OpenAnyway

OpenAnyway is a small native macOS utility for removing the quarantine attribute from trusted .app bundles without asking users to type Terminal commands.

It is intended for indie developers, open-source applications, internal tools, beta builds, and other trusted software workflows where Gatekeeper quarantine gets in the way of launching an app you already trust.

Features

• Drag and drop .app bundles
• Batch processing for multiple apps
• Browse for an application with a native file picker
• Inspect quarantine status
• Read app name, bundle ID, version, build, and executable metadata
• Remove com.apple.quarantine recursively with xattr
• Open the selected application after quarantine removal
• Reveal selected apps in Finder
• Export inspection reports as CSV or JSON
• CLI executable for scripted workflows
• Offline-first SwiftUI interface
• Testable Swift core module
• No analytics, login, background service, or network dependency

Requirements

• macOS 13 or newer
• Xcode command line tools
• Swift 6 compatible toolchain

Build

swift build

Run

swift run OpenAnyway

CLI

Build and run the command line tool:

swift run openanyway help
swift run openanyway inspect /Applications/Example.app
swift run openanyway trust /Applications/Example.app
swift run openanyway export-json /Applications/Example.app
swift run openanyway export-csv /Applications/Example.app

The CLI accepts multiple .app paths for batch workflows.

Test

swift test

Example Test App

Create a disposable quarantined app bundle for local testing:

./Examples/create-quarantined-test-app.sh

Then run OpenAnyway and drag /tmp/OpenAnywayExample.app into the window.

You can also pass a custom output path:

./Examples/create-quarantined-test-app.sh /tmp/MyExample.app

How It Works

OpenAnyway validates that the selected item is a real .app bundle with a Contents/Info.plist, checks its quarantine status with:

xattr -p com.apple.quarantine /path/to/App.app

and removes quarantine with:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /path/to/App.app

The app does not disable SIP, patch macOS, bypass code-signing validation, or alter Gatekeeper policy. It only removes the quarantine extended attribute from an app bundle selected by the user.

Project Layout

Package.swift
Sources/
  OpenAnyway/
    AppViewModel.swift
    ContentView.swift
    OpenAnywayApp.swift
    Resources/
  OpenAnywayCLI/
    main.swift
  OpenAnywayCore/
    AppInspection.swift
    AppBundleValidator.swift
    AppMetadata.swift
    QuarantineService.swift
    ReportExporter.swift
    TrustedAppWorkflow.swift
Tests/
  OpenAnywayCoreTests/
Examples/
  create-quarantined-test-app.sh

Security Notice

Only remove quarantine from applications you trust and obtained from reputable sources. OpenAnyway is a convenience tool, not a trust or malware scanner.

License

MIT