Gain user-space access to hardware devices and drivers using IOKit.

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Protocol availability inconsistencies related to modern serial layers
I am currently writing a iPadOS application to act as a companion to the desktop version that controls a piece of hardware via a USB CDC serial connection. Due to modern iPads having USB-C ports for the last 2 years and the ability to attach certain USB devices via adaptors since the origin of the 30pin doc connector I would expect protocol availability to be fairly complete. So then why is it that the headers required to use USB CDC serial don't exist and if you make them yourself you need to use illegal symbols so you can't upload it to App Store connect. Where as USB CDC ethernet has full support along with Bluetooth RFCOMM (rs232 serial over bluetooth) and even USB MIDI given that midi is a superset of serial. So why isn't there a USB CDC serial kit/api/even just allowing a data stream to the TTY/CU port? If there is a way please tell me what it is and point me to the documentation.
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5k
Dec ’23
iOS cpu/gpu/battery temperature readings
Good day! I'm interested in if there is any way to query CPU/GPU/Battery temperature values on recent iOS systems? I've tried to search forums for "cpu temp", "ios temperature", "battery temperature" etc., but didn't find anything. There was only mentioned some old private API which was supposed to work somehow for iOS<10. All the examples I've found didn't even compile. All the requests and suggestions are pretty old and seems irrelevant. So I decided to bump this topic. Are there any updates? Any hints and suggestions are highly appreciated! Best regards!
4
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5.4k
Oct ’23
Can't add custom property into IORegistry on iPadOS 16
We are developing driver for our USB device. Our approach is to run and test driver on macOS first and then verify on iPadOS 16. In the driver we add custom property -"kUSBSerialNumberString" into default properties: OSDictionary * Driver::devicePropertiesWithSerialNumber() {     kern_return_t ret;     OSDictionary *properties = NULL;     OSDictionary *dictionary = NULL;     OSObjectPtr value;     const IOUSBDeviceDescriptor *deviceDescriptor;     deviceDescriptor = ivars->device->CopyDeviceDescriptor();          ret = CopyProperties(&properties);     value = copyStringAtIndex(deviceDescriptor->iSerialNumber, kIOUSBLanguageIDEnglishUS);     Log("Serial number: %{public}s", ((OSString *)value)->getCStringNoCopy());          dictionary = OSDictionary::withDictionary(properties, 0);     OSSafeReleaseNULL(properties);     if (value) {         OSDictionarySetValue(dictionary, "kUSBSerialNumberString", value);         OSSafeReleaseNULL(value);     }     return  dictionary; } next in kern_return_t IMPL(Driver, Start) we call SetProperties:     ret = SetProperties(devicePropertiesWithSerialNumber());     if(ret != kIOReturnSuccess) {         Log("Start() - Failed to set properties: 0x%08x.", ret);         goto Exit;     } We can read our property on macOS using:     func getDeviceProperty(device: io_object_t, key: String) -> AnyObject? {         IORegistryEntryCreateCFProperty(             device, key as CFString, kCFAllocatorDefault, .zero         )?.takeRetainedValue()     }         if let serialNumber = getDeviceProperty(device: driver, key: "kUSBSerialNumberString") {             print("serialNumber: \(serialNumber)")         } However getDevicePropertyon iPadOS returns nil. We are wondering is any limitation for IORegistry entries(properties) on iPadOS16? Is any way to add custom property to IORegistry? BTW, we added debug method to print all the available properties for IORegistry:     private func debugRegistry(device: io_object_t) {         var dictionary: Unmanaged<CFMutableDictionary>?         