Althea IPA Installer for iOS: The missing AltStore for Linux

AltStore is a popular IPA installer for iOS devices, originally released as the first alternative to Cydia Impactor. However, it doesn't support Linux desktops. Fortunately, an unofficial tool called Althea has been released, allowing Linux users to sideload apps onto their iPhones with a GUI app.

Download

Althea was released for download throught its GitHub Releases page. However, it's recommended, to install the app throught the script to get the latest version of this IPA installer. All instructions are provided below. Download Althea for x86_64, aarch64, and armv7, the AltLinux for Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, and OpenSUSE.

Why use Althea?

Althea, formerly known as AltLinux, is a popular IPA installer for Linux users. It enables you to sideload IPA files onto your device using AltServer-Linux as its installation engine. In my opinion, this is currently the best solution for Ubuntu users to install apps and games packaged as IPAs on their iPhones.

After two years, AltLinux has received a major update for Linux users, now rebranded as Althea with version 0.5.0. This update introduces several key changes, including the ability for Althea to automatically check for new versions of AltStore and download updates as needed, making the app self-contained.

The minimum iOS version required has been bumped to iOS 15 to align with the latest AltStore requirements. Additionally, the colorful tray icon has been replaced with a grayscale/symbolic icon to better match most desktop environments. The update also includes various maintenance fixes.

Vyvir

Althea (AltLinux) Developer

V2 was a rewrite of AltLinux that was supposed to be a collaboration. However, only one developer ended up working on it, and they are (understandably) busy with their own work, so from here on out, the mythical V2 is scrapped! V1 is no longer deprecated and will continue receiving updates from me.

Althea uses NyaMisty's AltServer-Linux as its backend, which means it supports Offline Anisette Data Generation and Wi-Fi Refresh (with netmuxd supporting network devices). While AltServer-Linux can be operated from the console, it's much more user-friendly when used through Althea.

If you're looking for an AltStore option for Linux, I highly recommend installing Althea. Especially now, with the recent update after two years, the software can automatically update the AltStore core to the latest version, ensuring compatibility with iOS and new devices.

Althea is a tray-based application that lets you easily install AltStore, sideload an IPA with AltServer, restart AltServer, or pair your device—all without needing to use terminal commands. It makes using AltStore on Linux almost as easy and enjoyable as on macOS. Finally, Linux users have a great alternative for AltStore.

This isn't the first GUI for AltStore on Linux, but in my opinion, it's the best one yet. What's particularly interesting is that you don't need to install iTunes or any other Apple software via WINE or similar tools — everything happens directly on your iPhone now. Althea also supports Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, and OpenSUSE.

Althea offers broad compatibility by supporting multiple architectures, including x86_64, aarch64, and armv7. This means it can run on a wide range of devices, from standard desktop computers to more specialized hardware like ARM-based single-board computers, such as the Raspberry Pi.

Vyvir released Althea as an open-source project under the AGPL-3.0 license, with the goal of attracting contributors to help develop the software. However, it seems that he remains the sole developer. The source code for Althea is available on the official GitHub repository for anyone interested in contributing.

How to install Althea on Linux

Althea can be downloaded from the official GitHub Repository as a compiled application. However, it requires to download and install additional dependencies to make the software work. Below you can find all required components for the most popular Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, and OpenSUSE.

Ubuntu:

sudo apt install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository universe -y
sudo apt-get install binutils python3-pip git gir1.2-appindicator3-0.1 usbmuxd libimobiledevice6 libimobiledevice-utils wget curl libavahi-compat-libdnssd-dev zlib1g-dev unzip usbutils libhandy-1-dev gir1.2-notify-0.7 python3-requests psmisc

Fedora:

sudo dnf install binutils python3-pip git libappindicator-gtk3 usbmuxd libimobiledevice-devel libimobiledevice-utils wget curl avahi-compat-libdns_sd-devel dnf-plugins-core unzip usbutils psmisc

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S binutils wget curl git python-pip python-gobject libappindicator-gtk3 usbmuxd libimobiledevice avahi zlib unzip usbutils psmisc libhandy

OpenSUSE:

sudo zypper in binutils wget curl git python311-gobject-Gdk libhandy-devel libappindicator3-1 typelib-1_0-AppIndicator3-0_1 imobiledevice-tools libdns_sd libnotify-devel psmisc

Once the dependencies are installed, run the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/vyvir/althea
cd althea
python3 main.py

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Written by

Kuba Pawlak

Kuba has over 20 years of experience in journalism, focusing on jailbreak since 2012. He has interviewed professionals from various companies. Besides journalism, Kuba specializes in video editing and drone flying. He studied IT at university before his writing career.

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