Next Steps After Getting Started

Let's say you've figured out how to set up Theos, you know enough Objective-C to fool around, you know a little about how to use Cydia Substrate, and basically you've read all the beginner tutorials - what do you read next to learn more about jailbroken development as you experiment with building your own project? We should have a set of "next steps" tutorials for you!

These ones haven't been written yet, but it would be pretty cool for somebody to write them...maybe you? Anyone can start a page and begin writing some explanations, or you can just start filling out the sections below with more information. (Also, if you have an idea for a tutorial that you would like to see, feel free to add it to this list - it might inspire somebody to write an explanation of that thing you want to learn about.)

Using Development Tools

Changing System Volume with AVSystemController and Cycript

• assumes the reader has basic Cycript and Objective-C knowledge
• takes the reader on a journey through AVSystemController's methods using cycript
• documents the thought process (ex. "-getVolume:(float*)arg1 forCategory:(id)arg2 indicates that there are different categories of volumes and they each have their own values")
• ends with using the information learned to make a really simple command line utility

Dynamic Method Hooking With Cycript

• assumes the reader has basic Cycript and Objective-C knowledge
• showcases Cycript's ability to hook methods
• hook some example methods to display benefits of dynamic hooking

What's %ctor good for?

%ctor is a logos directive which resolves to static __atribute_((constructor)) void _logosLocalCtor_<8 hex characters>()", which is a function that runs when your dylib is loaded.

The syntax is similar to that of a function. An example is shown below:

%ctor {
    //This runs when your tweak gets loaded into the target process
    NSlog(@"My tweak has loaded!");
}

%ctor can be useful for performing any setup, for example, instantiating variables or reading your tweak's preferences.

However, there are certain things which %ctor is not for. Do not use UIKit elements, perform time consuming algorithms or communicate over the network.

It will probably minimize headache if you keep your %ctor use to just the bare minimum, and rather perform any extraneous setup at a later point.

Dissecting App Store Apps

• shows how to dump headers for an app binary (see also Reverse Engineering Tools)

Integrating with Third Party Frameworks and Libraries

Building Tweak Settings with PreferenceLoader

• goes through the process of building simple tweak preferences that are shown in Settings
• shows the correct way to read/write to those settings in your tweak code
• also shows how to use popular third party additions such as AppList / libcolorpicker / Activator

Your First Flipswitch

• explains the idea behind the Flipswitch framework
• goes through the different methods / objects you'll probably be using
• shows how to build a simple flipswitch (ex. a simple flashlight toggle)

Integrating Your Tweak With Activator

• goes through the Activator library
• dos / don't of the Activator API
• demo a simple Activator event (ex. got a notification from a specific app)
• demo a simple Activator listener (ex. show an alert)