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@mathiasbynens
Forked from subtleGradient/appify
Created November 12, 2010 13:46
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appify — create the simplest possible Mac app from a shell script
#!/usr/bin/env bash
#
# url : https://gist.github.com/672684
# version : 2.0.1
# name : appify
# description : Create the simplest possible mac app from a shell script.
# usage : cat my-script.sh | appify MyApp
# platform : Mac OS X
# author : Thomas Aylott <oblivious@subtlegradient.com>
APPNAME=${1:-Untitled}
if [[ -a "$APPNAME.app" ]]; then
echo "App already exists :'(" >&2
echo "$PWD/$APPNAME.app"
exit 1
fi
mkdir -p "$APPNAME.app/Contents/MacOS"
touch "$APPNAME.app/Contents/MacOS/$APPNAME"
chmod +x "$APPNAME.app/Contents/MacOS/$APPNAME"
while read SCRIPT_SOURCE_LINE; do
echo "$SCRIPT_SOURCE_LINE" >> "$APPNAME.app/Contents/MacOS/$APPNAME"
done
echo "$PWD/$APPNAME.app"
@jayfresh
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same error message as PacoH for me, unfortunately!

@bhanquier
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Same problem, the end result seems to be a PowerPC app. I guess it's just a matter of changing one of the triggers (?) but which one… If somebody has an idea, it would be great!

@jrmedd
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jrmedd commented Jan 19, 2015

I got around that PowerPC issue by ensuring that #!/bin/bash was at the top of my script ;)

@gregd49
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gregd49 commented Feb 28, 2015

Running on mac OSX 10.10.2
I had trouble with the powerpc error.
I had to add the #!/bin/bash line to my shell script as noted above.
I had to modify my plist to be correct as noted previously.
In particular I had to change CFBundleSignature from ???? to a 4 character string.
It then worked for me.

@davidfavor
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Can someone post a simple .plist file that does the following...

  1. Allows App to be a drag + drop target.

  2. Passes dropped files into script $* to allow files to be dropped on App.

I'll also look around + if I find a good example, post it here.

Thanks.

@andreif
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andreif commented Jun 6, 2015

I made it to work on OS X 10.10 by adding file $APPNAME.app/Contents/Info.plist containing <plist><dict></dict></plist>

@andreif
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andreif commented Jun 6, 2015

@mathew-kurian
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Neat idea. However, what directory does the script run in so that I can use relative paths?

@CosmicWebServices
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-bash: /Users/--------/Desktop/appify.sh: Permission denied

@nueh
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nueh commented Jul 21, 2015

@CosmicWebServices
chmod +x /Users/--------/Desktop/appify.sh

@drew1kun
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OS X 10.10.5: You can’t open the application “My App.app” because it is not supported on this type of Mac
😞

adding the Info.plist with next content didn't help:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
    <string>MyApp</string>
    <key>CFBundleGetInfoString</key>
    <string>MyApp</string>
    <key>CFBundleIconFile</key>
    <string>MyApp</string>
    <key>CFBundleName</key>
    <string>MyApp</string>
    <key>CFBundlePackageType</key>
    <string>APPL</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Any ideas how to make it work on Yosemite?

@tilo
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tilo commented Nov 12, 2015

+1 any idea on how to make this work on OS X 10.10 or higher?
I'm not familiar with the OS X plists internals... could somebody please post a working example?

@tilo
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tilo commented Nov 12, 2015

I worked for me after I ran this: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -f MyAppName.app

@yvanin
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yvanin commented Jul 26, 2016

It started working (OS X 10.11.2) when I changed #!/bin/bash to #!/usr/bin/env bash at the first line of my .sh script

@holacode
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holacode commented Aug 6, 2016

use this awesome utility for creating .app package no error related to power pc
http://sveinbjorn.org/platypus

@pelizza
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pelizza commented Aug 8, 2016

Hey guys,

Just put the correct shebang on your .sh file and everything will work fine. For instance: #!/bin/bash.
Also, don't forget to add execution permission for your .sh file: chmod +x myFile.sh.
With these steps, there is no PowerPC error :)

@davidroettger
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Hi,
my script looks like this

#!/bin/bash
cd /Users/dr/Documents/Leo/leo-editor
python launchLeo.py

and i added the execution permission for my .sh file.

The applified application dies immediately and I see the following entry in the console log:

15/08/16 12:52:55,087 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000046.leo[12195]) Service exited with abnormal code: 1

os is 10.11.5

@labor4
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labor4 commented Nov 21, 2016

here's a hack to make it open in Mac Terminal:
https://github.com/labor4/ya-appify

@oubiwann
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oubiwann commented Dec 9, 2016

I forked this and added option-parsing, overridable icons file, and some other bits: https://gist.github.com/oubiwann/453744744da1141ccc542ff75b47e0cf

@aleclarson
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aleclarson commented Jul 26, 2017

Trying to run Electron without using electron-packager.

I can get open MyApp.app in the Terminal to work.

But not when I double-click from the Finder, or right-click and select "Open".

Here are the repro steps:

  • Create MyApp.app/Contents/MacOS/MyApp
  • Modify the shell script:
#!/bin/bash
cd $(dirname "$0")/../../..
./node_modules/.bin/electron .
  • Call chmod +x MyApp.app/Contents/MacOS/MyApp
  • Confirm open MyApp.app works as intended
  • Confirm double-clicking in the Finder does nothing

Any help would be awesome.

Edit

Looks like it wasn't working because node_modules/.bin/electron spawns a child process.

This works as intended:

../node_modules/electron/dist/Electron.app/Contents/MacOS/Electron .

@Panther22881
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can any one help???
im only new to mac and command line entry im trying to see if any on can turn 2 commands into a ON / OFF switch/toggle? that i can just click to open from desktop or something with a status icon so you know it on or off

ON:
"sudo pmset -b sleep 0; sudo pmset -b disablesleep 1"

OFF:
sudo pmset -b sleep 5; sudo pmset -b disablesleep 0

@willbprog127
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willbprog127 commented Mar 30, 2018

Thanks so much for this!

I tried the Automater way of doing it, but it wasn't ideal. After removing the parameter variable from my command ("$@"), it worked fine...the applified app wouldn't launch with it there.

@Bachsau
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Bachsau commented Apr 14, 2018

When you're troubleshooting problems, it might look like changes to the shebang line or such things could do the trick, but they do not. The problem is that macOS caches app information which might result in things not working even after you modified the bundle. If that is the case, just run "touch" on your application's bundle. That will make macOS re-read your Info.plist.

@Geri-Borbas
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Adding plist and make sure that schell scripts and plist values have the same name as the app made it work fine.

@thedzy
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thedzy commented Oct 21, 2018

You can grab out of my frameworks and just edit the script continained.
https://github.com/thedzy/Run-script-as-an-Applicaiton

@dlpigpen
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How to add icon to this mac app generated?

@timelessthee
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You can grab out of my frameworks and just edit the script continained.
https://github.com/thedzy/Run-script-as-an-Applicaiton

Thank you for this. Much appreciated.

@Inthenew
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don't do /Users/--------/Desktop/appify.sh: Permission denied
instead do sh /Users/--------/Desktop/appify.sh

@mgdmdz
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mgdmdz commented Jul 28, 2022

Hi, is there an option to run the app as hidden?

@80N35
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80N35 commented Aug 3, 2022

This is the only "appify" script that is working on Catalina. Thanks, friend. Do you want to fork Conky-Mac with me. I have great configs but really haven't done serious code since the 90's in LA.

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