@keithduncan krona for your thoughts.

Some other discussions about this:

potionfactory/LetsMove#56
http://www.openradar.me/radar?id=5022734169931776

I've confirmed that removing com.apple.quarantine from the app fixes this. So what if we did this:

1. Check for updates.
2. Notice the host app still has com.apple.quarantine.
3. Clear the bit.
4. Since the app was launched with com.apple.quarantine, we can't update it until it's relaunch, so don't check for updates.

It sucks that it means they won't get updates on the first run, but... that's not too bad compared to the current behavior.

Assuming #183 is misguided... I'm struggling to come up with any other ideas. We could try to detect when path randomization is being applied and just not check for updates?

Just found this thread while googling for something else related. We documented the issue for Sparkle at: sparkle-project/Sparkle#832 https://sparkle-project.org/documentation/

In short, we do nothing special, other than disabling updates if the app is running from a read-only mount, which needs to be handled anyway if the app is running inside a dmg.

Apple wants developers to ship code signed dmg's now to avoid translocation and not zips. Maybe not ideal, but we'd rather not oppose them by writing a hack to clear a quarantine bit. App developers could use something like LetsMove if they want, but we don't handle that kind of logic ourselves.

Thanks @zorgiepoo!

In short, we do nothing special, other than disabling updates if the app is running from a read-only mount, which needs to be handled anyway if the app is running inside a dmg.

I think you're right that this is the best path forward 👍

#186 addressed this as best as I know how for now.

I am directed to this issue when I try to update Atom. I am not running Atom from a read-only location, nor is it in my Downloads folder. It is in a subfolder of my Dropbox, located in my user directory. And yet, I receive the error message that follows:

Cannot update while running on a read-only volume. The application is on a read-only volume. Please move the application and try again. If you're on macOS Sierra or later, you'll need to move the application out of the Downloads directory. See #182 for more information.

@repertor I had the same issue and also not running from a read-only volume but i just did what the first post here said:

Once you do something that deactivates path randomization (e.g., move the app), updates are fine.

I moved it out of my applications folder and back again and the updater worked fine. (I guess I moved the Atom.app into the applications folder with Alfred.app instead of just moving it in Finder)

Thanks, @himynameisjonas. I had unzipped Atom directly into the directory from the download, so moving it in and out solved the problem.

@himynameisjonas @repertor -- I tried

$ mv /Applications/Atom.app ~
$ mv ~/Atop.app /Applications

but it had no effect. Is there some trick about how you move?

@shaunc You may need to move it using the Finder for it to work.

FYI - I'm new to mac platform, but the update only started working when I restarted my mac after the move from Downloads to Applications via Finder.

Not sure whether it's normal or not but it might save someone a bit of trouble...

For anyone arriving here, here's what solved the problem for me:

1. Shutdown Atom
2. Run (in a terminal)

mv ~/Downloads/Atom.app ~/Applications/
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ~/Applications/Atom.app

3. Start Atom again
   It was now able to run updates no problem

That wfm. Specifically

1. shutdown Atom
2. cd /path/to/my/apps/
3. xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ./Atom.app

Hello!
As @mrmass stated:
Not only you have to move the app but you also need to restart the platform.
Kudos!

I moved it out of my applications folder and back again and the updater worked fine.

Thanks @himynameisjonas
This worked for me. My Atom was in the Applications folder. So I moved it to the Desktop and back, and now Updates are downloading 😅 🤷‍♀ 🤦‍♀

cmd + c 'Atom'
alt + cmd + v to move it to a new location

Running OXS 10.14.5. Had the atom installed in /Applications.

Moving it to the desktop and back via Finder did not work. Permissions looked right via cli.

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Atom.app/
and
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Atom\ Beta.app/
worked for me.

I had to make sure I opened it outside of downloads. I even had to re-install it and then move it to applications and THEN open it there. Weird.

That's working as expected for app translocation (i.e, you need to move the app using Finder to have auto-updates available). Atom needs to update Squirrel so it doesn't try to auto-update in that scenario and/or ship their app in a signed/notarized dmg. That's an issue for Atom, not here.

Actually I take that back.. Looking at the code it looks like squirrel tries to notify the user if an update is available. It shouldn't. It should silently fail unless the user manually requests for an update like Sparkle. Responsibility is left to the apps or other frameworks (eg LetsMove) if they want the app to not be on a read-only volume. To each their own.

This is happening when the Atom.app resides in ~/Applications

Verified: using Iterm2 to mv ~/Downloads/Atom.app to /Applications keeps the read-only error. Using Finder to drag and drop it to /Applications allows the updater to function.

macOS Mojave Version 10.14.6

I just dragged it to the desktop and back in the Finder.
…
-- Jonas Brusman
On 28 aug. 2017 20:33 +0200, Shaun Cutts @.***>, wrote: @himynameisjonas @repertor -- I tried $ mv /Applications/Atom.app ~ $ mv ~/Atop.app /Applications but it had no effect. Is there some trick about how you move? — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or mute the thread.

Yep, same here.

1. I quit VSC
2. moved the APP from downloads to Applications
3. opened VSC from inside the Applications folder.

Worked fine after that. Hope that helps.