Aidoku on iOS: Ditching Safari Ads For The Best Manga Reader Setup for iPhone and iPad

Streaming and reading manga on an iPhone or iPad usually forces you to pick your poison: ad-riddled scanlation sites running through Safari, fragmented subscription catalogs, or App Store readers that get pulled every few months.

Android users have enjoyed polished, open-source readers like Mihon and Tachiyomi for years. iOS users, meanwhile, were mostly left squinting through web popups or camping out in Discord servers hoping a TestFlight beta slot would open up.

The standard route to install Aidoku has always been joining their official Discord server and grabbing an invitation link for Apple TestFlight. However, Apple caps TestFlight betas at 10,000 public testers, and Aidoku's slots are perpetually full. Unless you sit around waiting for an inactive account purge, getting in through TestFlight is virtually impossible.

Because the official beta pipeline is bottlenecked by Apple's tester cap, we are bypassing TestFlight entirely. Instead, we will focus on manual sideloading using the official IPA release directly from the Aidoku GitHub repository.

Meet Aidoku, a modern, ad-free, open-source manga reader for iOS and iPadOS. It features a native Swift UI, WebAssembly-based external sources, offline chapter downloads, and tracking integrations for AniList and MyAnimeList.

To run it without jailbreaking or paying Apple a $99 annual developer fee, you pair it with SideStore. SideStore is an untethered, community-driven alternative app store. Unlike classic AltStore setups that demand a running computer on your home network to re-sign apps, SideStore uses an on-device local VPN loopback. Once you complete the initial desktop setup, you can sideload, manage, and refresh Aidoku entirely from your device over Wi-Fi.

To get SideStore onto your device without wrestling with messy dependencies or terminal scripts, we will use iLoader—a streamlined desktop sideloading utility.

The projects and tools are available here:

• Aidoku: https://github.com/Aidoku/Aidoku
• SideStore: https://github.com/SideStore/SideStore
• iLoader: https://iloader.app/

Why You Should Use Aidoku

Aidoku brings the level of customization and polish you would expect from dedicated desktop and Android manga readers, built natively for Apple hardware.

You can:

• Read manga, manhwa, manhua, and webtoons in a clean, distraction-free reader.
• Switch between paginated, double-page, and continuous webtoon vertical scrolling modes.
• Browse and install external sources using community-maintained WebAssembly modules.
• Connect self-hosted media servers such as Komga, Kavita, or Suwayomi.
• Download full chapters for offline reading during flights or commutes.
• Automatically sync reading progress with trackers like AniList and MyAnimeList.
• Import local comic archives in CBZ or ZIP formats.
• Read without ads, third-party analytics trackers, or subscription paywalls.

There is no account or login required by Aidoku itself.

What You Need

Before setting up SideStore and Aidoku, make sure you have:

• An iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 14 or later.
• A computer (Windows PC or Mac) for the initial one-time installation.
• iTunes installed on your computer (crucial for Windows users to provide required Apple Mobile Device communication drivers).
• iLoader downloaded and installed from https://iloader.app/
• A USB Lightning or USB-C cable to connect your device to your computer.
• An active Wi-Fi connection.
• A free Apple ID (using a secondary burner Apple ID is generally recommended for sideloading).
• The latest Aidoku IPA downloaded from https://github.com/Aidoku/Aidoku/releases
• The LocalDevVPN from the App Store.

How to Install SideStore Using iLoader

Before you can install Aidoku cable-free, you must establish SideStore on your device. This is the only phase where your computer and a cable are required.

Step 1: Install iTunes and iLoader on Your Computer

If you are on Windows: Install iTunes before launching iLoader. It is strongly recommended to use the direct standalone Windows installer from Apple rather than the sandboxed version from the Microsoft Store. Restart your PC after installing iTunes so the Apple Mobile Device Service initializes properly.

Next, head to https://iloader.app/ and download the latest iLoader version for your operating system.

Step 2: Connect and Trust Your Device

Plug your iPhone or iPad into your computer using your USB cable. Unlock your screen, tap Trust This Computer when prompted, and enter your device passcode.

Launch iTunes briefly to ensure your device is recognized, then close it.

Step 3: Sideload SideStore via iLoader

1. Open iLoader on your computer.
2. Select your connected iPhone or iPad from the device dropdown list.
3. Sign in with your Apple ID credentials. iLoader uses your account to request a free 7-day personal development certificate from Apple.
4. Choose the option to install SideStore (Stable).
5. iLoader will download the SideStore package, generate the required mobile pairing file, sign the application, and push it to your device.

Once the process finishes, the SideStore icon will appear on your iOS home screen. Keep your phone connected for just a moment longer.

Step 4: Enable Developer Mode (iOS 16 and Newer)

Apple hides the Developer Mode toggle by default until a sideloaded app lands on the device.

1. On your iPhone/iPad, tap the newly installed SideStore icon once. iOS will display a prompt stating that Developer Mode is required.
2. Open the Settings app.
3. Go to Privacy & Security.
4. Scroll to the very bottom of the menu and tap Developer Mode.
5. Toggle Developer Mode to On.
6. Your device will prompt you to reboot. Tap Restart.
7. Once the device boots up, unlock your screen and tap Turn On on the system confirmation prompt.

Note: If the Developer Mode option does not appear immediately, force-close the Settings app from the App Switcher and re-open it, or reboot your device while still plugged into your computer.

Step 5: Trust the Developer Certificate

1. Open Settings → General → VPN & Device Management.
2. Under Developer App, select your Apple ID email.
3. Tap Trust [Your Apple ID], then confirm.

