ryC0

Runs iOS apps inside one app, without installing them.

ryC0 is an iOS app launcher based on LiveContainer 3.8.11.

Installing

Requires iOS or iPadOS 17 or later. Sign ryC0 and keep its extensions for multitasking, sharing, and the Launch App shortcut. For JIT-less launch, import the .p12 certificate that signed ryC0 from Settings.

ryC0 uses the bundle ID com.ry0.ryC0, the URL scheme ryc0://, and the app group group.com.ry0.ryC0. The host and LiveProcess use the 128 keychain groups under com.ry0.ryC0.shared to separate guest logins. This identity gives ryC0 its own app data and shortcuts.

For general launcher usage, see the LiveContainer documentation.

Direct installation API

Open ryc0://install?url=<percent-encoded IPA URL> from an iOS app, a shortcut, or a website. Pass the complete download URL as one url query item, including any query parameters it needs. HTTPS and HTTP download URLs are supported.

ryc0://install?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2FExample.ipa%3Fbuild%3D42%26channel%3Dbeta

import UIKit

@MainActor
func requestRyC0Install(from ipaURL: URL) async -> Bool {
    var link = URLComponents()
    link.scheme = "ryc0"
    link.host = "install"
    link.queryItems = [URLQueryItem(name: "url", value: ipaURL.absoluteString)]
    guard let url = link.url else { return false }
    return await UIApplication.shared.open(url)
}

ryC0 downloads the IPA and imports it into its library. If a classic guest is running, ryC0 uses its app-switch setting to return to the Home Screen with the install request. Replacing an existing app still requires confirmation. The return value from open reports acceptance of the URL handoff. Download and installation progress and errors appear in ryC0.

App Switcher

Tap the floating Home button in a regular guest to return to ryC0. Hold it to open the App Switcher. From ryC0's Home Screen, tap the stack icon next to Search. In multitasking, use the window's title menu or the floating controls in a native iPad window.

The switcher can resume or close running windows. Regular guests are relaunched when opened from Recently Opened.

Building

The archive path validator uses Rust. Run rustup target add aarch64-apple-ios aarch64-apple-ios-sim for arm64 device and Simulator builds. Intel Simulator and Mac Catalyst builds need their corresponding Rust targets.

With Node.js and Xcode installed on macOS:

node Scripts/build-manager.mjs build

This initializes the submodules, builds the Release app with every extension, and packages build/ryC0.ipa. Sign the IPA with your sideloading tool to install it. The command also works on Linux with the toolchain below and produces build/ryc0/ryC0.ipa.

On Linux, without Xcode:

git submodule update --init --recursive
Scripts/ryc0/build.sh

This builds build/ryc0/ryC0.ipa. Scripts/ryc0/README.md lists what the build needs and its settings. The Xcode project builds too: set DEVELOPMENT_TEAM in xcconfigs/Global.xcconfig to your team ID.

RYC0_SOURCE_URL in xcconfigs/Global.xcconfig sets the source link shown in About. Linux builds can override it with the environment variable of the same name.

The icon is drawn in Scripts/ryc0/art/AppIcon.svg. Scripts/ryc0/art/render-icon.sh renders it into the asset catalog.

Source code and license

ryC0 is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. The source code is available at Sami-Wali/ryC0.

This fork includes work from zContainer and LiveContainer. Their authorship and license notices are preserved.

How it works

ryC0 runs LiveContainer's runtime as it is. The rest of this section is from LiveContainer's README.

Project structure

Main executable

• Core of LiveContainer
• Contains the logic of setting up guest environment and loading guest app.
• If no app is selected, it loads LiveContainerSwiftUI.

LiveContainerSwiftUI

• SwiftUI rewrite of LiveContainerUI (by @hugeBlack)
• Language file Localizable.xcstrings is in here for multilingual support. To help us translate LiveContainer, please visit our crowdin project

MultitaskSupport

• Contains the implementation of multitasking feature.
• Based on FrontBoardAppLauncher

TweakLoader

• A simple tweak injector, which loads CydiaSubstrate and loads tweaks.
• Injected to every app you install in LiveContainer.

