How to add/remove Gatekeeper Exceptions on Mac OS X [Tip]

GatekeeperIf you want to be a true “techie”, you must get down with some terminal commands. While some prefer modern-looking website designs, nothing looks more appealing than the terminal or command prompt utilities on computer for typing some code.

Using the command line isn’t the only way in which we can add exceptions to the Gatekeeper. Those opening apps can simply right-click over the app and select “open” and there’s another way through system preferences. However, those wanting to learn more coding or prefer using the command line can do it this way instead. Here’s how:

UNDERSTANDING GATEKEEPER

Gatekeeper is a feature included in OS X Mountain Lion for helping prevent malware and infections coming from apps downloaded on the web. While that sounds great, sometimes we wish to exclude apps that we trust from a Gatekeeper list.

HOW TO ADD/REMOVE GATEKEEPER EXCEPTIONS ON MAC USING THE COMMAND LINE

  1. Open the command line and type: “spctl –add /Path/Application.app” without the quotation marks.
  2. It’s the “spctl –add” part of the code here that approves the apps upon launching OS X.
  3. Those wanting to remove exceptions can type: “spctl –remove /Path/Application.app”.

You must replace the “path” part of the code with the actual string that is on your computer, depending on where the app is located on your hard drive. For example, if you are referring to an app that is in the “downloads” folder, the correct string would be spctl –add /Downloads/Application.app.

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