Launch GUI app on iOS 5 through the command line (jailbreak)

Question

I believe you used to be able to launch GUI apps on jailbroken iOS devices via the command line (over SSH) by executing a command like this:

launch com.apple.Calculator

but that is not working on my iOS 5 device (launch not found).

I also tried:

launchctl start com.apple.Calculator

but that also gives me an error (no such process).

score 16 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

16

Those launch/launchctl commands didn't work for me either. What did work was to install the command-line utilty open from Cydia and just execute

open com.apple.calculator

Notice the lowercase c in calculator, that was the bundle identifier for my calculator app.

Here's the developer's website for Cydia stuff:

http://kramerapps.com/cydia/

This links to the repo site:

http://moreinfo.thebigboss.org/moreinfo/depiction.php?file=openData

Update: For iOS 6.x, this current version of open doesn't seem to work. See @Nate's answer to another question linked below in the comments.

Update 2: The open package in Cydia has been updated and now works with iOS 6.

Update 3: Here is the source for the package: https://github.com/conradev/Open. If you look at the open.m file, you can see that the function SBSLaunchApplicationWithIdentifier from the SpringBoardServices private framework is what actually opens the app.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

Community

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answered Jul 08 '12 at 13:56

newenglander

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I love you. I can now get 10 seconds of my life back for every time I compile - i.e. a hundred times per day :) – chris838 Jul 11 '12 at 19:51
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don't love me, love the dude who created `open` ;) – newenglander Jul 11 '12 at 19:54
Can you share the package name? – Ivan Vučica Aug 03 '12 at 13:50
It should be just `open`, but I've added links above as well. – newenglander Aug 03 '12 at 16:17
can't open application on IOS6. Will cause springboard crash and enter safe mode. – Vanguarder Mar 13 '13 at 11:56
@Vanguarder: yeah, the package doesn't seem to be compatible with iOS 6 and no update as of yet. – newenglander Mar 13 '13 at 13:02
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@Vanguarder, see my answer [to this question](http://stackoverflow.com/q/15202441/119114), which gives you a workaround by building your own version of `open`. – Nate Mar 18 '13 at 23:33
FYI, to install open (now updated for iOS 7) use `apt-get install com.conradkramer.open` – Ashutosh Jindal Mar 26 '17 at 05:16

Launch GUI app on iOS 5 through the command line (jailbreak)

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