AutoPkgr – A GUI for AutoPkg

The Linde Group has released a new tool on Github: AutoPkgr, a GUI interface for AutoPkg. In my working with the initial release today, I’ve been impressed with the problems it solves for Mac admins who want to get started using AutoPkg but aren’t sure where to begin.

To use AutoPkgr, you will need to have the following pre-requisites:

1. OS X 10.9.x

2. Xcode and/or the Xcode Command Line Tools installed

3. Acceptance of the Xcode license agreement.

4. A logged-in user to run the AutoPkgr application in. This user can be a standard user or have admin rights.

Once the prerequisites have been met, see below the jump for details on installation and configuration.

Installing AutoPkgr

1. Download the latest version from the AutoPkgr release page.

2. Copy the AutoPkgr application to /Applications.

Using AutoPkgr

1. Open AutoPkgr and verify that both Git and AutoPkg are installed.

If not, AutoPkgr can install the latest versions for you using the Install Git and Install AutoPkg buttons available via the Install tab.

2. To configure AutoPkg‘s repos and recipes, click on the Configure Repos & Apps tab.

AutoPkgr will check GitHub for the AutoPkg repos available via https://github.com/autopkg and display the linked repos available for selection in the Repositories list.

If you need to add a repository, you can add it by entering it in the Add a repo URL manually: blank and clicking the Add button.

Note – 7-14-2014: You may need to manually add a repo to AutoPkgr before you’ll be able to select other repos.

Once a repo is selected, the repo’s AutoPkg recipes available will then appear in the Available Applications pane.

As more repos are selected, the associated AutoPkg recipes are automatically added to the Available Applications pane.

To add receipes to AutoPkg‘s run list, check the box next to the appropriate recipes to select them.

3. To configure AutoPkg to run on a schedule, click on the Configure Schedule tab

To configure AutoPkg to automatically run the selected recipes on a schedule, check the option for Check for new versions of apps every X hours and set an hour value.

To have changes to the AutoPkg repos automatically updated, check the option for Check for repo updates when AutoPkgr launches.

If you want to manually run the selected receipes with AutoPkg, click the Check Apps Now button.

If you want to manually update the AutoPkg repos, click the Update Repos Now button.

You can also be notified by email when AutoPkgr has completed running the selected recipes. To do this, check the option for Send email notifications when new versions are found.

Once checked, configure the mail settings as needed.

Once your mail settings are configured, you can test them by clicking the Send Test Email button.

You should receive an email that looks like the one below.

The notification emails currently look like the example below.

As I found the email in its current form a bit hard to parse, I’ve filed a feature request to improve the formatting. At this time, the response from the developers has been positive.

4. To access the AutoPkg receipe and download folders, click on AutoPkgr‘s Tools tab.

If you want to be notified about possible problems when quitting AutoPkgr, check the option for Warn Before Quitting AutoPkgr.

With this option enabled, the following warning will be displayed when quitting AutoPkgr.

Once the selected repos have been downloaded, the Open AutoPkg RecipeRepos Folder button becomes active.

Clicking the button will open a new Finder window directly to AutoPkg‘s RecipeRepos directory in /Users/username/Library/AutoPkg.

After AutoPkgr has completed its initial run of recipes, the Open AutoPkg Cache Folder button becomes active.

Clicking it will open a new Finder window directly to AutoPkg‘s Cache directory in /Users/username/Library/AutoPkg, which will give you access to the completed application installers.

5. To save your changes, click the Save and Close button.

When you click the Save and Close button, the AutoPkgr interface closes. To get back into it, locate the briefcase icon in the menubar and click Configure…

Once clicked, the AutoPkgr interface will re-open for editing.

For the initial release, AutoPkgr includes a lot of nice features and I’m looking forward to seeing how this application develops. One thing I didn’t test was the Munki-specific features, as I’m not a Munki user. If you’ve used AutoPkgr with Munki, please let me know your experiences in the comments.