I'd like to backup and restore files (or other type of informations like key-value, SQL-like transaction based info.) for NOT ONLY my app but also all the other Apps using iCloud.
I'm just new to iCloud and read only a few documents but it seems iCloud APIs are just for single App boundary (of course I understand there is an option for sharing information between 'Group' of applications).
What I want to do is backup and restore almost everything. How can I do that?
(There some apps doing this like
http://www.copytrans.net/copytranscontacts.php
http://www.macrumors.com/2012/05/18/elcomsofts-phone-forensics-software-offers-near-real-time-access-to-icloud-backups/)
I checked that the some of the Mobile App files are stored inside the "~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup" directory but there are only some of the files from all the files actually stored in iCloud.
And I tested CloudKit, but it just takes control over App's own data only.
Thanks in advance.
One thing to keep in mind when thinking about this is that iTunes actually doesn't backup or restore anything to/from iCloud. iOS device does it on its own: there's a daemon process running and if iCloud Backup is enabled, it will backup directly to iCloud, without talking to iTunes. Restore is also done without interaction with iTunes.
Next, as #rmaddy pointed out, your app on the device cannot access files of other apps, so you won't be able to do what you want from the device. If you want to do this via companion app running on PC/Mac then it might be possible, but will depend on what exactly do you need/want.
Re: contacts. Apps can access AddressBook and thus can sync/upload its contents. Apps can also access some other shared data, such as Photo Library. This is still a far cry from your original request to "Backup/Restore data for all Apps".
Re: downloading iCloud backups. Downloading isn't a big deal those days (Disclosure: I am the author of that forensic tool to download iCloud backups you're mentioned). There is even an open-source code for that. However, downloading and restoring are two very different processes. Specifically, you can download, but your app won't have enough permissions to write files in place.
Hope this helps and clears things up.
Related
This is a very theoretical question, but quiet important for me, how I approach my next steps.
I am developing a SwiftUI MacOS app, where a user can upload own files. The metadata getting stored in CoreData and the file I store manually in the file system. At the moment I am using the default file folder for my application.
Soon I want to have a iCloud sync between my Mac OSX app and my iOS app. I read about it and it should work. CoreData should be no problem.
Now to my question if it will be possible to approach it that way I am thinking of:
I would like to create a Finder Sync Extension for my Mac OSX app, so I get a own folder, which can be added to the favorites and be observed. I want all my local files to be stored there. That should work..
Will I am able to sync these files which are stored in the Finder Sync Extension with iCloud to my iOS app?
Can I create a extension on iOS aswell, to display these files?
I am not storing my documents in a Data blob of the CoreData or allowing External Storage. I store all manually. Will I am able to still sync my documents via iCloud.
All in all, I want to know if I can store my files in the Finder folder, and still keep them synced with iCloud to iOS? If that is not possible, please let me know. Would be interesting to know in forehand.
A Finder Sync Extension should not "do" any syncing. In fact, Apple specifically recommends that a separate background process be used for any networking-like activity:
It’s generally best if the extension focuses on handling the badges, contextual menus, and toolbar buttons. Place in a separate service (a Login Item or Launch Agent) any code that performs the sync, updates state, or communicates with remote data sources. This approach ensures that there is only one syncing service running at a time.
https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/General/Conceptual/ExtensibilityPG/Finder.html
A Finder Sync Extension is used to provide file badges, menus, and otherwise modify the UI of Finder.
Adding a Finder extension doesn't give you a folder, let alone one that syncs.
You need to provide the folder and all sandbox details related to that. Your main app and/or background process needs to provide the syncing service.
In summary, your main app handles all of the syncing.
The Finder Extension only updates the UI for certain folders. It doesn't provide any syncing itself. So any "syncing with iCloud" question you have should be asked independently of the Finder Sync Extension context.
I want to keep an apps documents directory that contains sqlite using core data files in sync across users' devices. The sqlite files are the only files in the apps documents directory and simply need to be common to all users' devices
I've tried zipping up the sqlite files to send by email, which works with iTunes file sharing but is not suitable for my needs as it can expose the files to other users' devices.
I've tried using app groups to keep the directory common across devices http://blog.sam-oakley.co.uk/post/92323630293/sharing-core-data-between-app-and-extension-in-ios,
and
Accessing Core Data SQL Database in iOS 8 Extension (Sharing Data Between App and Widget Extension) but that simply did not share the directory across devices for me.
I've sent the file to parse, but pulling them down and reconfiguring the data was the problem there.
I've tried using iCloud and even the Apple engineer gave up on that one.
What I'm after is the simplicity of file sharing through iTunes (being able to replace the sqlite files) with a bit more finesse and without the need to plug in the device.
Some considerations
The whole model can be synced in one go
Data does not need constant syncing facilities, a manual sync option would suffice.
