At the beginning of the App Store, way back in 2008 when the iTunes program synced everything with the iPhone, users could download files for apps on their computer.
This was useful in cases where apps were eventually removed from the store, either by Apple or the developer themselves.
This was because we could save the files and install them on the iPhone even without needing internet.
But the world evolved and there came a point where users no longer wanted to depend on a computer to manage their iPhones, and Apple transitioned everything to the cloud.
To sum up: iTunes became obsolete and eventually lost the ability to download app files on the computer.
Now, a developer has created a tool that allows you to connect to your App Store account and download the files for the apps you’ve purchased/downloaded, directly onto your computer.
All through the terminal
The tool is free, but it’s geared towards more experienced users. This is because to run it, you need to use command lines in the terminal. And if you didn’t understand that last sentence, then you’re not one of those users.
The tool is called ipatool and does exactly what the name suggests: it downloads .ipa files that can be installed on your iPhone or iPad.
But don’t be fooled: these files cannot be installed on devices that are not connected to your account. This is because to perform the download, you need to connect with your Apple ID and download the file signed digitally with your account.
In other words, there is no illegality in the tool. It does exactly what the old iTunes did, downloading the apps that you already have.
Those familiar with terminals and file compilation can try playing with the tool by downloading the source code directly from the Github page. Compatible with macOS, Windows, and Linux.
