Possible rooting workaround (= run any applications w/o rooting)

czechdev · 07/30/2009, 02:43 PM

Hello,
I think I've found out something really cool -- the way you can run command(s) after installing a signed IPK, something that can replace the non-working postinstall & preinstall scripts and allow installing applications that previously required rooting.

The workfolow is quite simple:
Instead of packaging (the signed package way, see the wiki) just your webOS application, you can also include any other file to the package. The problem is that this file (placed outside /var) is only extracted when installing directly using ipkg, not when using the palm://com.palm.appinstaller/install system call.

I've found out that you can bypass this by using '..' path when creating the tarball:

Code:

dev@thinkpad ~/some/folder $ ls /var/usr/palm/applications/com.app.test/
app                    icon.png               sources.json
appinfo.json           images                 index.html
stylesheets             stylesheets      framework_config.json
dev@thinkpad ~/some/folder $ ls ../../etc/init.d/
udev [this file is placed in ~/etc/init.d/ directory]
dev@thinkpad ~/some/folder $ tar cvPzf data.tar.gz /var/usr/palm/applications/com.app.test ../../etc/init.d/udev

As you can see, I've included not only the standard webos application using full directory path, but also a modified udev init script (the original one gets overwritten by the package) that can run any commands I want when I reboot the system. You can use any system script or directory that is executed during the boot or periodically to run you commands.

This means that I can also mimic the post-install script (sadly, requring the user to reboot the device) or any other script dealing with data outside the /var directory.

The procedure can be for example used for enabling tethering on the phone justy by installing signed IPK on a non-rooted device! Everything is possible

NOTE: Sice I don't have the actual device, this has been only tested in emulator

Rennat · 07/30/2009, 02:58 PM

This is very interesting. I would like to see this work on the Pre.
I was wonder if you could do something like this the other day....

Prethorpe24 · 07/30/2009, 08:21 PM

huh? sounds awesome though i don't understand exactly how u explained it.

Maximo_ · 07/31/2009, 07:19 AM

Soooo.....this means that rooting might not be required for ANY app from now on? Sounds fantastic! Has anybody verified this on an actual Pre yet?

sketch42 · 07/31/2009, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prethorpe24

huh? sounds awesome though i don't understand exactly how u explained it.

I'm with him!

meyerweb · 07/31/2009, 08:19 AM

So can anyone with a Pre test this out and verify that it works?

knightflores · 07/31/2009, 09:04 AM

i would gladly donate to any developer who can make this work with the My Tether app

borsend · 07/31/2009, 11:09 AM

That be really nice. Thanks for doing this.

prubin · 07/31/2009, 11:22 AM

If it works, will it work for settings as well -- say, extra launcher pages?

Maximo_ · 07/31/2009, 12:04 PM

Quote:

If it works, will it work for settings as well -- say, extra launcher pages?

This is exactly what I am excited about too!!! I am also dying to get the AutoCorrect Edit app which requires rooting... ( http://forums.precentral.net/homebre...ne-access.html )

czechdev · 08/01/2009, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prubin

If it works, will it work for settings as well -- say, extra launcher pages?

Sure. If this works on the real phone, any app that previously required rooting can be now installed without rooting.

Bag of Leaves · 08/01/2009, 04:47 AM

I'm interested in this, as well, as I don't want to mess up my phone by rooting it (whether due to user error or whatnot).

knightflores · 08/01/2009, 10:31 AM

Bunp

Maximo_ · 08/01/2009, 09:22 PM

Hmmmm....usually something this big has a hundred posts within the first day and makes the front page of the site. Maybe the people "in the know" have already tried this and found out it doesn't work and just haven't bothered to post about it here? If this really made rooting obsolete, I think there would be a LOT more buzz about it. Lets hope I'm wrong cause I'm still super excited about this!

distrait · 08/01/2009, 10:57 PM

I really hope this works. I've been considering rooting my pre lately to install some apps and whatnot but have been somwhat reluctant to do so as I don't have much experience with linux (and I don't generally have access to wifi or high speed internet to download the necessary programs). If this workaround can be implemented into all the current apps and tweaks then I'd rather not root my pre.

knightflores · 08/01/2009, 11:18 PM

why hasnt anyone tried this with the root required apps yet??

