idevicedebugserverproxy

idevicedebugserverproxy [OPTIONS] [LOCAL_PORT]

--udid UDID, -u UDID
    Specifies the Unique Device ID (UDID) of the iOS device to connect to. Useful when multiple devices are connected.

--usb, -i
    Forces connection to a device via USB. This is the default connection method.

--network, -n
    Forces connection to a device via network (Wi-Fi sync).

--port PORT, -p PORT
    Specifies the local port on which idevicedebugserverproxy should listen for incoming debugger connections. The default port is 2345.

--debug, -d
    Enables debug output, providing more verbose information about the connection and proxying process, helpful for troubleshooting.

--help, -h
    Displays a help message with usage instructions and available options.

LOCAL_PORT
    A positional argument to specify the local port to listen on. If provided, it overrides the value set by -p or the default.

idevicedebugserverproxy is a command-line tool from the libimobiledevice suite, designed to facilitate remote debugging of applications on iOS devices. It acts as a bridge, creating a proxy connection between a host computer (e.g., your Linux machine) and the debugserver running on an attached iOS device.

When a local debugger like LLDB attempts to connect to the device's debugserver, idevicedebugserverproxy listens on a specified local port, forwards the debugger's requests to the device, and relays the responses back. This enables developers to use standard debugging tools on their host machine to inspect and control processes on the iOS device, crucial for development workflows that require in-depth application analysis and breakpoint management.

• Requires the libimobiledevice library to be installed and the necessary udev rules (for Linux) to be in place for device detection.
• The iOS device must be connected (via USB or network) and successfully paired with the host machine.
• A debugserver process needs to be running on the iOS device for idevicedebugserverproxy to connect to it. This debugserver is typically provided and deployed by Apple's Xcode or LLVM toolchain.
• Firewall configurations on the host machine might need adjustments to allow connections to the specified LOCAL_PORT.

To debug an iOS application using LLDB on a Linux host, you would typically start idevicedebugserverproxy first, specifying a local port:
idevicedebugserverproxy 1234

Then, within your LLDB session, you connect to this proxy:
target create <path/to/local/app_executable>
process connect connect://localhost:1234

This establishes the debugging session, allowing LLDB to communicate with the debugserver on the iOS device.

This proxy is an essential piece in the larger iOS debugging puzzle. When you debug an application from Xcode, Xcode often handles the deployment of a debugserver binary to the device and establishes a connection. idevicedebugserverproxy provides the non-Apple-ecosystem equivalent, enabling command-line debugging scenarios or integration with other development tools that need to talk to the iOS debugserver without Xcode.

idevicedebugserverproxy is a core component of the libimobiledevice project, an open-source initiative that began in 2007 to provide cross-platform libraries and tools for interacting with Apple's iOS devices. Its development has been driven by the need for independent and automated control over iOS devices, particularly for tasks like application deployment and debugging outside the macOS/Xcode ecosystem. The command's functionality has remained consistent, serving as a critical bridge for remote debugging workflows from its inception.

iproxy(1), ideviceinstaller(1), idevicesyslog(1), lldb(1)