Are there any tools for browsing iCloud data of your app?

Question

I am working on integrating iCloud in my app and sometimes having problems with conflicts and save errors. The fact that the data is stored on the cloud makes it very hard to debug the problems.

As far as I know, the data on the iCloud servers are mirrored to a directory on the device. Is there any tool (an iOS or OSX app) that will allow me to see the contents of this directory or the files in the iCloud servers? I know that it is possible to query the files in the directory with NSMetadataQuery class. However, I am looking for a built-in tool from Apple or an open source application that I can use with my own entitlements.

So far I have tried the following tools with no luck:

• On Mac OS X Lion, System Pereferences >> iCloud >> Manage: This only displays the name and size of the documents. It does not allow me to download or see the content.
• On iOS 5, Settings >> iCloud >> Storage & Backup >> Manage Storage: Same as above.
• On Xcode 4.3.2, Organizer >> Devices >> >> Applications >> Download: This allows me to download the application data but it does not contain the iCloud data.
• I have also tried browsing the phone with iPhone Explorer application but it does not display the contents of /private/var which is where the iCloud data is stored.

Solution 1

...or visit http://developer.icloud.com to see what is actually stored in the cloud on Apple's servers...

Solution 2

I found the answer to my question in this answer.

It turns out the data on the cloud is automatically downloaded to my mac under "~/Library/Mobile Documents" folder if I enable "Document & Data" in iCloud Settings page and install a Mac app that is using iCloud.

Solution 3

Currently there is no documented way to view native iCloud data. However, depending on what your data is, you might be able to view it under some circumstances. For example, iCloud can be used to sync databases that are accessed via CoreData. If you store your data in a Sqlite database, which is then managed and accessed via CoreData, you can use 3rd party desktop apps to view the Sqlite file. I use this tool to view my Sqlite databases on a Mac: http://www.sqlabs.net/sqlitemanager.php

Comments

[murat]

I am using CoreData and I can already view the sqlite databases that are in my application's sandbox. The problem is, the databases created by UIManagedDocument are apparentely not in the sandbox and I cannot find a way to download them.

[murat]

Thanks! This was what I was looking for when asking the question. However, it didn't let me sign in, probably because I haven't used iOS 6 on any device yet.

[Duck]

This seems to work just for key-value storage. iCloud documents don't show on developer.icloud.com... at least mine don't.