IORegistryEntryCreateCFProperties(device, &dictionary, kCFAllocatorDefault, .zero)         if let dictionary = dictionary {             let values = dictionary.takeUnretainedValue()             print(values)         }     } It returns just 1 property for iPadOS: { IOClass = IOUserService; } and much more for macOS including our custom one: { CFBundleIdentifier = "****"; CFBundleIdentifierKernel = "com.apple.kpi.iokit"; IOClass = IOUserService; IOMatchCategory = "***"; IOMatchedPersonality = { CFBundleIdentifier = "****"; CFBundleIdentifierKernel = "com.apple.kpi.iokit"; IOClass = IOUserService; IOMatchCategory = "****"; IOPersonalityPublisher = "****"; IOProviderClass = IOUSBHostInterface; IOResourceMatch = IOKit; IOUserClass = Driver; IOUserServerCDHash = 9cfd03b5c1b90da709ffb1455a053c5d7cdf47ac; IOUserServerName = "*****"; UserClientProperties = { IOClass = IOUserUserClient; IOUserClass = DriverUserClient; }; bConfigurationValue = 1; bInterfaceNumber = 1; bcdDevice = 512; idProduct = XXXXX; idVendor = XXXXX; }; IOPersonalityPublisher = "*****"; IOPowerManagement = { CapabilityFlags = 2; CurrentPowerState = 2; MaxPowerState = 2; }; IOProbeScore = 100000; IOProviderClass = IOUSBHostInterface; IOResourceMatch = IOKit; IOUserClass = Driver; IOUserServerCDHash = 9cfd03b5c1b90da709ffb1455a053c5d7cdf47ac; IOUserServerName = "*****"; UserClientProperties = { IOClass = IOUserUserClient; IOUserClass = DriverUserClient; }; bConfigurationValue = 1; bInterfaceNumber = 1; bcdDevice = 512; idProduct = XXXXX; idVendor = XXXXXX; kUSBSerialNumberString = XXXXXXXXXXX; }
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1.2k
Sep ’23
ASUS XONAR PCI Audio Card kext signing/distribution
hi, so i have a little bit of work left on the Asus Xonar family of audio devices. thanks to APPUL's samplepciaudiodriver code and their excellent documentation, Evegeny Gavrilov's kxAudio driver for MAC and Takashi Iwai's exceptional documentation of the ALSA API i have something that is ready for testing. the stats look good, but unfortunately i this is my second HDAV1.3 deluxe. the other one is also in the same room consuming all of my devices with powered audio outputs. no matter, i am in the process of acquiring another xonar sound card in this family. which brings me to my question: what is the benefit of getting an apple developer account for 99 dollars a year? will i be able to distribute a beta kext with my signature that will allow people to test the binary? i don't think others could run a self-signed kext built on one machine, on another, correct? so would a developer license allow others to test a binary built on my machine, assuming they're x86? my hope is that the developer program would allow me to test the binaries and solicit input from enthusiast mac pro owners WORLD WIDE. i them hope to create a new program that will give us the wealth mixers/controls this fantastic line is capable of providing.
6
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2.1k
Nov ’23
IOPSCopyPowerSourcesInfo → kIOPSBatteryHealthKey returning incorrect value
IOPSCopyPowerSourcesInfo → kIOPSBatteryHealthKey returning incorrect value Background: I write software to monitor computer system health. I'm having problems getting battery health information on my new M2 notebook. Given the following Objective-C program: #include <Foundation/NSObjCRuntime.h> #include <IOKit/ps/IOPSKeys.h> #include <IOKit/ps/IOPowerSources.h> #include <assert.h> int main() { CFTypeRef psInfo = IOPSCopyPowerSourcesInfo(); assert(psInfo != NULL); CFArrayRef list = IOPSCopyPowerSourcesList(psInfo); assert(list != NULL); long count = CFArrayGetCount(list); for(long i = 0; i < count; i++) { CFDictionaryRef ps = IOPSGetPowerSourceDescription( psInfo, CFArrayGetValueAtIndex(list, i)); assert(ps != NULL); CFStringRef deviceName = (CFStringRef)CFDictionaryGetValue( ps, CFSTR(kIOPSNameKey)); assert(deviceName != NULL); CFStringRef serialNumber = (CFStringRef)CFDictionaryGetValue( ps, CFSTR(kIOPSHardwareSerialNumberKey)); assert(serialNumber != NULL); CFStringRef health = (CFStringRef)CFDictionaryGetValue( ps, CFSTR(kIOPSBatteryHealthKey)); assert(health != NULL); NSLog(@"\nName=\"%@\"\nSerialNumber=\"%@\"\n" "BatteryHealth=\"%@\"\n", (__bridge NSString*)deviceName, (__bridge NSString*)serialNumber, (__bridge NSString*)health); } CFRelease(list); CFRelease(psInfo); return 0; } and looking at the IOPSKeys.h header, I expect to get one of "Poor", "Fair", or "Good" for the value of kIOPSBatteryHealthKey. https://opensource.apple.com/source/IOKitUser/IOKitUser-1845.81.1/ps.subproj/IOPSKeys.h.auto.html Instead, on my 2022 M2 Macbook Air running 13.2.1 (22D68), I get the following output: Name="InternalBattery-0" SerialNumber="F8Y2422145S10X2A7" BatteryHealth="Check Battery" At the same time, the "System Information app says "Condition: Normal". Am I missing something? This seems to be a bug, right? Should I look into filing a Technical Support Incident?
