iphone backup explorer

Local iTunes/iPhone backup explorer with preview and extraction.

Features

• Opens a backup directory containing Manifest.db (plus Manifest.plist and Info.plist when available).
• Reconstructs a file tree from domain + relativePath.
• Supports App-centric, Camera, Files, and Raw domains views.
• Previews image/PDF/media files inline, parses plist files, and falls back to text previews.
• Extracts selected files while preserving logical backup paths.

Requirements

• Node.js 18+.
• Windows for folder-picker UX (/api/select-* uses the Windows dialog).

Security Model

• The backend is loopback-only (127.0.0.1) and rejects non-local requests.
• This applies to both web mode and Electron mode.

Run As Local Web App

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

2. Start the web server:

npm run start:web

3. Open:

http://127.0.0.1:3000

Run As Electron App (Dev)

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

2. If native module binaries need a rebuild for your Electron version:

npm run rebuild:electron

3. Start Electron:

npm start

Notes:

• Electron starts the Express backend in-process on a random loopback port.
• The renderer loads http://127.0.0.1:<randomPort>.

Build Windows Installer / Executable

npm run dist:win

Build output goes to release/. Run the installer generated at:

• release/iphone-backup-explorer-<version>-x64.exe

Usage

1. Click Open Backup and choose a backup folder.
2. Switch tree view mode as needed.
3. Browse and select files.
4. Click a file to preview it.
5. Choose an output folder and click Extract Selected.

Notes

• Encrypted backups are detected, but keybag decryption is not implemented.
• Large backups may take some time to index on initial load.