I need to store files(text/pdf) to the device memory permanently. If I write to documents directory, my files get erased once my app is uninstalled. So I need an isolated directory, like the gallery. Can somebody help me with this?
Since Apps live in Sandboxes you can not store files outside the App´s Sandbox. You could use iCloud or another Backup System and from there the user could restore the files when the App was deleted.
As far as I know, you can't, and that is for a good reason. There would be no way for the user to control how much memory you are using, nor a way for them to free that memory. Your documents should be removed when the app is removed. If you need persistent storage, store it yourself, on a remote server; don't try to pollute the user's device.
You should take a look at the UIDocumentInteractionController
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UIKit/Reference/UIDocumentInteractionController_class/
As far as I know this is the only way.
I'm new to IOS development so this is probably a silly question that is easy to answer.
I have created an IOS App using Core Data and CloudKit. It is successfully syncing with iCloud Drive running on IOS 8.1.1
The app is functioning, and iCloud is syncing the data with multiple devices correctly, but I would like to know how to use a web browser to locate the files that are stored remotely in my iCloud Drive account.
It is not located in the iCloud Drive folder with the data from other IOS applications on www.iCloud.com and although I can find the name of the datastore in the iCloud Container section of my Developer profile, I cannot see how to access it directly from a browser.
Is there a way that I can access the stored data externally to test it for security and also to monitor it's size?
Thanks for your help!
I don't know if you can see it using the web interface. You might be able to use the iCloud browser in Xcode to see the files, but I don't think that works either.
The way I usually do it is to open Terminal, and cd into ~/Library/Mobile Documents, and then into the container for your app. The iCloud data should be in there.
(Note you can't use Finder because it hides all data outside Documents.)
I'm trying to store analytics data that is saved locally about a user's actions so it can be uploaded later when the user has an internet connection. I'd like the data to be stored locally and not deleted between subsequent opens of the app under normal circumstances. I do not want the data to be synced to iCloud. I'd also ideally like the data to be preserved between updates. It's fine if the data gets deleted in cases of low space.
I'm getting different answers from different sources about where to store the data- either in NSCachesDirectory or NSLibraryDirectory. Note NSCachesDirectory is a subdirectory of NSLibraryDirectory, eg. the filesystem looks like Application_Home/Library/Caches/.
According to the official documentation: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/iPhone/Conceptual/iPhoneOSProgrammingGuide/PerformanceTuning/PerformanceTuning.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40007072-CH8-SW9 implies I should use NSCachesDirectory to store the data and it is not deleted under most circumstances. It also implies NSLibraryDirectory is synced to iCloud.
According to these answers: How can I get a writable path on the iPhone?, https://stackoverflow.com/a/5444762/340520/, When are files from NSCachesDirectory removed?, NSCachesDirectory is not preserved between app updates and claims that I must constantly recreate the NSCachesDirectory. The first answer also implies NSLibraryDirectory is the best place to store the data. However those answers are two years old.
According to the documentation and this answer: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/iPhone/Conceptual/iPhoneOSProgrammingGuide/PerformanceTuning/PerformanceTuning.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40007072-CH8-SW10, https://stackoverflow.com/a/8830746/340520, NSCachesDirectory ARE preserved between app updates.
Localytics' iOS SDK stores their data in NSCachesDirectory: https://github.com/twobitlabs/Localytics-iOS/blob/master/src/LocalyticsDatabase.m
Mixpanel's iOS SDK stores their data in NSLibraryDirectory: https://github.com/mixpanel/mixpanel-iphone/blob/master/Mixpanel/Mixpanel.m
Between all these sources, I've been leaning toward using NSCachesDirectory, but I'm not confident that the data won't get regularly deleted under some circumstances.
NSCachesDirectory is the wrong place to store persistent information that you will need across app starts or even device re-starts.
To prove my point try this ...
Get a iPhone device that has only 8GB disk space.
Use your app to write a file in the NSCachesDirectory.
Start downloading random apps to fill up the disk space. Very soon you will see the Storage limit dialog shown by the OS.
Now just re-start your phone, start the app and see if you can find your file that you wrote.
If the first time you find the file, try the experiment again and you will find your file missing. During the device startup, if you see the device logs you will notice logs indicating purging directory to make space etc.
Use NSCachesDirectory to store information you can keep downloading from your server. Not information that you need to upload to your server.
The Caches directory should only be used for files that your app can easily replace if they are deleted. The Caches directory is may or may not be purged during an app update and possibly if the device runs out of storage space. Only use this for temporary files or files you can easily replace.
My first choice would be the Library/Application Support directory (NSApplicationSupportDirectory). Please note that this directory is not created by default. Your app must create it on first startup. This path is kept during app updates (like most of the app sandbox) and it is backed up via iTunes (or iCloud) device backup.
I think the best place is Library/Application Support (NSApplicationSupportDirectory) refer How do I prevent files from being backed up to iCloud and iTunes? for details.