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1k
Aug ’23
AudioDriverKit Sample Project Dext Not Running Properly
Hello, I am trying to run a sample project from Apple's Developer Documentation that creates and interfaces with a DriverKit Dext. The project can be found here: Creating an Audio Device Driver. I have followed all the steps in the README.md file: downloading the code, enabling automatic signing, building the app, moving it to the Applications folder, and launching it. I then open the app, press "Install Dext", enable it through System Preferences, and receive the message "SoundboardDriver has been activated and is ready to use." However, the audio device does not appear in the MIDI app, there is no mention of it in the IORegistry, and I get the message “Driver extension is not running” when I try to press "Open User Client". Is there another step I need to follow to get the app running? Perhaps it's an entitlement issue? I don't see any error/fault message in the console app relating to the app or driver. I am running MacOS 13.4.1 (22F82) and Xcode 14.3.1 (14E300c). I have tried with and without SIP enabled, but the issue persists. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Best, Henry
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790
Aug ’23
Get /dev file name from IOreg?
Hi. I have a class-compliant usb device which announces its serial number as m4121095, as per its kUSBSerialNumberString property. However, the file name it is provided is tty.usbmodemm41210951 – it's the serial number with an additional 1 at the end. What is the meaning of this appendage? (I'm tempted to believe that the 1 at the end is there in the unlikely case another device with the same SN is connected, but there's no way to test this possibility). In the end, I would like to obtain a filename that is guaranteed to be representing a connection to exactly this device. Can I assume that the filename of a device that follows the same protocol of serial numbering will be consistently appended with a number that can in some way be inferred? Thank you.
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940
Jul ’23
Usage of IOS Private APIs such as IOKit Framework
Hi, I am developping an app for IOS using React Native. I want to write a native modules in Swift and use Objective C to bridge the React Native JS functions with native component. In particular, i want to use IOKit framework to access such information as Battery Temperature and Battery Level. I read in many stackoverflow articles and in ChatGPT that the usage of IOS Private APIs are forbidden andd Apple will reject the app from AppStore and block the account. Is it true? Is there any legal way to use low level APIs and avoid to be rejected or blocked by Apple? The official Apple Technical Support is not responding me. I would really appreciate your help and support. Best Regards, Kamran
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1.8k
Aug ’23
kIOMessageDeviceWillPowerOff notification doesn't work as expected
Hello, I try to get notifications when the display is turned off (not the screensaver). I've tried the following code (part of it), but it don't work at all (the callback is never called).. I don't get where I did something wrong. Any help or relevant documentation link would be very appreciated .. Thank, volfo io_object_t disp_notifierObject; void* disp_refCon = NULL; kern_return_t disp_registerCode; notifyPortRef = IONotificationPortCreate(kIOMainPortDefault); display_wrangler = IOServiceGetMatchingService( kIOMainPortDefault, IOServiceNameMatching("IODisplayWrangler")); // register to receive display sleep notifications disp_registerCode = IOServiceAddInterestNotification( notifyPortRef, display_wrangler, kIOGeneralInterest, CBDisplaySleep, NULL, &disp_notifierObject); if ( disp_registerCode != kIOReturnSuccess ) { printf("IOServiceAddInterestNotification failed\n"); return 2; } CFRunLoopAddSource( CFRunLoopGetCurrent(), IONotificationPortGetRunLoopSource(notifyPortRef), kCFRunLoopCommonModes ); IOObjectRelease (display_wrangler);
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528
Aug ’23
Can I tell if a system is awake/asleep?