ZSign

• The app signer shipped with LiveContainer.
• Originally made by zhlynn.
• LiveContainer uses Feather's version of ZSign modified by khcrysalis.
• Changes are made to meet LiveContainer's needs.

How guest apps run

Patching guest executable

• Patch __PAGEZERO segment:
  • Change vmaddr to 0xFFFFC000 (0x100000000 - 0x4000)
  • Change vmsize to 0x4000
• Change MH_EXECUTE to MH_DYLIB.
• Inject a load command to load TweakLoader.dylib

Patching @executable_path

• Hook dyld4::APIs::_NSGetExecutablePath
• Call _NSGetExecutablePath
• Replace config.process.mainExecutablePath
  • Calculate address of config.process.mainExecutablePath using dyld4::APIs instance (passed as first parameter)
  • Use builtin_vm_protect or TPRO unlock to make it writable
  • Replace the address with one we have control of
• Put the original dyld4::APIs::_NSGetExecutablePath back

Old Method

• Call _NSGetExecutablePath with an invalid buffer pointer input -> SIGSEGV
• Do some magic stuff to overwrite the contents of executable_path.

Patching NSBundle.mainBundle

• This property is overwritten with the guest app's bundle.

Bypassing Library Validation

• JIT is optional to bypass codesigning. In JIT-less mode, all executables are signed so this does not apply.
• Derived from Restoring Dyld Memory Loading

dlopening the executable

• Call dlopen with the guest app's executable
• TweakLoader loads all tweaks in the selected folder
• Find the entry point
• Jump to the entry point
• The guest app's entry point calls UIApplicationMain and start up like any other iOS apps.

Multi-Account support & Keychain Semi-Separation

128 keychain access groups are created and LiveContainer allocates them randomly to each container of the same app. So you can create 128 container with different keychain access groups.

Limitations

• Entitlements from the guest app are not applied to the host app. This isn't a big deal since sideloaded apps requires only basic entitlements.
• App Permissions are globally applied.
• Guest app containers are not sandboxed. This means one guest app can access other guest apps' data.
• App extensions aren't supported. they cannot be registered because: LiveContainer is sandboxed, SpringBoard doesn't know what apps are installed in LiveContainer, and they take up App ID.
• Multitasking can be achieved by using multiple LiveContainer and the multitasking feature. However, while we were able to fix physical keyboard input issue on iPadOS (LiveContainer/LiveContainer#524), iPhone Mirroring uses different checks which still broke it (LiveContainer/LiveContainer#793).
• Remote push notification will not work
• Querying custom URL schemes might not work(?)

Credits

ryC0 exists because of LiveContainer, made by Duy Tran (khanhduytran0), Huge_Black (hugeBlack) and its contributors.

LiveContainer's credits:

• xpn's blogpost: Restoring Dyld Memory Loading
• LinusHenze's CFastFind: MIT license
• litehook: MIT license
• @haxi0 & @m1337v for LiveContainer's icon
• @Vishram1123 for the initial shortcut implementation.
• @hugeBlack for SwiftUI contribution
• @Staubgeborener for automatic AltStore/SideStore source updater
• @fkunn1326 for improved app hiding
• @slds1 for dynamic color feature
• @Vishram1123 for iOS 26+ JIT Script Support
• @StephenDev0 for AltStore source support

ryC0 also ships the following. The app carries the text of each license (Settings > About ryC0 > Licenses, from each project's LICENSE file or from Resources/Licenses).

• OpenSSL: Apache License 2.0
• ElleKit's CydiaSubstrate, by Évelyne Bélanger: BSD license (its LICENSE is in Resources/Frameworks/CydiaSubstrate.framework)
• zsign by zhlynn (BSD 3-Clause License when LiveContainer took it, MIT since 2025), in Feather's version by khcrysalis (GPL 3.0)