I asked ChatGPT: What is the best way to download videos from an iPhone to a Linux machine?

Here is what ChatGPT gave me and it worked!

To download videos from an iPhone to a Linux machine, you can use different methods. One of the best ways is to use the open-source software ‘libimobiledevice’. This library allows Linux systems to communicate with iOS devices natively. Here are the steps to download videos from your iPhone to a Linux machine using ‘libimobiledevice’:

Install dependencies: Open the terminal and run the following commands to install necessary dependencies:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y libimobiledevice6 libimobiledevice-utils ideviceinstaller libusbmuxd-tools libplist-utils python3-imobiledevice

Connect your iPhone: Connect your iPhone to the Linux machine using a USB cable. Make sure to unlock your iPhone and trust the computer when prompted.

Pair your iPhone: Run the following command in the terminal to pair your iPhone with the Linux machine:

idevicepair pair

If pairing is successful, you’ll see a “SUCCESS” message.

Access the iPhone file system: Install the ‘ifuse’ package to mount your iPhone’s file system:

sudo apt-get install -y ifuse

Create a mount point and mount the iPhone:

mkdir ~/iphone
ifuse ~/iphone

Locate and copy the videos: Navigate to the DCIM folder, where your photos and videos are stored:

cd ~/iphone/DCIM

There may be multiple folders (e.g., 100APPLE, 101APPLE, etc.) depending on the number of photos and videos on your iPhone. Locate the videos you want to copy (videos usually have the .MOV or .MP4 file extension) and copy them to your desired location on the Linux machine.

cp /path/to/video/file /path/to/destination/folder

Unmount your iPhone: When you are done, unmount your iPhone and disconnect it:

fusermount -u ~/iphone

That’s it! You have now successfully transferred videos from your iPhone to your Linux machine.

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