4 ms·

macOS has shifted and it’s harder than ever to distribute indieware. Devs must compile with and up-to-date version of Xcode which means they must legally abide

macOS has shifted and it’s harder than ever to distribute indieware. Devs must compile with and up-to-date version of Xcode which means they must legally abide by Apple’s TOS even if they don’t pay for the yearly license (and agree to the further agreements), and if they choose to circumvent the App Store the user must know how to unlock the restrictions needed to run unsigned apps and also push through the fear-inducing security warnings. As an HN user that’s “easy” but how many first-timers will be comfortable enough to get to the point where they can actually run that 3rd party app?

jwells89 3y ago
Xcode doesn’t require the yearly fee, it’s downloadable for free, and you can get a barebones compiler toolchain with a terminal command. Devs who distribute outside of the Mac App Store can notarize their apps to make them run without the security warning stuff. I’ve done it to distribute a screensaver on Github, it’s not too bad, no worse than the hoops one needs to jump through to build and distribute apps with some cross-platform UI frameworks.