aluedeke/mobile-docker-extension

By aluedeke

•Updated 9 months ago

A Docker Desktop extension that exposes USB-connected iOS devices to Docker containers.

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aluedeke/mobile-docker-extension repository overview

⁠Mobile Device Relay - Docker Extension

A Docker Desktop extension that exposes USB-connected iOS devices to Docker containers via the usbmuxd protocol.

Note: This extension works on macOS and Windows. Linux is not supported (Docker runs natively on Linux, so you can access usbmuxd directly).

⁠What it does

This extension creates a bridge between the host's usbmuxd daemon and Docker containers, allowing tools like go-ios, pymobiledevice3, libimobiledevice, and other iOS automation tools to communicate with physical iOS devices from within containers.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ macOS Host                                                      │
│                                                                 │
│  iPhone ──USB──► /var/run/usbmuxd                              │
│                        │                                        │
│              mobile-relay (TCP :27015)                         │
│              + tunnel manager (:60105)                         │
│                        │                                        │
└────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┘
                         │ host.docker.internal:27015
┌────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Docker Desktop VM      ▼                                        │
│              ┌─────────────────┐                                │
│              │ usbmuxd-backend │                                │
│              └────────┬────────┘                                │
│                       │                                         │
│                       ▼                                         │
│     /run/guest-services/.../usbmuxd.sock                       │
│                       │                                         │
│  ┌────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│  │ Your Container     │                                        ││
│  │                    ▼                                        ││
│  │          /var/run/usbmuxd (volume mount)                    ││
│  │                                                             ││
│  │   go-ios, pymobiledevice3, libimobiledevice, etc.          ││
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

⁠Requirements

Docker Desktop 4.8.0 or later
iOS device connected via USB
macOS: Xcode or usbmuxd installed (comes with Xcode Command Line Tools)
Windows: Apple Devices⁠ app from Microsoft Store (provides usbmuxd/iTunes drivers)

⁠Installation

⁠From source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/aluedeke/mobile-docker-extension.git
cd mobile-docker-extension

# Build and install
make install

⁠From Docker Hub (when published)

docker extension install aluedeke/mobile-docker-extension

⁠Usage

⁠1. Start the host relay

The host relay must be running to bridge connections. You can start it from:

⁠Option A: Docker Desktop UI

Open Docker Desktop
Go to the "USB Muxd" extension tab
Click "Start Host Relay"

⁠Option B: Command line

# If installed via extension
~/.docker/extensions/aluedeke_mobile-docker-extension/host/darwin/mobile-relay

# Or build and run locally
make run-host

⁠2. Configure your containers

Mount the usbmuxd socket into your container at /var/run/usbmuxd:

⁠Docker Compose

services:
  ios-automation:
    image: your-image
    volumes:
      - /run/guest-services/aluedeke_mobile-docker-extension/usbmuxd.sock:/var/run/usbmuxd

⁠Docker run

docker run -v /run/guest-services/aluedeke_mobile-docker-extension/usbmuxd.sock:/var/run/usbmuxd your-image

⁠3. Use iOS tools normally

Once configured, iOS tools work as if running on the host:

# List connected devices with go-ios
docker run --rm \
  -v /run/guest-services/aluedeke_mobile-docker-extension/usbmuxd.sock:/var/run/usbmuxd \
  ghcr.io/danielpaulus/go-ios:latest list

# Use pymobiledevice3
docker run --rm \
  -v /run/guest-services/aluedeke_mobile-docker-extension/usbmuxd.sock:/var/run/usbmuxd \
  python:3.12-slim sh -c "pip install pymobiledevice3 && pymobiledevice3 usbmux list"

⁠4. iOS 17.4+ tunnel features (go-ios only)

For go-ios iOS 17.4+ features that require tunnels, add the tunnel agent environment variables:

services:
  go-ios:
    image: ghcr.io/danielpaulus/go-ios:latest
    volumes:
      - /run/guest-services/aluedeke_mobile-docker-extension/usbmuxd.sock:/var/run/usbmuxd
    environment:
      - GO_IOS_AGENT_HOST=host.docker.internal
      - GO_IOS_AGENT_PORT=60105

Note: pymobiledevice3 handles tunnels transparently over the usbmuxd socket and doesn't need these environment variables.

⁠Examples

See the example directories for complete working examples:

examples/go-ios⁠ - Using go-ios with the extension
examples/pymobiledevice3⁠ - Using pymobiledevice3 with the extension
examples/libimobiledevice⁠ - Using libimobiledevice with the extension

⁠Quick Device Check

# Using go-ios
docker run --rm \
  -v /run/guest-services/aluedeke_mobile-docker-extension/usbmuxd.sock:/var/run/usbmuxd \
  ghcr.io/danielpaulus/go-ios:latest list

# Using pymobiledevice3
cd examples/pymobiledevice3
docker compose build
docker compose run --rm pymobiledevice3 usbmux list

⁠Troubleshooting

⁠"Connection refused" or socket errors

Verify the host relay is running: pgrep -f mobile-relay
Check the relay is listening: lsof -i :27015
Ensure the socket file exists: ls -la /run/guest-services/aluedeke_mobile-docker-extension/

⁠"Connection refused" on host relay

Check if usbmuxd is running on the host: ls -la /var/run/usbmuxd
On macOS, connect an iOS device or start Xcode
On Linux, ensure usbmuxd service is running: systemctl status usbmuxd

⁠No devices showing up

Verify the device is connected and trusted
Check host usbmuxd directly: idevice_id -l (on host)
View relay logs for connection issues

⁠iOS 17.4+ tunnel features not working (go-ios)

Ensure GO_IOS_AGENT_HOST and GO_IOS_AGENT_PORT environment variables are set
Check the host relay tunnel manager is running (port 60105)
View host relay logs for tunnel errors

⁠Development

⁠Build locally

# Build everything
make build

# Build just the host binary
make build-host

# Build just the backend
make build-backend

⁠Run tests

# Run the full test suite
./test.sh

# Test socket connectivity
make test-socket

⁠Debug mode

# Enable extension debug mode
make debug

# View logs
make logs

# Reset debug mode
make reset

⁠How it works

Host Relay (mobile-relay): A Go binary that runs on the host, listens on TCP port 27015, and forwards connections to the real /var/run/usbmuxd socket. Also includes a tunnel manager on port 60105 for iOS 17.4+ devices (go-ios compatible).
Backend Service (usbmuxd-backend): Runs inside the Docker Desktop VM. Creates a Unix socket that proxies connections to the host relay. Provides an API for the extension UI.
Container Configuration: Containers mount the backend's Unix socket at /var/run/usbmuxd. iOS tools use this standard location automatically.

⁠License

MIT

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Size

17.7 MB

Last updated

9 months ago

docker pull aluedeke/mobile-docker-extension