[Feature] `.dmg`/`.app`/`.pkg`/Brew for Mac

[KaKi87]

Problem Description

The current Mac experience involves extracting an archive containing a binary, marking the latter as executable, then launching it from the terminal, without being able to launch it from the Dock or Launchpad.

Proposed Solution

Publish a .dmg, .app or .pkg file in releases, that is easily installable and launchable, or make it available on brew install --cask.

Alternative Solutions

None

Use Cases

Describe specific scenarios where this feature would be useful:

1. When installing and launching the app.

Mockups / Examples

None

Additional Context

None

Priority

How important is this feature to your workflow?

• Critical - blocking my work
• High - significant improvement
• Medium - nice to have
• Low - minor convenience

---

Thanks

[OlaProeis]

Hi @KaKi87,

Thanks for the feedback. Here’s the current state:

What's coming in v0.2.7: We've implemented proper Ferrite.app bundle packaging (replacing raw binaries). Current releases (v0.2.6, v0.2.6.1) still ship raw binaries. When v0.2.7 is released, hopefully within a week, the archives will contain Ferrite.app, which you can:

1. Extract from the archive
2. Drag to your Applications folder
3. Launch from Dock or Launchpad

No more marking as executable or launching from the terminal. The .app bundle is Gatekeeper-friendly and works with normal double-click launching.

What we don’t provide yet:

• .dmg – We'll use .tar.gz instead of a disk image. A .dmg would make drag-to-install more familiar for Mac users.
• .pkg – We don’t ship an installer package.
• Homebrew cask – Ferrite isn’t in brew install --cask yet.

We’ll consider adding .dmg packaging and/or a Homebrew cask in a future release. In the meantime, the .app bundle in the next releases should give you a normal Mac app experience.

[OlaProeis]

Hi @KaKi87! Great news macOS .app bundles are now shipping in v0.2.7 which just released today!

What's Implemented

macOS .app Bundle

• Releases now include proper Ferrite.app bundles (arm64 and x86_64)
• Built via cargo-bundle in CI
• Info.plist with proper metadata
• Launchable from Finder, Dock, and Launchpad

Download

Get the .app bundle from the v0.2.7 release:

• ferrite-macos-arm64.dmg — Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
• ferrite-macos-x86_64.dmg — Intel Macs

Gatekeeper Note

The .app bundle resolves the Gatekeeper blocking issue (#93). The raw binary is no longer shipped for macOS.

What's NOT Yet Implemented

Homebrew Cask

Still pending — we need to:

1. Reach broader adoption/stability thresholds for Homebrew acceptance
2. Create a Homebrew cask formula
3. Submit to homebrew-cask repository

This is on our roadmap for a future release.

Current Workaround for Homebrew Users

You can manually install the .app bundle:

# Download and extract
curl -LO https://github.com/OlaProeis/Ferrite/releases/download/v0.2.7/ferrite-macos-arm64.dmg
hdiutil attach ferrite-macos-arm64.dmg
cp -r /Volumes/Ferrite/Ferrite.app /Applications/
hdiutil detach /Volumes/Ferrite

Please try the .app bundle from v0.2.7 and let us know if it works for your workflow!

[OlaProeis]

Hi @KaKi87! macOS .app bundles and DMGs now ship in v0.2.7.

What's Available Now

• ferrite-macos-arm64.dmg — Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)
• ferrite-macos-x64.dmg — Intel Macs

Both DMGs contain a proper Ferrite.app bundle with Info.plist, icons, and file type associations (.md, .json, .yaml, .toml, .txt).

Homebrew Cask

We've also set up a Homebrew tap:

brew tap olaproeis/ferrite
brew install --cask ferrite

This automatically handles macOS Gatekeeper (strips quarantine attribute), so Ferrite launches with zero warnings.

Not Yet Available

• Submission to the official homebrew-cask repository (requires broader adoption first)
• .pkg installer (may consider in future)

Let us know if the DMG or Homebrew install works for you!