Creating "Uninstaller" for a program on Mac OS

Question

I have a requirement to create a cross-platform application that launches a web link to the feedback form when it is deleted.

This is obviously normal behavior on Windows ... but on a Mac it is more complicated because the applications are not technically installed and removed in the Windows sense, otherwise you just copy the .app file to the applications and delete it when you are done.

How can I achieve this website launch requirement? (Should I even try, this process is too foreign to Mac users?)

I am tired of packing the application using a remote shell script that removes the application and dines the site, but obviously the script cannot delete itself.

Answer 1

I don’t think this is a better idea, as this process will be a little unusual for OS X users. As you have noticed, most applications are installed by simply dragging and dropping the .app file to /Applications (or to another location). Some applications have an installer, but even installer applications sometimes have an uninstaller; and besides, as a Mac user, I will immediately suspect the application that installed itself and some unknown shell script.

Answer 2

Mac OS applications should not be removed in any way, except as the user drags them to the trash.

In addition, I would very carefully rethink your plan for creating cross-platform applications. Cross-platform applications, which see Mac OS as an afterthought and try to push foreign paradigms toward Mac OS, are really annoying. If you want to use the Mac client, save your internal code, but rewrite the interface from scratch. Do not use something like Qt, no matter how seductive mobility is.

So a long story, you're right. This process is alien to Mac users (except for things like plugins). So my suggestion is to just go with the usual Mac OS behavior (drag and drop to the trash). Good luck

Answer 3

I would recommend against this. You can create an uninstaller, but nothing will stop the user from simply deleting him from the application folder or using something like AppZapper. Most people do not even look for an application to remove, they are just garbage applications, so even if you wrote one, there will be no guarantee that it will be used.

Of course, I would avoid the uninstaller script shell, in no way in the world, I would personally run it.

Answer 4

Uninstalling on a Mac does not make sense and will be inconvenient to implement, if you can even implement it at all in the way people will use it.

Try to get user feedback using alternative methods, for example:

• Add a menu item that opens a feedback form
• Registration is required when downloading the software, and then send an email to the user at some point in the future to request feedback.
• Ask for feedback sometimes when you close the application (maybe this is annoying)

Answer 5

I don’t think it would be nice to ask for feedback when the application is uninstalled. However, here is a good way to provide an uninstaller for a MACOS application if it needs to be cleaned up a bit.