October 2023

The latest improvements and fixes for the App Catalog

✨ New

App Catalog Customer Portal

• Customers can now log into the App Catalog Customer Portal using a passkey, providing stronger authentication and a better user experience. Existing accounts will be prompted to generate a passkey the next time the login.

Catalog Agent & Catalog App

v1.2.0

• The Catalog Agent introduces a new autonomous way to perform app updates using an update schedule and it is no longer required to instruct your MDM solution to run the catalog --update command periodically. Additionally, updates are also applied while the Mac is asleep. Once version 1.2.0 is installed, a modern LaunchDaemon is registered and will perform app updates according to the interval (in days) configured with the key UpdateInterval. Setting the value to 1 or higher will automatically enable the update schedule. Check Updating Apps for more detailed information.

  • Note: This feature is only available for macOS 13 or later

  • Note: A new PPPC configuration profile with Full Disk Access is required to allow all types of apps to be updated. Please refer to App Management (PPPC) for more info and an example.

• New key HideUpdateNotifications is available to show or hide update notifications for the new update schedule using the modern LaunchDaemon.
• New key UpdatesOnly is available to enable the Catalog App for end users but only show available updates. This is especially helpful for users to view app updates and install at a more convenient time. When using this mode, only app updates can be performed and no new app installs are allowed.
• New Update All button is now available to install all available app updates at once.

• Support for adding apps to the end of the Dock by adding the --dock or -d argument when using the Catalog Agent. For example catalog --install "BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER" --dock.

• The sidebar keys SidebarTitle and SidebarSubtitle now support new lines using \n

• The Catalog App icon now shows the number of available updates.

• The sidebar will now show the App Catalog logo and name by default.

• Search results are more accurate and expanded to search in app descriptions and developer names.

• The Catalog Agent no longer shows the download progress by default during app installs to get clean log output, for example when sent to the MDM. To show download progress, include the --progress or -p argument.

• Several UI improvements

🛠 Fixed

Catalog Agent & Catalog App

v1.2.1

• Enabling or disabling the new update schedule now requires root privileges.

• An issue is resolved on macOS 12 where apps would not show in the Catalog App.

v1.2.0

• The Catalog Agent now allows to run app updates when running at roughly the same time every day. For example when UpdateInterval is set to 1 (day), a new update task is allowed 23 hours after the previous task was completed. When set to 2 (days), a new update task is allowed after 47 hours and so forth.

• Several other bug fixes.