app

OS X installer for URLs ending in zip, dmg, pkg, mpkg, service, prefPane, qlgenerator, safariextz

Intended to simplify the installation of OS X apps in the same way Homebrew, RubyGems, and npm has made our lives easier. For example, if I wanted to install Google Chrome, I could type:

app https://dl.google.com/chrome/mac/stable/GGRO/googlechrome.dmg

Or, if the installer is already in my Downloads:

app ~/Downloads/googlechrome.dmg

Or, if I had set an installer directory or URL (see customize below):

app googlechrome.dmg

The installation of apps in the Mac App Store can be automated with the proper App Store URL or shortened ID:

app amphetamine/id937984704

Additionally, this can work as a wrapper for brew and brew cask install commands. Simply preface the package name with brew/ or cask/ to initiate the install:

app brew/wget
app cask/firefox

Install

Open a terminal and run this command:

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/suderman/app/master/install.sh | sh

Or, clone the repo

Download and copy app somewhere in your path, ie:

git clone https://github.com/suderman/app.git
cp app/app /usr/local/bin

Options

Although app tries to put stuff where it belongs (ie: .app files go in the /Applications directory), you can override this by passing a second target parameter:

app googlechrome.dmg ~/Applications

Also, app is polite and won't overwrite existing files without asking. You can skip this by passing the -f option:

app -f googlechrome.dmg

Some installers are .app files that need to be opened directly. Passing the -o option will not copy anything, but instead open the installer within the disk image:

app -o Photoshop_13_LS16-1.dmg

If you know the filename of the installed application, you can check if it already exists before downloading and installing. Passing the -c option along with a filename will check the expected destinations and stop if it's found:

app 'Firefox 42.0.dmg' -c Firefox.app

Customize

app has a couple customizations available via enironment variables:

Look for installers in a local directory

Set APP_SOURCE to a directory on your local disk. You can still install via URL, but if a matching file is found within this directory (or sub-directory), the local copy will be used instead. For example:

APP_SOURCE=~/Downloads

Look for installers at a URL

Set APP_URL to the URL of a website hosting your installers. You can still install via other URLs, but this allows for short-form URL installations, skipping right to the directory/file. For example:

APP_URL=https://www.mywebsite.com/installers

Client Certificate

When downloading from an https:// URL, you may have your installers protected via client certificate authentication. In such case, curl will attempt to use a client certificate in your OS X Keychain based on your $USER env variable, or $USER@$DOMAIN if exists. You can explicity set which certificate to use with APP_CERT. For example:

APP_CERT=homer@simpson.com

Mac App Store URL

When installing from the Mac App Store, a short form of the URL can be used (name-of-application/id123456789). The default URL is the US store, so be sure to set APP_MAS to your country's URL. For example:

APP_MAS=macappstore://itunes.apple.com/ca/app

Ignore specific installer directories

Set APP_IGNORE to a comma-separated list of directories you don't want app to look at. Although the default setting takes care of a few odd-ball installers, you may discover others that require custom filters. This example shows the default setting:

APP_IGNORE=payloads,packages,resources,deployment

suderman / app

app