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@gipert
Created May 10, 2020 00:49
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iTunes on (Arch) Linux: installation guide

Prerequisites

  1. Enable the multilib repository by editing /etc/pacman.conf
  2. Install WineHQ and some other optional dependencies:
    $ pacman -Syu wine
    $ pacman -S --asdeps lib32-mpg123 lib32-gnutls {lib32-,}gst-plugins-base-libs \
                         lib32-alsa-plugins lib32-libpulse lib32-openal
    $ yay -S lib32-unixodbc # or your favourite AUR helper
  3. We'll install a 64-bit version of iTunes, so no need to set WINEARCH

What iTunes version

Version 12.8 seems to work fine. I had troubles making more recent >=12.9 versions work (see here). Same for older versions (e.g. 12.5), I could not log in to the Apple Store. So find yourself the (64-bit) iTunes64Setup12.8.exe installer somewhere on the internet.

Install and Run

Just

$ wine /path/to/iTunes64Setup12.8.exe

And go through the procedure. Start iTunes with

$ wine .wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/iTunes/iTunes.exe

Issues

  1. No playback: solved with
    Preferences > Playback > Play Audio Using > Direct Sound
    
  2. CD-ROM detection: to make Wine aware of your CD-ROM unit:
    $ mkdir /mnt/cdrom
    $ ln -s /mnt/cdrom ~/.wine/dosdevices/z:
    $ echo '/dev/sr0 /mnt/cdrom iso9660 defaults,user,noauto 0 0' > /etc/fstab
    $ systemctl reboot
    Check if the /dev/sr0 device really represents your CD-ROM unit. The CD pops up in iTunes only if the CD is inserted before starting the program.
@ronylee11
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I couldn't detect my both my iPad and iPhone when I did this, tried both yes and no for the Autorun option when running through the setup, did the IOS pairing guide on Arch wiki, still not working. I think I'll just reside to using iTunes on Windows

@odjacobs
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odjacobs commented Sep 4, 2022

Here is a link to a version of iTunes which does not have the completely black screen.
https://secure-appldnld.apple.com/itunes12/091-45357-20180123-72201840-FFEA-11E7-92F9-85B67CCC33A9/iTunes64Setup.exe

@ronylee11
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Here is a link to a version of iTunes which does not have the completely black screen. https://secure-appldnld.apple.com/itunes12/091-45357-20180123-72201840-FFEA-11E7-92F9-85B67CCC33A9/iTunes64Setup.exe

Hi, i got "iTune Library.itl cannot be read" error, fixed it by renaming ~/.wine/drive_c/users/cleff/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Library.itl to iTunes\ Library.old

After booting iTunes up, logged in to my apple ID, started usbmuxd

Unfortunately, my iPhone still doesn't show up in the iTunes :c

@Bisonfan95
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This version worked form me. All good on my steam deck. Couldn't install yay. Had to install https://archlinux.org/packages/core/x86_64/lib32-glibc/ and then clone, compile and install lib32-unixodbc myself.
This version of Itunes worked for me with store and all: https://www.filehorse.com/es/descargar-itunes-64/35820/descargar/

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