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Third Party Patcher (TPP) is a macOS daemon-based patching system for IT administrators. It automatically discovers, stages, and applies third-party application updates using Installomator labels, with optional swiftDialog prompts so users stay informed without being blocked.
| Page | Description |
|---|---|
| Installation | Deploying the pkg to managed Macs |
| How It Works | The four phases: Scan → Check → Stage → Apply |
| Scheduling | LaunchDaemon timing and patching cadence |
| Command-Line Reference | All subcommands for patcher, patcherscheduler, and patcherreport
|
| Preference Keys | Full reference for every MDM/plist key |
| Installomator Integration | How labels are downloaded, stored, and used |
| Installomator Metadata | Icons and app metadata used by Available Software and PatcherMenu |
| Managed Labels | Supplying custom or override label files |
| Deferral and Deadlines | How users defer, and when that ability is removed |
| Patching Walkthrough: Deadline-Based | Day-by-day example timeline for deadline-based mode |
| Patching Walkthrough: Monthly Cadence | Day-by-day example timeline for monthly cadence mode |
| User Prompts | swiftDialog integration and prompt behavior |
| PatcherMenu | Menu bar app: icon states, sections, and configuration |
| Available Software | Self-service catalog and managed software viewer |
| Reporting |
patcherreport subcommands and output |
| Logs and Troubleshooting | Where logs live and common issues |
| Contributing | Opening issues and pull requests |
Warning
Startup Delay
The default behavior for Third Party Patcher is a random delay up to 24 hours before it actively starts scans, checks, staging and applying. This is intentional for environments with many devices. This will prevent a situation where all the devices start hammering the network all at once.
If you are installing it on a single device for testing, the recommendation would be to apply this preference to the device to disable this behavior:
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.gilburns.patcher InitialScanDelayEnabled -bool falseSee this link for full details: https://github.com/gilburns/Third-Party-Patcher/wiki/Preference-Keys#phase-schedule
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Binary install path | /usr/local/bin/tpp/ |
| Data directory | /Library/Application Support/Patcher/ |
| Log directory | /Library/Logs/Patcher/ |
| Preference domain | com.gilburns.patcher |
| LaunchDaemon label | com.gilburns.patcher.scheduler |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 14 Sonoma |
| License | MIT |