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I have been using testflight to update my (iphone) app. I want to go back to an earlier build. Is there a way I can download an old build from testflight and access the contents (I need access to a plist file).

wjl
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user157733
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2 Answers2

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No, that's not possible. You should really use source control. Xcode will let you set up a local git repository really quickly if nothing else.

Update: I have to correct myself. After searching around, I found you could use this answer

https://stackoverflow.com/a/10223230/1415038

to reverse engineer the IPA after you download it from TestFlight. This will give you access to the .plist file.

Community
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woz
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  • Can whoever downvoted explain? I would be interested to see if you know of a solution to this, but as far as I know, it's not possible. – woz Jun 04 '13 at 20:49
  • Ok thanks for the response. Haven't used source control in Xcode. Sounds like I need to be looking into that one. Woz can you point me towards a beginner tutorial on this? – user157733 Jun 04 '13 at 20:50
  • Should definitely be using git, but he can get his plist back. :) – wjl Jun 04 '13 at 20:52
  • @wjl Yes, I realized that just before you posted your answer. Nice call. – woz Jun 04 '13 at 20:55
  • @user157733 They are all over if you search for them. Try [this one](http://www.raywenderlich.com/13771/how-to-use-git-source-control-with-xcode-in-ios-6). – woz Jun 04 '13 at 20:56
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This answer is deprecated with the shutdown of Testflight.

You can access a plist file, but you can not access source code. I've updated the question title to reflect what you're trying to do. :)

From your list of apps, click on the one you'd like to download, then click on the build. On the left, click "Permissions", scroll down, and click the link under "Share This Build". On that page, click "download the IPA" under manual installation.

An IPA file is actually a ZIP archive, so change the file extension and unzip it. Inside the Payload directory you'll find a App file. Right click on it and select "Show Package Contents". Here you have all the resources being used by the app, including your plist.

Note that you can not access the source code in this manner because it is compiled into ARM machine code.

wjl
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    Brilliant many thanks :D Now I need to get using git ;) – user157733 Jun 04 '13 at 21:06
  • I cant get old files from testflight. I dont have that option.. the FAQs say you're right but from what I see it isn't possible – Daij-Djan Jun 04 '13 at 21:16
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    This worked for me and I was able to access the file. You have saved me hours of work. Thank you so much :D – user157733 Jun 04 '13 at 21:59
  • @Daij-Djan did you delete your old builds after uploading a new one? Perhaps they're still in your Xcode Archive. Export them from there and then just follow the rest of the process with that IPA. – wjl Jun 04 '13 at 22:03
  • This was the correct answer but they have remove this option. – Ido Ran Feb 10 '15 at 12:37
  • @IdoRan thanks, I updated the answer but I'll keep it up for historical purposes – wjl Feb 11 '15 at 00:09
  • @wjl Turn out you are correct, the only thing to add is that you must add the user you logged in with to get the option of downloading the IPA – Ido Ran Feb 12 '15 at 06:55