LetsMove

A library that prompts users to move a running macOS application to the Applications folder. This fork is maintained for use in my HazeOver app.

Requirements

Builds and runs on macOS 10.13 or higher. Requires Xcode 15 or later to build. Does NOT support sandboxed applications.

Usage

Add this Swift package to your project. Then, in your application delegate:

import LetsMove

func applicationWillFinishLaunching(_ notification: Notification) {
    LetsMove.moveToApplicationsFolderIfNecessary()
}

License

Public domain

Version History

• 2.0.0

  • Converted to Swift
  • Migrated project to Swift Package Manager
  • Removed AppleScript Trash workaround
  • Removed privileged installer
  • Skip alert if won’t be able to move
  • Removed CocoaPods and Carthage support
  • Removed demo app project
  • Updated localizations

• 1.25

  • Migrate localization strings to a string catalog (requires Xcode 15)
  • Add Greek and Vietnamese localizations
  • Raise minimum deployment target to macOS 10.11
  • Use ARC and modern Objective-C syntax

• 1.24

  • Add PFMoveIsInProgress function

• 1.23

  • Make usable for Electron based apps or other apps that do not have access to the main thread dispatch queue
  • Update Russian localization

• 1.22

  • Fix not deleting or trashing itself after copying to /Applications in macOS Sierra

• 1.20

  • Support for applications bundled inside another application
  • Brazilian Portuguese localization slightly updated

• 1.19

  • Slovak localization added

• 1.18

  • Catalan localization added

• 1.17

  • Traditional Chinese localization added

• 1.15

  • Swedish localization added

• 1.14

  • Hungarian, Serbian, Turkish, and Macedonian localizations added

• 1.13

  • Polish localization added

• 1.12

  • Minor adjustment to Dutch localization

• 1.11

  • Objective-C++ compatibility

• 1.9

  • Properly detect if the running app is in a disk image
  • Fixed a bug where if the app's name contained a quote, the app could not be moved
  • After a successful move, delete the application instead of moving it to the Trash

• 1.8

  • Added Korean localization

• 1.7.2

  • Fixed an exception that could happen

• 1.7

  • Only move to ~/Applications directory if an app is already in there

• 1.6.3

  • Added Simplified Chinese and European Portuguese localizations

• 1.6.2

  • Use a new method to check if an application is already running

• 1.6.1

  • Use exit(0) to terminate the app before relaunching instead of [NSApp terminate:]. We don't want applicationShouldTerminate or applicationWillTerminate NSApplication delegate methods to be called, possibly introducing side effects.

• 1.6

  • Resolve any aliases when finding the Applications directory

• 1.5

  • Don't prompt to move the application if it has "Applications" in its path somewhere

• 1.3

  • Fixed a rare bug in the shell script that checks to see if the app is already running
  • Clear quarantine flag after copying
  • Compile time option to show normal sized alert suppress checkbox button
  • German, Danish, and Norwegian localizations added

• 1.2

  • Copy application from disk image then unmount disk image
  • Spanish, French, Dutch, and Russian localizations

• 1.1

  • Prefers ~/Applications over /Applications if it exists
  • Escape key pushes the "Do Not Move" button

Code Contributors:

• Andy Kim
• John Brayton
• Chad Sellers
• Kevin LaCoste
• Rasmus Andersson
• Timothy J. Wood
• Matt Gallagher
• Whitney Young
• Nick Moore
• Nicholas Riley
• Matt Prowse
• Maxim Ananov
• Charlie Stigler

Translators:

• Eita Hayashi (Japanese)
• Gleb M. Borisov, Maxim Ananov (Russian)
• Wouter Broekhof (Dutch)
• Rasmus Andersson / Spotify (French and Spanish)
• Markus Kirschner (German)
• Fredrik Nannestad (Danish)
• Georg Alexander Bøe (Norwegian)
• Marco Improda (Italian)
• Venj Chu (Simplified Chinese)
• Sérgio Miranda (European Portuguese)
• Victor Figueiredo and BR Lingo (Brazilian Portuguese)
• AppLingua (Korean)
• Czech X Team (Czech)
• Marek Telecki (Polish)
• Petar Vlahu (Macedonian)
• Václav Slavík (Hungarian, Serbian, and Turkish)
• Erik Vikström (Swedish)
• Inndy Lin (Traditional Chinese)
• aONe (Catalan)
• Marek Hrusovsky (Slovak)