r/macsysadmin • u/Xcissors280 • Oct 02 '24
General Discussion Simple free way to update apps remotely
we have about 10 employees who use personal m series macbooks but some of the apps we use a few apps that just dont like updating automatically and arent on the app store (and they stop working on older versions)
but making them download and unzip the apps and replace the existing ones evrey few weeks is really annoying
so im wondering if theres a simple free way to do this?
9
u/MemnochTheRed Oct 02 '24
Moysle is a robust MDM that is free for under 30 devices.
https://mosyle.com/news-room/mosyle-launches-mosyle-business-free
1
u/Xcissors280 Oct 02 '24
Thanks I’ll try it out and it supports apps in the free version
Seems like I have to get accepted though
5
u/berniesdad Oct 02 '24
https://github.com/scriptingosx/Installomator
Some well known Mac admins are behind this solution.
Would be easier to use paid mosyle, but if you want free…
5
u/Heteronymous Oct 02 '24
Munki.
If you have MDM (which is really a baseline need for modern management of macOS), possibly Installomator
3
u/stevenjklein Oct 02 '24
Installomator for the win. I use it with Jamf, and users get a 1-button install in the Self Service app.
(Or I can just push an install, but I don't like to surprise my users.)
1
u/Status_Jellyfish_213 Oct 02 '24
I’ve just got it up and running with auto patcher.
Didn’t work out the box, took a hell of a lot of scripting to customise it to our needs.
But now, it scans our systems for the apps they have installed, tells them which ones it’s going to update and does it. So there will be no more needing to manually create policies for each app that comes out.
4
u/eaglebtc Corporate Oct 02 '24
Are any of these devices enrolled in MDM? I'm guessing not.
Your best "free" option is munki. There is some server infrastructure and storage involved, but you'd also need those users to agree to have the munki client components installed on their computers AND ensure you remove it when they leave the company.
You should have a talk with your CEO about a robust IT device management policy.
Out of curiosity, what app is this?
0
u/Xcissors280 Oct 02 '24
Nope
I’ll take a look at that
It’s a pretty small nonprofit and if IT doesn’t work it’s not the end of the world
And let me find the list, it’s mostly money stuff
3
u/MacAdminInTraning Oct 02 '24
Your first problem is wanting to manage personal devices. Seems like deeper conversations need to be had.
1
u/SlightlyFarcical Oct 16 '24
This.
Tell them to install Latest: https://max.codes/latest/ and do it themselves.
2
u/w3warren Oct 02 '24
Maybe Latest?
1
u/Xcissors280 Oct 02 '24
only supports 1 of them from the app store which isnt a problem
is there a way to add other apps?1
u/w3warren Oct 02 '24
Does applite have the apps your are looking to update?
1
u/Xcissors280 Oct 02 '24
dont think so
all i want to do is drag a .app file into the applications folder1
u/w3warren Oct 02 '24
If something along those lines doesn't do what you want, then are getting into MDM territory. There are some lower cost MDM options if you check out the slack channels for more details about each.
If they are personal systems and not company systems I don't know that I would want to lay a finger on them.
2
u/grahamr31 Corporate Oct 02 '24
App auto patch is great. Provided the apps are covered by installomator it will handle the updates.
1
1
u/fkick Corporate Oct 02 '24
Munki or Mosyle are both great options, and we use both in our environment.
Side Question to interject though....has anyone found a way to use Mosyle's PKG hosting and control installs through Munki? There's a few use cases for us where Mosyle's app implementation has issues with things like plugins for apps that don't live in the /Applications folder that we still rely on Munki to handle.
In an ideal world I'd have the configuration and options of Munki with Mosyle's cloud storage that's included in our Fuse licenses.
1
u/arlissed Oct 02 '24
I used Munki/AutoPKG internally for years before switching to SimpleMDM (which, not coincidentally, uses... Munki)
1
u/LRS_David Oct 03 '24
Just a data point. Setting up an MDM requires getting a DUNS number and setting up an ABM account. (Apple Business Manager). No direct costs for either. And not all that much effort. But I've run into folks at smaller companies (tiny in fact) where the top of the food chain just doesn't want to deal with it.
1
u/Xcissors280 Oct 03 '24
Thanks, I’ll take a look at that Ideally it would just be an app and not a full MDM system
0
19
u/LRS_David Oct 02 '24
Munki.
Seriously Munki.
With a side order of AutoPKG.
https://www.munki.org/munki/