idig

A tool for extracting files from iPhone backups.

Limitations

• macOS only
• Unencrypted backups only

Installation

Pre-built binaries are available for download from the release page.

Usage

Prerequisites

1. Grant Full Disk Access to your terminal application:
   • Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access
   • Add and enable your terminal application (Terminal.app, iTerm2, etc.)

Basic Usage

1. Locate your iPhone backup directory:

ls ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup

2. Search for files in the backup using idig search:

idig --backup-dir ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX \
     search --domain-contains com.apple.news \
            --path-contains Documents

3. Extract files from the backup using idig extract:

idig --backup-dir ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX \
     extract --domain-contains com.apple.news \
             --path-contains Documents \
             --output extracted-files

Command Options

Usage: idig <COMMAND>

Commands:
  list     List all available backups [aliases: ls]
  search   Search for files based on various criteria
  extract  Extract files based on search criteria
  help     Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)

Options:
  -h, --help     Print help
  -V, --version  Print version

List Command

List all available backups

Usage: idig list [OPTIONS]

Options:
      --backups-root <BACKUPS_ROOT>  Root directory containing multiple backup folders [default: "~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup"]
  -h, --help                         Print help

Search Command

Search for files based on various criteria

Usage: idig search [OPTIONS] --backup-dir <BACKUP_DIR>

Options:
  -b, --backup-dir <BACKUP_DIR>            iPhone backup directory path (containing Manifest.db)
      --domain-exact <DOMAIN_EXACT>        Exact domain match
      --domain-contains <DOMAIN_CONTAINS>  Partial domain match
      --path-exact <PATH_EXACT>            Exact path match
      --path-contains <PATH_CONTAINS>      Partial path match
      --or                                 Use OR logic instead of AND (default is AND)
  -h, --help                               Print help

Extract Command

Extract files based on search criteria

Usage: idig extract [OPTIONS] --backup-dir <BACKUP_DIR> --output <OUTPUT>

Options:
  -b, --backup-dir <BACKUP_DIR>            iPhone backup directory path (containing Manifest.db)
  -o, --output <OUTPUT>                    Output directory for extracted files
      --domain-exact <DOMAIN_EXACT>        Exact domain match
      --domain-contains <DOMAIN_CONTAINS>  Partial domain match
      --path-exact <PATH_EXACT>            Exact path match
      --path-contains <PATH_CONTAINS>      Partial path match
      --or                                 Use OR logic instead of AND (default is AND)
  -h, --help