Determine the source of a macOS application

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Level 1

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Determine the source of a macOS application

Can the source or method of installation of a macOS be determined? Of course, many apps from the AppStore, but also from dmgs (downloaded from a website) and via HomeBrew. An example is Postgres.app which can be installed via HomeBrew and dmg, and no doubt other ways.

System Information>Software>Installations only shows "Apple" and "3rd Party." Which seems to only include apps installed by default and the App Store. And does not list apps installed from dmg or HomeBrew.

I don't see anything in Get Info that helps.

Can I get a list of all apps and their installation method/source?

PS: the Software Information includes all installation, nice if it could be filtered to only the latest version or current version in use.

Posted on Jan 15, 2024 12:05 PM

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Answer 1

VikingOSX

Level 10

124,214 points

Jan 15, 2024 1:03 PM in response to MtnBiker

You can click on the installed application in the Finder and then press option+cmd+i to open an Information panel mid-screen. It will have a copyright string on it that may point to the original vendor name, but not their website.

Before you install anything in homebrew, you can get a link to the product support website. As an example for imagemagick:

and then you can copy/paste that web link into a browser and go to the support site. You should not be direct downloading applications from any site but the original developer, or you may be opening a vector for malware baggage in the download. Although I use homebrew (sparingly), I often visit the developer support site before any new installation, and further, I look at the dependency tree graph which may prevent me from installing in the first place due to deep dependencies.

brew deps --tree --installed xpdf

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Determine the source of a macOS application

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