Download macOS Helper 1.2 + PortableApps.com Platform

The PortableApps.com macOS Helper app allows you to run the PortableApps.com Platform and many of our apps on your Intel or Apple Silicon Mac. It installs the PortableApps.com Platform to your local ~/Documents directory. It can run the platform from there or from a removable drive. It can even run from a removable drive without needing a local install. More supported locations are coming shortly. You'll need to unquarantine the unsigned package as detailed in the instructions below.

The PortableApps.com Platform is 100% Free. Free to use. Free to share. And fully open source.
Please read a personal appeal from PortableApps.com founder John T. Haller and donate today.

Download from PortableApps.com

Version 1.2 for macOS, 83 Languages
496MB download / 1.2GB installed
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Installation Instructions

After downloading the PortableApps.com.macOS.Helper.1.2.dmg file, double click it to mount the image. Copy the PortableAppsMacHelper app from within the mounted drive image to your computer. It can be placed anywhere but the Documents directory is recommended. You can then eject the mounted image. To run PortableAppsMacHelper the first time, right click or control click on it and select Open from the popup menu. After approving it, it will guide you through initial installation of the PortableApps.com Platform. You can then run PortableAppsMacHelper by double clicking it to launch your copy of the PortableApps.com Platform.

Removing Quarantine To Fix The Package Error: On newer versions of macOS, Apple has set it so that unsigned downloaded apps can't be used and will show an error saying they are damaged or corrupt. To allow the app, after copying the PortableAppsMacHelper to your Documents folder, open a terminal window and run the following command:

sudo xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/Documents/PortableAppsMacHelper.app

This removes the app from the macOS quarantine and allows it to work as normal. We've applied for the Apple Developer Program and paid our $100/year fee. Once our application is complete and we've set up our signing certificate, we'll be releasing a signed version to alleviate the quarantine issue.

After removing the quarantine block, you can move the helper to another location. You can also copy it to your external drive and run it from there. The helper will even run the PA.c Platform from your external drive so you can use the PA.c Platform portably on macOS without needing to install anything locally, just as on Windows.

On first run, the helper will offer to install the PA.c Platform to your Documents directory if it is not already installed. It will look for and run a copy of the PA.c Platform within your Documents directory if it is already there. It will also search your removable drives for copies of the PA.c Platform.

To Upgrade: Delete your existing copy of the PortableAppsMacHelper and then follow the directions above to download and unquarantine the new version.

Download Details

• Operating Systems: macOS 10.13 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel-based devices
• Publisher: PortableApps.com
• Date Updated: 2023-04-14 (Platform Changelog)
• License: Freeware with Open Source components (GPL, some MIT, some CC images, trademarks and trade dress not included)
• Source Code: PortableApps.com Platform (Menu, App Store, etc)
• SHA256 Hash: 690566ae004fd691c97482be2359e0d1ab97f31cbde3ed3734fb6d168d8961a4