PluralMac Plus 1.2.2

Mostly housekeeping. Nothing changes in how instances run.

Fixed

• Notes that came in with an imported instance were lost the next time PluralMac Plus saved its instance list.
• The icon cache named its files after a value that changes with every launch, so icons of apps without a bundle ID were extracted again after each restart.
• An app listed twice in the bundled compatibility list would have crashed PluralMac Plus at startup. The first entry wins now.

Under the hood

• I removed about 2,000 lines of code nothing used anymore, most of it left over from the original project.
• Shorter README and tidier source comments.

Notes

• The app is ad-hoc signed and not notarized. On first launch, right-click it and choose Open, or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/PluralMac Plus.app".

PluralMac Plus 1.2.1

Fixed

• "Delete Shortcut & Data" deleted the data folder for good. It now moves it to the Trash, so a wrong click can be undone. A profile folder you chose yourself is never deleted, even when the instance's data folder points at it.
• Moving the data of apps with a profile folder moved the wrong folder. For Chromium, Electron and Firefox apps, "Move Data Folder" moved a folder the app doesn't use and left the profile where it was. It now moves the profile folder.

Changed

• The detail view is split into Storage, Dock & Icon and Separation. Every folder, copy and setting sits next to the buttons that act on it. Options that do nothing for an app are hidden: separate preferences for apps that keep their settings in the profile folder, and the launcher section for instances that already have their own app in the Dock.
• The shortcut path and the raw isolation method name are gone from the detail view.

New

• A PayPal donation link: "Donate with PayPal" in Settings → About, "Buy Me a Coffee…" in the Help menu and a small link at the bottom of the sidebar. They only open the page in the browser; the app never asks on its own. It doesn't have to be a big donation. A few cents show me who uses the tool and cares about where it goes next.

Notes

• The app is ad-hoc signed and not notarized. On first launch, right-click it and choose Open, or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/PluralMac Plus.app".

PluralMac Plus 1.2.0

New

• Private copies. Some apps don't allow the preferences library because of Hardened Runtime. Such an instance can now run from its own copy of the app ("Use a Private Copy…"). PluralMac Plus clones the app (APFS, almost no disk space), renames it to the instance, gives it the instance's icon and signs it again without Hardened Runtime. Separate preferences then work, and the Dock and Cmd-Tab show the instance name. The copy starts itself through a small script, so you can keep it in the Dock and start it from there, from Finder or from Spotlight. Updates of the original don't reach the copy; when the original changes version, PluralMac Plus offers to recreate it.
• Own Dock name and icon for apps with a profile folder. Chromium, Electron and Firefox apps get a small Dock app instead of a copy. It carries the instance's name and icon and starts the original binary with the instance's profile, so the original keeps its signature and its updates. You can keep it in the Dock too.
• Existing profile folders. An instance of such an app can use a profile folder that already exists ("Use Existing Profile…"). PluralMac Plus only passes the path and never writes into it.
• Icon color. The App Icon section tints the icon of the copy, the Dock app and the launcher. The sidebar and the detail header show the same color after "Apply Color".
• Separate preferences also work for hardened apps that explicitly allow injected libraries.

Fixed

• Keychain for apps with a profile folder. These apps ran with HOME pointing at the data folder, which hides the login keychain from them. They couldn't store new keychain items, and Electron apps then kept their database key unencrypted in their config. They now run with your normal home folder; the profile argument keeps the instances apart. Running instances are recognised by that argument.
• Apps on FAT or exFAT drives could hang at startup when they delete folders, because of macOS's hidden ._ companion files. PluralMac Plus removes those files from the data folder before launching. It never touches a profile folder you chose yourself.

Notes

• If an instance of a profile-folder app is running and you then open the original app itself, macOS only brings the instance to the front, because it counts the instance as the original app. Start the original first.
• The app is ad-hoc signed and not notarized. On first launch, right-click it and choose Open, or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/PluralMac Plus.app".

PluralMac Plus 1.1.1

Fixed

• Preferences were shared between instances. 1.1.0 claimed that CFFIXED_USER_HOME also separates preferences. It doesn't: the system's preferences daemon ignores it, so every instance read and wrote the same file in ~/Library/Preferences. The new option Separate preferences loads a small library into the app that keeps its UserDefaults in the instance folder. It's on by default for new instances. For an existing instance, turn it on in the detail view; it starts with a copy of the shared preferences. macOS only allows this for apps without Hardened Runtime, so the option is greyed out for the others.

New

• Separate device ID. Some apps identify the Mac by its hardware UUID, so several instances count as one device and the server only talks to one of them. With this option an instance sees its own UUID. New Device ID… assigns a fresh one.

Notes

• Changes to these options apply after restarting the instance. Launchers update automatically.
• The app is ad-hoc signed and not notarized. On first launch, right-click it and choose Open, or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/PluralMac Plus.app".

PluralMac Plus 1.1.0

First release of PluralMac Plus, my fork of PluralMac by Rafael Alexander Mejia Blanco.

New

• Launcher apps. Create a small app per instance, by default in /Applications, and start the instance from the Dock or Spotlight without PluralMac Plus. A hue slider tints the launcher icon. Launchers get rebuilt when you change the instance, and Remove or deleting the instance moves them to the Trash.
• Data folders. Choose the data folder when you create an instance. If it already holds a profile, you decide whether to use it or pick another folder. Settings → Storage sets the default location, and Move Data Folder… relocates an existing instance. Instances on a disconnected drive refuse to start instead of opening with an empty profile.
• Better isolation. Besides HOME, instances now get CFFIXED_USER_HOME, so Caches, Application Support, HTTPStorages and preferences end up in the instance folder instead of your real home folder.
• Running instances. Double-click an instance (or press Show) to start it, or to bring it to the front and restore a minimized window. PluralMac Plus recognizes running instances after a restart, including ones started by a launcher.
• Environment variables and arguments can now be edited, both when creating an instance and later via Edit….
• Reorder instances by dragging them in the sidebar.

Fixed

• Opening Settings crashed the app (also in PluralMac 1.0).
• The menu bar entries didn't launch anything.
• Rename is available from the sidebar's context menu; blank names are rejected.

Notes

• Instances created with PluralMac 1.0 carry over; both read ~/Library/PluralMac/instances.json.
• The app is ad-hoc signed and not notarized. On first launch, right-click it and choose Open, or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/PluralMac Plus.app".
• Requires macOS 14 or later.