A new version of AltStore — AltStore PAL — has launched as an Apple-approved alternative app marketplace in the European Union.

It’s an open-source app store made specifically for independent developers. Europeans running iOS 17.4 or later can now install AltStore PAL directly from the AltStore website. It debuts with two apps: the Nintendo emulator Delta and the clipboard manger Clip.

Unlike the App Store, all apps on AltStore are self-hosted. Once an app has been notarized by Apple, developers can download the processed “alternative distribution packet” (ADP) and upload it to their own server. To then distribute with AltStore, a developer just needs to create a “source” — which is just a JSON file containing basic app metadata uploaded to a public URL. Users must then add this source to their AltStore, after which all apps from that source will automatically appear for them to download.




Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today