Cydia, the jailbreak equivalent of Apple’s App Store, indexes all jailbreak apps/tweaks/mods so that users can easily find them on the iPhone. To have Cydia on your iPhone, you must first jailbreak. This process frees you from having to only download apps from Apple’s App Store. Once you jailbreak, you can install all kinds of cool apps, mods and tweaks on your iPhone through Cydia.
Instead of Apple’s curated content, Cydia must rely on “repositories” from jailbreak developers to index jailbreak apps. These “repositories” (or “repos”) are basically just storage houses for jailbreak content that developers want to distribute through Cydia. Repositories are sources that Cydia searches for jailbreak apps.
By default, Cydia already pre-installs some popular repositories that host most jailbreak content. However, there is a way in Cydia to add more sources. Not all jailbreak content can be accessed through the default sources that Cydia pre-installs. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to add a new source to expand your jailbreak catalog in Cydia…
1. Open Cydia on your iPhone
2. Tap “Manage”
3. Tap “Sources”
You will now be presented with a list of all the sources that Cydia is currently using to search for apps. If you have never added a source on your own before, you will only see a list of sources called “Installed by Package.” These popular sources include jailbreak heavyweights like BigBoss and ModMyi.
4. Tap “Edit” in the top right corner, then “Add” in the top left corner
You will now be prompted with a window that says “Enter Cydia/APT URL.”
5. Enter the source you wish to add to Cydia.
Make sure to get the website spelling correct or Cydia will not be able to verify the source.
6. Click “Add Source”
Cydia will update and verify your added source.
Your new source will now be available under a list called “Entered by User” in the Sources list of Cydia. You can tap on any source to view all of the content that the source provides. This method could help you narrow down your search for the app you want if the general search in Cydia isn’t getting you anywhere.
Once you add a new source, all of the content that source hosts will be available for you to install on your iPhone (providing you have the right hardware and firmware). You can browse optional sources within Cydia itself. If you go to the home page of Cydia, you will see the option to view “More Package Sources.” This option will show you a list of optional repos you can install for access in Cydia.
iDB also has a pretty robust collection of Cydia sources that you can check out. One way or another, there are plenty of ways to get more jailbreak content on your iPhone.
Do you have a favorite Cydia repo? Do you find yourself downloading from a certain source often?
