quokka

Quokka is a Mac command-line tool for inspecting and managing an iPhone that is connected over USB. It lets you see storage details, battery state, installed apps, media files, and a live stream of what the phone is doing internally, all without needing to jailbreak the device or install anything on the phone itself.

The main use cases are freeing up storage and debugging. Running qk analyze shows you the heaviest media files and lets you pick which ones to delete from an interactive list. qk apps lists every installed user app sorted by size and can uninstall individual apps directly from the terminal. qk logs opens a live log viewer in the terminal so you can watch what the phone's system is doing in real time, which is useful when testing an iOS app. There is also a command to generate a stylized snapshot image of the phone's current state, similar to a system information card.

All communication with the phone runs through the same USB connection system that tools like iTunes use, so no special permissions or developer certificates are needed beyond the standard trust confirmation that appears on the iPhone screen when you first plug it in. iOS 17 or newer is required.

Installation on a Mac is one command via Homebrew. There is also a one-line curl install and a source build path for developers using Rust. Two command names are available: the full quokka and the shorter qk, which do the same thing.

The tool is built in Rust using a library called idevice that handles the low-level iPhone communication protocol. It supports multiple connected iPhones at once, letting you target a specific device by ID. The project is MIT licensed and includes contribution guides, an architecture document, and a changelog.