macOS, really, so there are a bunch of things that may be running during various types of sleep. I know I can get notifications from IOKit about the system going to sleep or waking up, but if I've got a daemon that crashed, and is then relaunched automatically, can I tell whether the machine is awake, or in some sort of sleep state other than hibernation?
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460
Aug ’23
Restrict access to user space applications accessing a kernel extension
I have developed a kernel extension (KEXT) for driving SCSI devices and I am able to successfully use it to send commands to the underlying device. The driver class overrides the newUserClient method which gets called whenever IOServiceOpen is called from the user space so that apps can make use of the driver. Is there any way to restrict access to this kernel extension such that only my app would be able to open a user client to access the driver and communicate with it using IOConnectCallMethod?
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725
Aug ’23
Enumerating HID devices triggers "Input Monitoring" alert.
Using IOHIDManagerCopyDevices to get a list of keyboards and mice attached to Mac, triggers the user facing "Input Monitoring" request. Because I'm NOT monitoring the users input, the result of the user selection makes no difference to the result, but the privacy warning dialog makes my app look suspicious. All it is doing is checking to make sure that the customer has a non-Bluetooth keyboard or mouse, before they click the button to disable Bluetooth. Is there a way a safe way (no private API please) to enumerate HID devices without this warning, or should I file a feedback asking Apple to reconsider what triggers this dialog?
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578
Aug ’23
How to connect and communicate iPhone/iPad to an External Camera by using External Accessory framework?
Hi, currently I have a project to develop a customized iOS/iPadOS app that is expected to can connect and communicate an External Cameras to iPhone/iPad device through USB Connection. The app should be able to access the taken photo from the External Cameras and/or take a shot executed by the app. The external camera manufacturers are like Canon, Nikon, and Sony. As references, there are some apps that have that capability above released in Appstore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/camera-connect-control/id1457548017 https://apps.apple.com/id/app/image-capture-go/id1606632530?platform=iphone As far as I know, I can connect to the Camera by using External Accessory framework provided by Apple as long the external device is MFi program supported and I have the detail of command protocol of the the device used. In my case, Canon Camera is listed as MFi device in https://mfi.apple.com/account/accessory-search. But I don't have the detailed command protocol of the device to communicate with. Questions: Is my understanding related External Accessory framework correct? How to connect and communicate external camera to iPhone/iPad via USB by using External Accessory framework? Is there any other work around to do the things like the reference apps in Appstore above? Thank you very much.
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1
581
Aug ’23
Error in C++ Compilation
Hello, I get the following error while compiling software, which is related to Apple libs. /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX13.3.sdk/usr/include/c++/v1/__memory/unique_ptr.h:173:32: error: member 'nullptr_t' declared as a template _LIBCPP_CONSTEXPR unique_ptr(nullptr_t) _NOEXCEPT : _ptr(__value_init_tag(), __value_init_tag()) {} What should I do?
