Apple discontinues macOS Server

After a long run, first beginning with Mac OS X Server 1.0 in 1999, Apple has announced the end of macOS Server as of April 21, 2022. The final version is macOS Server 5.12.2, which runs on macOS Monterey.

macOS Server 5.12.2 has shed many of the features once supported by macOS Server. As of 5.12.2, the following two services are supported:

• Profile Manager
• Open Directory

Both services are not currently available outside of macOS Server, so Apple discontinuing macOS Server also means the end of the line for Apple’s Open Directory directory service and Apple’s Profile Manager MDM service.

For current customers who have purchased macOS Server, macOS Server 5.12.2 remains available in the App Store.

Building a Privileges installer package using AutoPkg

In working with folks who want to build installer packages to install the Privileges app, I’ve noticed that a number of them have experienced problems with manually building an installer package for Privileges which correctly installs the Privileges app’s helper tool.

The result of an installer which does not install the helper tool correctly is that when a user requests administrator privileges using the Privileges app, the app prompts them to install the helper tool. This requires administrative rights, which sets up a chicken and egg situation where admin privileges are being required to get admin privileges.

Fortunately, there is an automated method for building the installer package which (so far) has worked correctly in each case I’m familiar with. There are AutoPkg recipes available for creating a Privileges installer package and AutoPkg is able to build a correctly working Privileges installer package.

	computername:~ username$ autopkg search com.github.rtrouton.Privileges
	Name Repo Path
	—- —- —-
	Privileges.munki.recipe apfelwerk-recipes Privileges/Privileges.munki.recipe
	Privileges.install.recipe rtrouton-recipes Privileges/Privileges.install.recipe
	Privileges.munki.recipe rtrouton-recipes Privileges/Privileges.munki.recipe
	Privileges.jss.recipe rtrouton-recipes JSS/Privileges.jss.recipe
	Privileges.pkg.recipe rtrouton-recipes Privileges/Privileges.pkg.recipe
	Privileges.download.recipe rtrouton-recipes Privileges/Privileges.download.recipe
	To add a new recipe repo, use 'autopkg repo-add <repo name>'
	computername:~ username$

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Payload-Free Package Creator 2.4 now available

Payload-Free Package Creator.app, an Automator application that allows the selection of an existing script and then create a payload-free package that runs the selected script, has been updated to version 2.4.

The functionality and operations of the app have not changed from Payload-Free Package Creator 2.3. The main change is that Payload-Free Package Creator.app is now a Universal app, allowing it to run natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Payload-Free Package Creator 2.4, along with all components and scripts, are available on GitHub via the link below:

https://github.com/rtrouton/Payload-Free-Package-Creator

Simple Package Creator 1.5 now available

Simple Package Creator.app, an Automator application that will allow the selection of a self-contained application and creates an installer package that enables the installation of the application with pre-set permissions into /Applications, has been updated to version 1.5.

The functionality and operations of the app have not changed from Simple Package Creator 1.4. The main change is that Simple Package Creator.app is now a Universal app, allowing it to run natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Simple Package Creator 1.5, along with all components and scripts, are available on GitHub via the link below:

https://github.com/rtrouton/Simple-Package-Creator