Back to the Mac: How to Notarize Disk Images for Distribution Outside the Mac App Store

Distributing apps outside the store means signing and notarizing it. When your app need to function offline, you need to stamp the notarization result as well otherwise risk the dreaded “Apple cannot verify this application for malware” warning to your user. It also means needing to distribute apps as disk images instead of a simple ZIP archive since the latter cannot be stamped. But creating a notarized and stamped disk image is lengthy 10-step process. Xcode is yet to provide a 1-click command to do this. What is the process involved to create a properly notarized and stamped disk image and how to automate this entire ordeal? Watch the talk to find out more.

Distributing apps outside the Mac App Store means signing and notarizing it. Should you have an offline-capable app, you would need to staple the notarization result as well.  Otherwise macOS could warn the user that application “may contain malware” when it couldn’t contact Apple’s servers to validate notarization.

Stapling notarization result implies distributing apps as disk images instead of a simple ZIP archive — since the latter cannot be stamped. Unfortunately creating a notarized and stamped disk images is a 10-step process. Xcode 12 hasn’t provided a 1-click command for this either.

Watch this talk to find out the process to properly notarize and stamp a disk image, as well as how to script the entire process.

The above video is part of the Back to the Mac November 2020 online virtual conference. Special thanks to Gavin Wiggins for organizing this.



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