Launching CoolTerm on macOS for the first time

[roger]

Ever since Apple has introduced Gatekeeper, launching apps from unregistered developers for the first time has become more difficult. My freeware apps, such as CoolTerm etc, are no exception. The key to success is to launch such apps via the context menu and selecting "Open" instead of double-clicking the app icon. It may be necessary to do this twice if macOS still refuses to launch the app the first time. After successfully launching the app this way, it will not be necessary to do this anymore, and the app can be launched normally.

Here is a short video clip that shows this procedure: Link

[danielpbak]

This doesn't work for me, I have the first dialogue repeatedly. I also have a "no" symbol above the app icon.

[roger]

This doesn't work for me, I have the first dialogue repeatedly. I also have a "no" symbol above the app icon.

You may need to adjust the setting in 'System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General" to allow apps downloaded from "App Stored and identified developers" instead of only "App Store". Also, make sure you download the latest version of CoolTerm for macOS.

[roger]

Note that the option to launch a newly downloaded version of CoolTerm via the context menu for the first time will no longer be available with macOS Sequoia and newer. However, it will still be possible to launch CoolTerm.

• When launching a new version of CoolTerm, macOS will say that the app can't be checked for malware, and the only option is to click "Done" or "Move to Trash".
• Click "Done".
• Open the macOS System Preferences and go to "Privacy & Security".
• Scroll down to "Security", past the list of apps.
• There you will find a line saying "CoolTerm was blocked to protect your Mac."
• Click "Open Anyway".
• CoolTerm will launch, but a message will again tell you that Apple is unable to verify that it is free from malware. Click "Open Anyway".
• You will now be asked to enter your password.
• CoolTerm will run after that.

This should only be necessary the very first time. After that, you can launch CoolTerm normally.

[roger]

Another, perhaps easier way to authorize CoolTerm to run on your Mac is to use the command line:

• Open a macOS Terminal and navigate to the folder where CoolTerm.app is located, e.g /Applications/
• Execute the following command:

  Code: Select all

  xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine CoolTerm.app