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iCloud GUI 1.0

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@drtechventures drtechventures released this 27 Aug 21:42
· 9 commits to main since this release
v1.0
9aadb1f

Download your iCloud photos to a Mac or a NAS.

Signed and notarised by Apple — it opens on double-click with no Gatekeeper warnings.

How it works

There is no official iCloud Photos API. Tools built on the unofficial web API need your
Apple ID password and require you to turn off Advanced Data Protection. This one uses
Apple's own PhotoKit framework instead, so:

  • No Apple ID password is ever requested or stored. macOS is already signed in; the
    app asks the system for access to your Photos library.
  • Two-factor authentication and Advanced Data Protection both keep working.
  • Full-resolution originals are pulled from iCloud on demand.

What it does

  • Browse your library grouped by day, month or year, with sticky date headers
  • Download a whole album, or click to pick individual photos
  • Only new — scans your destination and tells you what is actually missing before
    you start, so re-running is a safe incremental backup
  • Date folders or one flat folder, with optional date-prefixed filenames
  • Finder tags for album membership and favourites
  • Live Photos, RAW pairs and burst frames all kept whole
  • Files carry the date the photo was taken, so NAS photo indexers sort correctly
  • Your Mac stays awake for the duration of a long backup

Requirements

macOS 14 or later, with the Photos app signed into iCloud and iCloud Photos enabled.

Three things macOS will not allow

These are Apple restrictions, not missing features — the app lists all three and
explains them rather than hiding them:

  • Hidden photos are withheld from every third-party app while the Hidden album
    requires Touch ID or a password. Turn that off in Photos → Settings → General.
  • Recently Deleted has no API at all. Recover the photos in Photos first.
  • Shared albums hold reduced-size copies (~2048px, video 720p), not originals.

Verifying this download

spctl -a -vvv "iCloud GUI.app"

Should report accepted and source=Notarized Developer ID. Anything else means the app
was altered after signing — don't run it.

Building from source

No dependencies, no Xcode project:

git clone https://github.com/DR-Tech-Ventures/icloud-gui
cd icloud-gui && ./setup-signing.sh && ./run.sh
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