Paladin · 08/02/2009, 12:48 AM

Guys rooting is not really doing much of anything anymore. You install the SDK then run a command line prompt, cut and past the command from the aurthor and you are done. You are not doing anything to hurt your Pre this way unless you start typing commands deep in.

MrDeeds · 08/02/2009, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Paladin

cut and past

What he said. The tutorials have gotten so good that anyone can complete the tasks necessary to modify apps on their pre. Its simple copy and paste.

czechdev · 08/02/2009, 07:12 AM

Sure, but wouldn't it be better to have a bunch of packages instead of patching every file by hand? Imagine a repository with all webOS patches and tweaks available just one click/enter away...isn't that a nice vision?

knightflores · 08/02/2009, 08:08 AM

agreed doing this would be more user friendly vs having to root the pre no matter how simple it is

07/30/2009, 02:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
czechdev Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Czechia (Vodafone) Posts: 71 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 23 Thanked 20 Times in 6 Posts	Possible rooting workaround (= run any applications w/o rooting) Hello, I think I've found out something really cool -- the way you can run command(s) after installing a signed IPK, something that can replace the non-working postinstall & preinstall scripts and allow installing applications that previously required rooting. The workfolow is quite simple: Instead of packaging (the signed package way, see the wiki) just your webOS application, you can also include any other file to the package. The problem is that this file (placed outside /var) is only extracted when installing directly using ipkg, not when using the palm://com.palm.appinstaller/install system call. I've found out that you can bypass this by using '..' path when creating the tarball: Code: dev@thinkpad ~/some/folder $ ls /var/usr/palm/applications/com.app.test/ app icon.png sources.json appinfo.json images index.html stylesheets stylesheets framework_config.json dev@thinkpad ~/some/folder $ ls ../../etc/init.d/ udev [this file is placed in ~/etc/init.d/ directory] dev@thinkpad ~/some/folder $ tar cvPzf data.tar.gz /var/usr/palm/applications/com.app.test ../../etc/init.d/udev As you can see, I've included not only the standard webos application using full directory path, but also a modified udev init script (the original one gets overwritten by the package) that can run any commands I want when I reboot the system. You can use any system script or directory that is executed during the boot or periodically to run you commands. This means that I can also mimic the post-install script (sadly, requring the user to reboot the device) or any other script dealing with data outside the /var directory. The procedure can be for example used for enabling tethering on the phone justy by installing signed IPK on a non-rooted device! Everything is possible NOTE: Sice I don't have the actual device, this has been only tested in emulator
	Liked by Thanked by balderson, borsend, cashen, Phantasmn

07/30/2009, 02:58 PM	#2 (permalink)
Rennat Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: With a colony of King Penguins in Antartica Posts: 1,318 Likes Received: 95 Thanks: 533 Thanked 304 Times in 153 Posts	This is very interesting. I would like to see this work on the Pre. I was wonder if you could do something like this the other day.... __________________ My Tutorial on how to get Ubuntu on the TouchPad: http://forums.precentral.net/webos-d...-touchpad.html
	Liked by

07/30/2009, 08:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
Prethorpe24 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 75 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 12 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	huh? sounds awesome though i don't understand exactly how u explained it.
	Liked by

07/31/2009, 07:19 AM	#4 (permalink)
Maximo_ Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 89 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 23 Thanked 12 Times in 10 Posts	Soooo.....this means that rooting might not be required for ANY app from now on? Sounds fantastic! Has anybody verified this on an actual Pre yet?
	Liked by

