Xattr-remove: clear com.apple.quarantine and re-sign app bundle (optional)

SwiftUI application for macOS that removes com.apple.quarantine extended attribute from files downloaded from the Internet. Works by accepting files via drag and drop onto the app window.

Quarantine attribute removal

This app is a simpler and lighter version of Xattr Editor. Instead of displaying and editing (removing, modifying, adding) extended attributes, it performs a single task: removing com.apple.quarantine in a quick way from files downloaded from the Internet so that they can be opened in macOS without Gatekeeper warnings.

Digital re-sign (optional)

You can also optionally digitally self-sign ad-hoc an app (and the Sparkle framework) by replacing its certificate. This is especially useful if, trying to run the app for the first time, even after removing the com.apple.quarantine attribute, the app crashes with a Sparkle-related error. This option is equivalent to running these commands:

 codesign --force --deep --sign - \
  <App-name>.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework

 codesign --force --deep --sign - \
  <App-name>.app

Architecture detection

If the file dragged onto the window is an .app, a macOS executable or a library, Xattr-remove runs lipo -archs on the binary. The result (architecture/s of the file) is shown in the main window while processing, and appended to the success alert message. It can be Intel and Silicon, Only Intel or Only Silicon. For multiple-file drops, no architecture info is shown (it would be ambiguous). Non-binary files (plain documents, scripts, etc.) silently return nothing and no label appears.

Screenshots

Features

• Drop files onto the app window to remove the quarantine attribute
• Optional checkbox to re-sign app bundles (Sparkle first, app second) after removing the quarantine attribute
• Information about detected architectures if it is a macOS binary file
• Built with Swift and SwiftUI
• Handle errors (whether the attribute exists or not)
• Supports all file types including apps and executables
• Localization system with language selector and 5 languages (German, English, French, Italian and Spanish)
• Language selector: Language > Select language in menubar or ⌘ + L keyboard shortcut

Building

Open Xattr-remove.xcodeproj in Xcode and build the project. The app requires macOS 13.0 or later.

Usage

1. Launch the app to open the main window
2. Drag and drop files downloaded from Internet onto the app window
3. The quarantine attribute (if it exists) will be automatically removed
4. (Optional) Enable the re-sign checkbox before dropping files to run ad-hoc codesign on Sparkle.framework and then the app bundle
5. The user gets an alert as feedback
6. The app automatically quits 5 seconds after displaying a success alert

Note: Files must be dropped onto the app window. Dropping files onto the app icon in Finder or Dock is not supported due to macOS Gatekeeper restrictions with quarantined executables.

Requirements

• macOS 13.0 or later
• Xcode 14.0 or later (for building)

First run

Xattr-remove, since it's also an app downloaded from the Internet, it also displays the Gatekeeper warning on the first run. This is unavoidable since the app is only ad-hoc signed and not notarized.
To remove the quarantine attribute from Xattr-remove.app:

• open Terminal
• write sudo xattr -cr
• drag and drop Xattr-remove.app onto the Terminal window
• ENTER.

This doesn't happen if you download the source code, compile the app using Xcode, and save the product for regular use.

Credits

Based on:

• https://github.com/rcsiko/xattr-editor
• https://github.com/perez987/Xattr-Editor
• https://github.com/jozefizso/swift-xattr
• https://github.com/overbuilt/foundation-xattr
• https://github.com/abra-code/XattrApp