the "Press home to continue" screen.

Connect via VNC (vnc://127.0.0.1:5901) and right-click anywhere on the screen (two-finger click on a Mac trackpad). This simulates the home button press.

Q: SSH connects but immediately closes (Connection closed by 127.0.0.1).

Dropbear host keys were not generated during first boot. Connect via VNC or the make boot console and run:

export PATH='/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/games:/iosbinpack64/usr/local/sbin:/iosbinpack64/usr/local/bin:/iosbinpack64/usr/sbin:/iosbinpack64/usr/bin:/iosbinpack64/sbin:/iosbinpack64/bin'
mkdir -p /var/dropbear
dropbearkey -t rsa -f /var/dropbear/dropbear_rsa_host_key
dropbearkey -t ecdsa -f /var/dropbear/dropbear_ecdsa_host_key
killall dropbear
dropbear -R -p 22222

Q: Can I update to a newer iOS version?

Yes. Override fw_prepare with the IPSW URL for the version you want:

export IPHONE_SOURCE=/path/to/some_os.ipsw
export CLOUDOS_SOURCE=/path/to/some_os.ipsw
make fw_prepare
make fw_patch

Our patches are applied via binary analysis, not static offsets, so newer versions should work. If something breaks, ask AI for help.

Acknowledgements

• wh1te4ever/super-tart-vphone-writeup