Step 6: Activate the Local VPN Loopback

SideStore communicates with iOS internals over an on-device VPN loopback, eliminating the need to connect to a desktop computer for future signing.

1. Install LocalDevVPN from the App Store.
2. Open LocalDevVPN and tap on connect.
3. Tap allow on the pop up to activate the VPN profile inside the app(first time only).
4. Open SideStore, log in with the same Apple ID used during the iLoader installation, and verify that SideStore recognizes your local connection.

Once the VPN is connected and verified, your device is completely untethered. You can unplug the cable from your computer.

How to Install Aidoku

Now that SideStore is running, installing Aidoku requires zero cables and completely bypasses the TestFlight queue.

Step 1: Download the Aidoku IPA

On your iPhone or iPad, open Safari and visit the Aidoku releases page:

https://github.com/Aidoku/Aidoku/releases

Download the latest stable Aidoku.ipa file directly to your device's Files app.

Step 2: Enable the SideStore VPN

Open LocalDevVPN profile and ensure it is set to Connected. SideStore requires this VPN profile active whenever it signs or installs applications.

Step 3: Install Aidoku via SideStore

1. Open SideStore.
2. Navigate to the My Apps tab.
3. Tap the + (plus) icon in the top corner.
4. Browse your local files and select the Aidoku.ipa file downloaded in Step 1.

SideStore will sign Aidoku using your on-device certificate and install it directly onto your home screen.

Configuring Aidoku and Adding Sources

When you open Aidoku for the first time, it is intentionally an empty shell. It ships without pre-loaded scrapers or copyrighted media. You supply your own content catalogs using community-maintained repositories.

Step 1: Open Settings in Aidoku

Launch Aidoku, tap the Settings gear icon in the bottom-right corner, and select Source Lists.

Step 2: Add a Community Source List

1. Tap Add Source List (or the + icon).
2. Paste the standard community repository URL:

[https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Skittyblock/aidoku-community-sources/gh-pages/](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Skittyblock/aidoku-community-sources/gh-pages/)

3. Tap Add. Aidoku will index the repository and display the available community modules.

Step 3: Install Your Preferred Sources

1. Go to the Browse tab inside Aidoku.
2. Under the Explore / Sources section, find your preferred catalogs and tap Get or Install.
3. The WebAssembly scraper modules will install immediately.

Once added, you can browse titles, configure vertical webtoon or paginated reading directions, and pin series to your Library for automated chapter tracking.

Keeping Apps Alive Without a Computer

Apple imposes restrictions on free developer accounts:

• Each sideloaded app expires after 7 days.
• You can only have 3 active sideloaded App IDs running simultaneously.

Because SideStore handles signing locally via its VPN loopback, you never need to plug back into a computer to reset the 7-day clock.

1. Connect your device to Wi-Fi.
2. Connect LocalDevVPN.
3. Open SideStore, go to My Apps, and tap Refresh All. The 7-day counter on both SideStore and Aidoku will reset back to 7 days.

Automating Refreshes with iOS Shortcuts

You can automate this entirely so you never have to think about the 7-day limit:

1. Open the iOS Shortcuts app and navigate to the Automation tab.
2. Create a Personal Automation triggered at a specific time daily (e.g., 3:00 AM).
3. Add the action to toggle localDevVPN on.
4. Add the SideStore Refresh Apps action.
5. Add an action to toggle localDevVPN off.

Aidoku and SideStore will now refresh silently in the background while you sleep.

Troubleshooting

iLoader Cannot Detect the Connected Device

If iLoader fails to detect your device on Windows, verify that iTunes is installed and that the Apple Mobile Device Service is running. Try unlocking your screen, unplugging the USB cable, and reconnecting to a different USB port.

Developer Mode Toggle is Missing

Developer Mode remains hidden in iOS/iPadOS Settings until a developer package is detected. Make sure iLoader has pushed SideStore to your home screen, tap the app icon once to trigger the system alert, and re-check Settings → Privacy & Security. If it is still missing, force-close Settings from the App Switcher or reboot the device while connected to your PC.

SideStore Reports "Server Down" or "Cannot Find Device"

Ensure your local loopback VPN (LocalDevVPN) is toggled on and that your device is connected to Wi-Fi. If your pairing file becomes invalid after a major iOS update, plug back into your computer and re-run iLoader to refresh the pairing configuration.

Three Active App Limit Error

Apple limits free personal accounts to 3 active App IDs. SideStore itself takes 1 slot, leaving 2 slots available for your apps (such as Aidoku). If an installation fails due to app limits, open SideStore's My Apps tab and deactivate or remove any unused testing apps.

Aidoku Sources Not Loading or Broken

Because scrapers run via WebAssembly modules, changes to target websites can break individual sources. Open Settings → Source Lists in Aidoku, pull down to refresh the repository index, and check the Browse tab for pending module updates.

Conclusion

Pairing Aidoku with SideStore gives you a premium, ad-free manga reading setup on iOS that matches the flexibility of Android readers—without waiting months for a TestFlight opening or tethering to a PC every weekend.

With iTunes and iLoader handling the initial desktop deployment, getting SideStore onto your phone takes only a few minutes. From there, your iPhone or iPad handles the rest over Wi-Fi.

Aidoku does not host, scrape, or distribute copyrighted media. It operates purely as an open-source reader shell and WebAssembly client. Ensure that the sources and content you access comply with local copyright regulations in your jurisdiction.