AltDirect (Official)

by CelloSerenity

A tiny, dependency‑free static helper page for launching AltStore Sources (AltSources) in your preferred sideloading app. Paste or pass an AltSource feed URL and quickly open it in your preferred sideloader.

Live page: https://altdirect.app/

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Note

To distribute notarized AltStore sources (i.e. AltStore PAL sources), utilize https://api.altstore.io/source/example.com?app=com.developer.myapp instead of this tool.

What it does

• Generates “Open in …” buttons for:

  • AltStore Classic
  • Feather
  • LiveContainer
  • SideStore
  • StikStore
  • TrollApps

• Supports one‑tap deep linking via the r (redirect target) parameter together with the url parameter.

• Provides convenient actions:

  • Copy Source URL
  • View Source Data (opens the source URL in a new tab)

• Mobile‑friendly UI.

Caution

AltSource URLs including ampersands (&) may encounter issues due to how URLs are handled by some clients and how the site constructs redirect links. If this causes problems in practice, please let me know and it may be addressed in a future update.

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How it works

• If no query parameters are provided, you’ll see a simple form where you can enter a source URL (with Paste and Go actions).
• If ?url=… is present, the page renders “Open in …”, "Copy…" and "View…" redirector buttons, excluding redirects defined by the &exclude=… parameter. Clicking a button updates the URL to include r=<target> while preserving your url and exclude.
• If both ?url=… and &r=… are present, redirect.js immediately redirects the browser to the app’s custom scheme based on r.

Files:

• index.html — UI, query‑param handling, and link generation.
• redirect.js — minimal redirect helper that reads r and url, maps r to an app scheme, and performs window.location.replace(...).
• assets folder — contains pngs and svgs for the logo, as well as "Add AltSource" and "Download .ipa" buttons.

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Usage

Creating Your Link

Create your link using the query parameters below. These parameters are stable and will not be changed in a way that requires updates to your links.

Query Parameters

• ?url (string, optional)
  • The source/feed URL (http/https). Leading/trailing spaces are trimmed (including %20) and, if the scheme is omitted, https:// is automatically prefixed.
  • Example values:
    • https://apps.altstore.io/
    • apps.altstore.io (auto normalization means it becomes https://apps.altstore.io because of how certain apps work)
• &exclude (string, optional)
  • Comma‑separated list of buttons to hide. Valid keys:
    • altstore, feather, livecontainer, sidestore, stikstore, trollapps
  • Example: &exclude=altstore,feather
• &r (string, optional)
  • Valid keys matches exclude. Only one entry.
  • Example: r=sidestore
  • Must be used with url present. When present, the page immediately redirects using these mappings:
    • altstore → altstore-classic://source?url=<url>
    • feather → feather://source/<url>
    • livecontainer → livecontainer://source?url=<url>
    • sidestore → sidestore://source?url=<url>
    • stikstore → stikstore://add-source?url=<url>
    • trollapps → trollapps://add?url=<url>

Image Embedding

Create a link using the parameters outlined above and insert it into the following code snippet (replace the example URL with your source). If you wish, you can also embed a direct download link to an .ipa (replace https://example.com/app.ipa with your link) for image consistency. (The embeds are available in Blue/White, as well as .png/.svg variants)

<!-- you can set the alignment here to left/center/right -->
<h3 align="center">
<a href="https://altdirect.app/?url=https://example.com/source.json"><img src="https://altdirect.app/assets/png/AltSource_Blue.png" target="_blank" width="200">
</a>
<a href="https://example.com/app.ipa"><img src="https://altdirect.app/assets/png/Download_Blue.png" target="_blank" width="200">
</a>
</h3>

Together, they appear as:

Pretty nice, huh?

Warning

Those experienced with html may wonder, why the extra h3 tag? If you remove the tag, the GitHub web markdown renderer adds an uncomfortable blue hyperlink underline between the horizontally stacked images, this fixes that. However, the iOS GitHub app still displays the line, I have yet to find a fix.

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Examples

Note

The URL format and asset links should never be modified in a way that breaks site functionality or requires action on your end. I’m afraid we have moved the domain a couple times, but I promise it won’t happen again and existing links still work.

Using the hosted page at https://altdirect.app:

• Display redirectors for an AltStore Source:
  • https://altdirect.app/?url=https://example.com/source.json
• Hide certain app redirector:
  • https://altdirect.app/?url=https://example.com/source.json&exclude=altstore,feather
• Direct deep link to SideStore (automatic redirect):
  • https://altdirect.app/?url=https://example.com/source.json&r=sidestore
• All three:
  • https://altdirect.app/?url=https://example.com/source.json&r=sidestore&exclude=feather,livecontainer

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Security and privacy

• This page intentionally implements an “open redirect”-style flow via r + url so you can deep‑link into custom app schemes. Only open links from sources you trust. I am not liable for any misuse or adverse effects resulting from following links provided by others.
• There is no tracking or analytics.

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Acknowledgments

• Redirect-supporting apps are trademarks of their respective owners. This project is unaffiliated and simply provides convenience links.
• Stephen for new UI and domain.
• Transistor for the logo and link assets.
• Intradeus, whose redirector the project is based on.
• Riley Testut for the AltStore diamond and invention of AltSources.
• Meshal for the catchy name.

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License

AGPLv3 (software source code)

Branding and assets: Restrictions apply — see LICENSE footer