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Command line to allow app past Gatekeeper?

haralds

haralds

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 3, 2014
3,193
1,367
Silicon Valley, CA
I need t to run some apps like Xcode14 from command line. It is rejected by the Gatekeeper and System Settings fails to allow it.

The old line used to be:
Code: 
sudo spctl --add --label "Xcode14" /Applications/Xcode14.app
sudo spctl --enable --label "Xcode14".
This is no longer supported. Are there alternatives?

-- Harald
 
Last edited:
Why don't you just disable gatekeeper altogether?
sudo spctl --master-disable

I disable it immediately on all my Macs.
If a software update re-enables it, I just disable it again.

I believe the terminal line to re-enable it is:
sudo spctl --master-enable
(don't know, because as I said, once I've turned it off, I never turn it back on)
 
Fishrrman said:
Why don't you just disable gatekeeper altogether?
sudo spctl --master-disable

I disable it immediately on all my Macs.
If a software update re-enables it, I just disable it again.

I believe the terminal line to re-enable it is:
sudo spctl --master-enable
(don't know, because as I said, once I've turned it off, I never turn it back on)
Click to expand...
It is the key protection against malware.
 
Are there any updates or advice on this?

Are the xattr and spctl commands no longer working or not permitted at all? Is the system settings GUI now the only workaround for apps that are not notarized?

I haven't installed the beta yet (preparing to), but running software that isn't notarized is fundamental. It's just not possible to compile all open source software I need on my own, and open source maintainers everywhere will not pay Apple $100/year for this for many reasons (on top of this you need a Mac?).

For my own tools (CLI tools), I just got a paid dev account, but so far haven't tried notarizing anything.

I'm in academia where computers are mostly centrally managed, so per-app workarounds, rather than allowing everything, is important. I know there's also a university dev account, should I develop for iOS or something more "serious" for work.

The doomer and gloomer in me wonders how long it will take for Apple to only allow notarized software on all their platforms (perhaps only allowing development in containers...). That would put an immediate and permanent end to my Apple journey.
 
Ouch, ok. Thanks for the update.

I'll "sacrifice" my home Mac (eh, it'll be ok somehow ;-P) and try a clean install of the beta today or tomorrow. Hopefully there's some sort of plan. I'm thinking Apple can't be *that* oblivious to the importance of running OSS software that isn't notarized.
 
bogdanw said:
Don't use sudo:
Code: 
xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SeaMonkey.app
works for SeaMonkey 2.53.21 https://www.seamonkey-project.org/releases/ on macOS 26.0 25A5295e
Click to expand...
*Don't* use sudo? That's both good news (from a usability perspective) and perhaps bad news (from a security perspective)...? Or is it that you are somehow running xattr with elevated permissions? (don't know how)

EDIT: Or is it that you're just asked for admin password without sudo anyway?
 
Last edited:
I haven't started to experiment with Tahoe yet.

Q:
Does the terminal command
sudo spctl --master-disable

... disable gatekeeper?
(that is, give the 3rd option of running applications from "anywhere"???)

I've always disabled Gatekeeper on my Macs, and will continue to do so, as long as it remains possible to do so. I just don't care about that stuff (look at the avatar)...
 
Fishrrman said:
I haven't started to experiment with Tahoe yet.

Q:
Does the terminal command
sudo spctl --master-disable

... disable gatekeeper?
(that is, give the 3rd option of running applications from "anywhere"???)

I've always disabled Gatekeeper on my Macs, and will continue to do so, as long as it remains possible to do so. I just don't care about that stuff (look at the avatar)...
Click to expand...

Yes. The key is that if System Settings is open when you run the terminal command, you need to quit and reopen it before "Anywhere" appears as the third option.


Screen Shot 2025-07-02 at 6.38.33 AM.jpg

Screen Shot 2025-07-02 at 6.42.21 AM.jpg
 
The last Xcode 14 (14.3.1) was released two years ago. Maybe it just doesn’t work on Tahoe or it’s a problem with its signature. Was it downloaded from the App Store or from developer.apple.com?
 
You can change the version in Info.plist, sign it with an ad-hoc signature and try to run it.
 
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