Icy is a discontinued

package manager A package manager or package-management system is a collection of software tools that automates the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing computer programs for a computer in a consistent manner. A package manager deals w ...

for jailbroken iPhone and

iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...

, originally created and maintained by Ripdev, which allows users to browse and download

mobile apps A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on ...

from a range of sources. Most apps were available to download for free, with some requiring purchase after downloading, including other software created by Ripdev, such as Kate. Apps are downloaded directly to iPhone or iPod Touch and are generally located in the /Applications/ directory, in the same place where "Apple native" apps are located. The Icy Project was closed on October 24, 2009, and the source code was released under the

MIT License The MIT License is a permissive free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the late 1980s. As a permissive license, it puts only very limited restriction on reuse and has, therefore, high license co ...

."Icy, our lightweight DPKG installer, is now available in source form under MIT license. You're free to do whatever you want with it. It would be nice if someone picks up the project…" - From the Ripdev website Icy Installer was then taken over by two development teams, WeAmDev and Infini-Dev.

History

Icy was intended as an alternative to

Cydia Cydia is a graphical user interface of APT (Advanced Package Tool) for iOS. It enables a user to find and install software not authorized by Apple on jailbroken iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices. It also refers to digital distribution pl ...

as a source of unofficial apps, since development on

Installer.app Installer.app was a freeware software installer for the iPhone created by Nullriver and later maintained by RipDev, first released in summer 2007 and maintained until summer 2009. Installer allowed users to install third-party applications into ...

(created by Nullriver) was discontinued. The purpose of developing Icy was to create a package manager that used

APT Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment. Apt may also refer to: Places * Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence * Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France * A ...

which is the same method used by Cydia, therefore making Icy compatible with Cydia sources, that was faster and more lightweight than Cydia.Icy's source code
Icy
/ref> The Icy Project was closed on October 24, 2009, and the source code was released under the

. The Icy Project was picked up by WeAmDev. The latest version is the beta 2.3, which has support for

iOS 7 iOS 7 is the seventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 6. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, 2013, and was released on September ...

. A group called Infini Dev, has also taken up the project of reviving Icy. They have created this version from RipDev's source code and called their Icy version 1.5.1. Icy 1.4.7 added support to the iPad. The development member is Sammy Guichelaar. Icy development has been halted in early 2014. It does not support iOS 9. Infini-Dev dropped Icy Support in order to support

Installer X Installation (or setup) of a computer program (including device drivers and plugins), is the act of making the program ready for execution. Installation refers to the particular configuration of a software or hardware with a view to making it usa ...

, a package manager for legacy devices.

References

{{iOS IOS software Homebrew software IOS jailbreaking