title: Programmatically download from app store
body: <p><strong>Is it possible to download an app from Apple app store programmatically without using iTunes?</strong></p>
  
  <p>I have tried <em>Wireshark</em> to catch packets while downloading an app in iTunes from my iPhone. In the trace, I've got a HTTP packet which revealed the URL of the app I downloaded.</p>
  
  <p>That is: <a href="http://a558.phobos.apple.com/us/r1000/049/Purple/v4/d1/8f/93/d18f931b-f90c-6830-236f-1be569e3c9ee/mzps4099439710744129538.D2.dpkg.ipa" rel="nofollow">http://a558.phobos.apple.com/us/r1000/049/Purple/v4/d1/8f/93/d18f931b-f90c-6830-236f-1be569e3c9ee/mzps4099439710744129538.D2.dpkg.ipa</a></p>
  
  <p>However, when I used Wget to download from this URL, it turned out to be <code>403 Forbidden</code>.</p>
  
  <p>The reason why I asked for help is that there are some "smart routers" which claimed to accelerate downloading from the app store, and I want to download some apps to test the real downloading speed and verify it. However, I do not want to click every download from the iTunes. I have my own Apple account and I will only download free apps.</p>