How to Install IPA with SideStore (No PC Refresh)

SideStore is an open-source fork of AltStore with one big improvement: it signs and refreshes apps on the iPhone itself. After a one-time setup on a computer, you can install IPAs and keep them alive anywhere, with no AltServer and no cable.

How SideStore works

Signing an app normally needs a computer to talk to the iPhone over a "lockdown" connection. SideStore uses a pairing file, the same trust record your iPhone creates when you tap Trust This Computer. It combines that with a local VPN that loops traffic back to the device. iOS then believes a trusted computer is connected, so SideStore can install and refresh apps by itself.

What you need

• An iPhone or iPad on a supported iOS version (see the SideStore site).
• A computer (Windows, Mac or Linux) for one-time setup.
• An Apple ID. A secondary account is recommended.
• A cable.

Step 1: Install SideStore and create the pairing file

1. On your computer, download the installer tool linked from the official SideStore website.
2. Connect the iPhone, unlock it and tap Trust.
3. Run the installer, sign in with your Apple ID and choose your device. It sideloads SideStore and places the pairing file on the phone.
4. When it finishes, unplug. From now on the computer is optional.

Step 2: Set up the local VPN

1. Install the VPN app that the SideStore docs name. It comes from the App Store.
2. Open it and allow it to add a VPN configuration.
3. Turn the tunnel on whenever you install or refresh apps. You can leave it on all the time, because it does not route your internet traffic anywhere.

Step 3: Trust, Developer Mode, sign in

1. Settings › General › VPN & Device Management › your Apple ID › Trust.
2. Settings › Privacy & Security › Developer Mode › On, then restart.
3. Open SideStore › Settings › sign in with your Apple ID. If it asks for the pairing file, select it from Files.

Step 4: Install an IPA

1. With the VPN on, open SideStore › My Apps › +.
2. Choose the .ipa from Files. SideStore signs and installs it.

Refreshing apps

Free Apple ID apps still expire after 7 days, and the 3-app limit still applies. The difference is that you refresh on the phone:

1. Turn the VPN tunnel on.
2. Open SideStore › My Apps › Refresh All.

You can add a Shortcuts automation, for example "every 5 days, open SideStore", so you never forget. SideStore itself needs refreshing too, so keep an eye on its own countdown.

Want more than 3 apps?

Install the LiveContainer + SideStore build. Apps run inside LiveContainer do not count toward the 3-app limit. See the LiveContainer + SideStore guide, which uses iloader as the installer and LocalDevVPN as the VPN app.

Troubleshooting SideStore

• "Could not connect" / timeouts: the VPN tunnel is off, or another VPN is active. Turn off other VPNs and try again.
• "Invalid pairing file": the trust record was reset. Create a new pairing file on a computer.
• SideStore itself expired: you have to reinstall it from a computer, so refresh SideStore before it runs out.
• Other errors: see why an IPA installation fails.