macOS Gatekeeper Issues

This guide helps resolve common issues when opening Trial Submission Studio on macOS.

“Trial Submission Studio is damaged and can’t be opened”

This error typically means the app is not properly signed or notarized by Apple.

For Users: Quick Fix

If you downloaded from our official GitHub releases and see this error:

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security
2. Scroll down to the Security section
3. Look for a message about “Trial Submission Studio” being blocked
4. Click Open Anyway
5. Confirm in the dialog that appears

For Developers: Root Causes

This error can occur when:

1. App is not code signed - No Developer ID certificate was used
2. App is not notarized - Apple’s notary service didn’t approve it
3. Entitlements are too permissive - Certain entitlements can cause rejection
4. GitHub secrets not configured - CI skipped signing due to missing secrets

“Apple cannot check it for malicious software”

This warning appears for apps that are signed but not notarized.

Workaround

1. Right-click (or Control+click) the app
2. Select Open from the context menu
3. Click Open in the dialog

Note: On macOS Sequoia (15.0+), Control+click bypass no longer works. You must use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

Verifying App Signature

To check if an app is properly signed:

# Check code signature
codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=2 "Trial Submission Studio.app"

# Check notarization
xcrun stapler validate "Trial Submission Studio.app"

# Check Gatekeeper assessment
spctl --assess --type execute --verbose=2 "Trial Submission Studio.app"

Expected output for a properly signed and notarized app:

• valid on disk from codesign
• The validate action worked! from stapler
• accepted from spctl

Removing Quarantine Attribute

If you’re a developer testing the app, you can remove the quarantine attribute:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine "Trial Submission Studio.app"

Warning: Only do this for apps you trust. This bypasses macOS security.

macOS Sequoia (15.0+) Changes

Apple significantly tightened Gatekeeper in macOS Sequoia:

• Control+click bypass removed - The old workaround no longer works
• New bypass path: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway
• Admin password required - You’ll need to authenticate twice
• spctl --master-disable removed - Can’t globally disable Gatekeeper via terminal

This makes proper code signing and notarization more important than ever.

Reporting Issues

If you downloaded from our official releases and still have issues:

1. Check the GitHub Releases page
2. Ensure you downloaded the .dmg file (not the .zip)
3. Report issues at GitHub Issues

Include:

• macOS version (sw_vers)
• Where you downloaded the app from
• The exact error message
• Output of codesign --verify --verbose=2 (if possible)