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564
Aug ’23
Entitlements for a virtual audio driver including IOUserClient
Dear Sirs, I’d like to write a virtual audio driver that also exchanges data with a application and thus probably also offers a driver extension using IOUserClient. My first implementation was based on the sample https://developer.apple.com/documentation/audiodriverkit/creating_an_audio_device_driver and everything works fine and as expected on my development machine and I can install/uninstall the dext from within my application. But I had to learn that I will not be given the required entitlement com.apple.developer.driverkit.family.audio as AudioDriverKit seems to be not intended to be used for virtual drivers. So I found out that this sample should be used as starting point for virtual audio drivers: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coreaudio/creating_an_audio_server_driver_plug-in. But this sample does not include a dext offering the IOUserClient interface which I think I need. The next sample I found was https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coreaudio/building_an_audio_server_plug-in_and_driver_extension . This doesn’t use AudioDriverKit and it includes IOUserClient so it seems to be a good start. Nevertheless it also requires some entitlements which are com.apple.developer.driverkit and com.apple.developer.driverkit.transport.usb. The client also probably needs the entitlement com.apple.developer.driverkit.userclient-access. Would I be given these entitlements for a pure virtual audio driver and why would I need com.apple.developer.driverkit.transport.usb? And is there a chance that AudioDriverKit will also be opened for virtual drivers as it seems to be a much more modern approach and doesn’t require a reboot for installing? Thanks and best regards, Johannes
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922
Aug ’23
Restore dext settings on startup
Dear Sirs, I've written a driver extension that can be configured through a user mode application. Now when the system reboots I'd like to start the dext again with the latest configuration right from the beginning and before the user mode applications is started (if it is started at all). What is the recommended way to do this and is there an example available? Should I do this using configuration files and through a special file API inside the dext or is there a kind of registry, or should I use sysctl variables and sysctlbyname? Thanks and best regards, Johannes
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467
Sep ’23
Check whether there has been any iOS SDK framework or program that support developing a custom driver for our own hardware device via USB type C port (after the release of the new iPhone 15 with type C port supported)
I'd like to check whether there has been (or there will be) any iOS SDK framework or program that support developing a custom driver for our own hardware device via USB type C port, especially after the release of the new iPhone 15 with type C port supported. In addition, I'd like to understand how the app review process will work if we're releasing a Crypto Wallet application that utilizes the cold wallet hardware device, will it be necessary for us to send a set of hardware over to the Apple review team, or the app review can be arranged without the actual device?
3
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841
Oct ’23
getting device manufacturer name and device serial number programatically in mac
Hi, I am an absolute beginner at IOKit registry and have a usecase to obtain the device manufacturer name, device serial number and device USB vendor name progrmatically. I m able to obtain the same using ioreg command but I wanted to get these values within my program. Thanks in advance. Device serial number: ioreg -rd1 -c IOPlatformExpertDevice | grep 'IOPlatformSerialNumber' Device manufacturer name: ioreg -rd1 -c IOPlatformExpertDevice | grep 'manufacturer' USB device vendor names: ioreg -rd1 -c IOUSBHostDevice | grep "USB Vendor Name"
1
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534
Oct ’23
Using DriverKit to simulate graphics tablet input
Hi, My goal is to enable this project https://github.com/evidlo/remarkable_mouse to provide native tablet inputs with full information to applications on MacOS, allowing me to reuse my reMarkable tablet for the computer instead of having to buy yet another device, such as a Wacom tablet or an iPad Pro for sidecar when the necessary hardware is already in my posession. I would like to understand whether it is possible to use DriverKit in order to simulate a graphics tablet input device with extra inputs such as pressure and tilt in user-space. Or is this something where IOKit or other comes into play, requiring the creation of a kernel space driver? In either case, what would be the right steps to take? How would I create a virtual device and what are the limitations? If you have the knowledge, how complex would you consider this project to be? The path should basically be some inter-process communication from remarkable_mouse, possibly file-based, triggering tablet events through the driver. At least in the first stage. I assume better performance would be achieved if the whole system was self-contained but porting the reMarkable communication is another challenge on its own. I am experienced developing in other environments but MacOS and driver development are fairly new to me. I've read through the documentation on how to handle the tablet events but creating them seems much murkier. I have searched around for this specific topic without getting much. An open-source tablet driver would be a great place to start but sadly I found none. I've also inquired with ChatGPT but only got high level tips and pseudocode. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!
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545
Oct ’23