Cowabunga, a popular all-in-one UI customization app for use with TrollStore on iOS 14.0-15.4.1 devices or the MacDirtyCow exploit on iOS 15.0-16.1.2 devices by iOS developers sourcelocation and leminlimez, was updated to version 8.0.0 this weekend with a slew of improvements that users will appreciate.
Version 8.0.0 comes just under two weeks after version 7 launched, and according to the change log, version 8.0.0 incorporates the following changes into the platform:
– Custom app icon themes
– Custom operations (for advanced users)
– Custom lock icons
– Explore page for passcode, lock, and icon themes
– Disabling shortcut banner (works on iOS 15, persistent after reboot)
– Make shortcuts into app clips
– Resolution setter
– Notification badge changer (iOS 14-15 only)
– Custom colors of SpringBoard elements
– Disable Control Center module backgrounds
– Localizations o other languages including French, Russian, Polish, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Turkish, Hebrew, and Korean. More will come in the future and some translations may be incomplete.
Citing to the /r/jailbreak release post, Cowabunga no longer uses WebClips to theme app icons by default. Instead, a new method customizes and keeps both regular app icons and system app icons in a way that preserves notification badge functionality. One unfortunate downside to the new method is compression, which can make some app icons look fuzzier than others. It’s recommended to use the Shortcut-based app icon method for apps where this happens.
The new custom operations feature allows users to change files from a custom file path while running in the background to ensure they stay applied. This feature means you can swap .plist values, replace files, and even disable files. While this can be done via a file manager app by anyone, the developer recommends that only advanced users who understand what they’re doing use this feature, as messing things up can cause serious damage to your device’s software integrity and cause bootloops in a worst-case scenario.
And with the new custom lock icons feature, TrollLock themes should now work with Cowabunga. Theme makers who want to submit their creations to be featured in the Explore page can do so from sourcelocation’s Discord server.
If you’re installing the app with TrollStore, then you can simply download the .ipa file on your device from the GitHub page and then tap on it to open it and perma-sign it with TrollStore. If you’re using the MacDirtyCow exploit, then you will need to download the .ipa on your computer and then sideload it with AltStore or Sideloadly. The latter options will require you to re-sign the app every seven days, unlike perma-signing with TrollStore.
While it seems that Cowabunga 8.0 is a great update with some worthwhile features, we should add that it’s far from the last update we’re going to see. According to comments in the /r/jailbreak release post, additional exciting updates are planned for the future, so it’ll be worth staying tuned to see what the team has in store for users.
Are you going to be taking advantage of the updated Cowabunga app for the MacDirtyCow exploit? Let us know in the comments section down below.