The TrollRestore utility that recently made waves as the first public TrollStore installer for iOS & iPadOS 17.0 is being used for a lot more than just TrollStore, it seems. The SparseRestore exploit that it’s taking advantage of is already being used by the MisakaX device customization tool, as well as a similar project called Nugget by iOS developer LeminLimez – the same developer who brought us Cowabunga and Cowabunga Lite.
Nugget is a lot like MisakaX, except that it’s a command line-based tool (this means it runs via Terminal) and it’s fully open source. While the MisakaX tool offers end users a graphical user interface, it is not currently open source. With that in mind, some users may find Nugget to be a bit more preferrable given the nature of these kinds of off-the-shelf hacks.
According to the Read Me file for Nugget, the utility is capable of many forms of device customization, including but not limited to:
- Enabling the Dynamic Island on any device
- Chaing the device model name (what is shown in the Settings app)
- Enabling the boot chime
- Enabling the charging limit
- Enabling Stage Manager
- Disabling the wallpaper parallax effect
- Disabling region restrictions (such as the shutter sound)
- Enabling Always-on Display on any device
- Showing the Apple Pencil options in the Settings app
- Showing the Action Button options in the Settings app
- Showing Internal Storage information (problematic on some devices)
- Enabling the Lock Screen clock animation, Lock Screen page duplication button, and more…
The developer also notes that the region restrictions feature will not grant users access to AltStore PAL-style sideloading outside of the European Union at this time, but that’s purportedly planned for a future update. It remains to be seen just how viable this might be.
The list of available features is slightly different from that of MisakaX, despite some overlap. Likewise, the respective developers of both projects are continuously updating each with new features, bug fixes, and improvements.
Users will need to have Python on their computer to make use of Nugget, which is likely already the case if you’ve used TrollRestore to install TrollStore on your iPhone or iPad. From that point, it’s a matter of running the program with the requirements and steps below (per the Read Me file):
## Running the Program
Requirements:
– pymobiledevice3Note: It is highly recommended to use a virtual environment:
“`
python -m venv .env # only needed once
source .env/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt # only needed once
python main_app.py
“`## Getting the File
You need to get the mobilegestalt file that is specific to your device. To do that, follow these steps:
1. Install the `Shortcuts` app from the iOS app store.
2. Download this shortcut: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/d6f0a136ddda4714a80750512911c53b
3. Save the file and share it to your computer.
4. Place it in the same folder as the python file (or specify the path in the program)
Nugget was originally hosted on LeminLimez’ GitHub, but the developer’s profile was recently suspended by GitHub for no apparent reason. The developer is fighting to get answers and restore the profile, along with the Nugget repository, as quickly as possible. For the time being, LeminLimez is currently hosting Nugget as a downloadable file in the Cowabunga Discord server, which anyone is free to join.
Nugget is compatible with all iOS & iPadOS versions 17.0 and later. The developer strongly encourages caution, as use of the tool can cause boot loops if you don’t know what you’re doing. Use at your own risk.
Will you be taking advantage of Nugget? Let us know in the comments section down below.