07/31/2009, 08:19 AM	#6 (permalink)
meyerweb Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Fairfax, Virginia Posts: 3,387 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 1 Thanked 148 Times in 90 Posts	So can anyone with a Pre test this out and verify that it works? __________________ Bob Meyer I'm out of my mind. But feel free to leave a message.
	Liked by

07/31/2009, 09:04 AM	#7 (permalink)
knightflores Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Naval Station Norfolk Posts: 211 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 6 Thanked 11 Times in 8 Posts	i would gladly donate to any developer who can make this work with the My Tether app
	Liked by

07/31/2009, 11:09 AM	#8 (permalink)
borsend Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: KS Posts: 130 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 78 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	That be really nice. Thanks for doing this.
	Liked by

07/31/2009, 11:22 AM	#9 (permalink)
prubin Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 910 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 28 Thanked 18 Times in 15 Posts	If it works, will it work for settings as well -- say, extra launcher pages? __________________ Laissez Faire
	Liked by

08/01/2009, 04:47 AM	#12 (permalink)
Bag of Leaves Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 469 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 27 Thanked 60 Times in 32 Posts	I'm interested in this, as well, as I don't want to mess up my phone by rooting it (whether due to user error or whatnot).
	Liked by

08/01/2009, 10:31 AM	#13 (permalink)
knightflores Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Naval Station Norfolk Posts: 211 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 6 Thanked 11 Times in 8 Posts	Bunp
	Liked by

08/01/2009, 09:22 PM	#14 (permalink)
Maximo_ Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 89 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 23 Thanked 12 Times in 10 Posts	Hmmmm....usually something this big has a hundred posts within the first day and makes the front page of the site. Maybe the people "in the know" have already tried this and found out it doesn't work and just haven't bothered to post about it here? If this really made rooting obsolete, I think there would be a LOT more buzz about it. Lets hope I'm wrong cause I'm still super excited about this!
	Liked by

08/01/2009, 10:57 PM	#15 (permalink)
distrait Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 32 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 3 Thanked 11 Times in 3 Posts	I really hope this works. I've been considering rooting my pre lately to install some apps and whatnot but have been somwhat reluctant to do so as I don't have much experience with linux (and I don't generally have access to wifi or high speed internet to download the necessary programs). If this workaround can be implemented into all the current apps and tweaks then I'd rather not root my pre.
	Liked by

08/01/2009, 11:18 PM	#16 (permalink)
knightflores Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Naval Station Norfolk Posts: 211 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 6 Thanked 11 Times in 8 Posts	why hasnt anyone tried this with the root required apps yet??
	Liked by

08/02/2009, 12:48 AM	#17 (permalink)
Paladin Member Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: City of Champions!!! Posts: 617 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 5 Thanked 54 Times in 36 Posts	Guys rooting is not really doing much of anything anymore. You install the SDK then run a command line prompt, cut and past the command from the aurthor and you are done. You are not doing anything to hurt your Pre this way unless you start typing commands deep in. __________________ Systems Analyst by trade, Drummer by desire and Music Lover by birth. A self proclaimed Geek and gadget nut. ii Did you know: The Pittsburgh Steelers have more championships than 21 other NFL teams combined! Pittsburgh Steelers-6 Time Super Bowl Champions! Pittsburgh Penguins-3 Time Stanley Cup Champions!
	Liked by

08/02/2009, 07:12 AM	#19 (permalink)
czechdev Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Czechia (Vodafone) Posts: 71 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 23 Thanked 20 Times in 6 Posts	Sure, but wouldn't it be better to have a bunch of packages instead of patching every file by hand? Imagine a repository with all webOS patches and tweaks available just one click/enter away...isn't that a nice vision?
	Liked by Thanked By: holley2583

08/02/2009, 08:08 AM	#20 (permalink)
knightflores Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Naval Station Norfolk Posts: 211 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 6 Thanked 11 Times in 8 Posts	agreed doing this would be more user friendly vs having to root the pre no matter how simple it is
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