This is a beta release of Munki 7.

In Munki 7, the command-line tools, previously written in Python and requiring a Python runtime, have all been rewritten in Swift and are compiled executables.

Please test and provide feedback. I would not recommend installing this beta on production-critical machines.

Supported OSes(?)

• The Munki 7 command-line tools are built with a deployment target of macOS 10.15. That means the code should run on 10.15+, but no testing has been done on any OS prior to macOS 14. This means Munki 7 drops support for macOS 10.13 and 10.14.
• Managed Software Center has been updated to adopt the new look for macOS 26 (when built against the macOS 26 SDK, and when running on macOS 26.) This new version has been tested on macOS 15 and the current macOS 26 beta. It should run as far back as macOS 10.15, but I currently have no access to an Intel Mac and no way to actually test that.

Build info

• This release was built with Xcode 26 beta (17A5241e) on macOS 26 beta (25A5306g).
• You can build this with Xcode 16, but the resulting Managed Software Center application will not adopt all the new macOS 26-specific behavior.

Testing focus areas:

• Appearance, behavior, and functionality of Managed Software Center.
• Admin tools
  • manifestutil interactive mode
  • NOTE: Be especially careful/vigilant testing the admin tools, as bugs here could affect multiple machines in your fleet, or even your entire fleet. Consider doing early testing on a test repo.
• Installation and functionality on macOS 10.15 - macOS 14
• Authenticated restarts
• App usage tracking
• Client certificate authentication; including certs in files in /Library/Managed Installs/certs and certs in the System keychain
• Middleware plugins

Changes since beta 7:

Changes since beta 6:

• Updated icon for Managed Software Center and friends that looks better on macOS 15 and earlier.
• Fix for missing --itemname and --appname options for makepkginfo (and munkiimport, which inherits options from makepkginfo)

Changes since beta 5:

• Managed Software Center:
  • Updated icon to comply with macOS 26's forced icon shape
  • Adopt "Liquid Glass" appearance for sidebar
• Managed Software Center/munki-notifier: switch to UNUserNotification APIs
• MunkiStatus: improvements in the "blurred background" used at the loginwindow
• Updates to some of the middleware modules to correctly handle URLs with reserved characters (like spaces)

Changes since beta 4:

• The interactive mode of manifestutil is now implemented and has full support for tab-completion
• The recursive file list algorithm used by tools like makecatalogs and manifestutil is faster and returns the list of files in the same order as the Python implementation. This made it possible to verify that (as an example) on our 2900+ item repo, makecatalogs generates exactly the same catalogs as does the Python version.
• More robust parsing of PEM files (for example, now properly handles files with CRLF line separators, typically from Windows). Thanks to Scott Blake.

Changes since beta 3:

• installhelper now built with deployment target of 10.15; this resolves installation issues on macOS < 15.4. Similar adjustments to several middleware plugins.

Changes since beta 2:

• Fixes for iconimporter and repoclean for an issue where running these tools would just result in a help/usage statement.

Changes since beta 1:

• Fix for makecatalogs for an issue where running this tool would just result in a help/usage statement.

New features:

• version_script: pkginfo items may now contain the key version_script. The expected value for this key is a string, containing a script that outputs the version number of a currently-installed version of the software, or an empty string (or exits non-zero) if the software is not currently installed. This is a new mechanism Munki can use to determine whether or not an item needs to be installed (or updated). Since it returns a version number, and Munki can use its existing version number logic, in most cases using a version_script will be superior to using an installcheck_script.
• During bootstrapping, if on A/C power or battery level is greater than 50% on Intel or greater than 30% on Apple silicon, the status app will prevent the display from going to sleep so that bootstrap progress is displayed. Thanks to Christopher Grande. (See #1215)

Removed features:

As part of this transition, some features and capabilities supported by previous versions of Munki are no longer supported:

• The startosinstall installer_type, used to install macOS major upgrades on Intel Macs is no longer supported. The stage_os_installer installer_type works on both Intel and Apple silicon, and is supported in Munki 7.

• Installation of Apple software updates. Munki 6 does not install Apple updates on Apple silicon, but instead prompts the user to use Apple tools (System Settings app; softwareupdate) to do so. Munki 7 extends this behavior to Intel Macs as well.

• Apple update metadata (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Pkginfo-For-Apple-Software-Updates) The installer_type apple_update_metadata is no longer supported.

• The following Adobe installer_types are no longer supported:

  • AdobeSetup
  • AdobeUberInstaller
  • AdobeAcrobatUpdater
  • AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage
  • AdobeCS5PatchInstaller
  • AdobeCCPInstaller

• Additionally, the following uninstall_methods are no longer supported:

  • AdobeSetup
  • AdobeUberUninstaller
  • AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage
  • AdobeCCPUninstaller

• To use Munki 7 to install Adobe software, use the Adobe admin console to create Apple installer packages (that Munki can install via its support for Apple installer packages).

• The installer_type profile is no longer supported. Munki 7 has no support for the installation or removal of configuration profiles, and additionally, support for configuration profile "emulation" has been removed as well. Admins should be using an MDM solution to manage configuration profiles on macOS.

• The appdmg installer_type is no longer supported (this has been deprecated for well over a decade): https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/App-Dmg-Package-Notes

• The suppress_bundle_relocation pkginfo key is no longer supported. This only ever worked for bundle-style packages.

Known issues:

• makecatalogs is slower than the Python version. Some work has been done to speed it up, but it's still slower.

Middleware:

• Python middleware compatible with Munki 6 will not work with Munki 7. Several popular middleware modules have been ported to Swift using Munki 7's middleware protocol, and are believed to work:
  • https://github.com/munki/DemoMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/AzureStorageMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/BunnyNetMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/CloudFrontMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/GCSMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/S3Middleware
• Though these ported middleware modules are believed to work, they are not officially supported at this time. My preference would be for others who actually use the modules to take over development, support, and maintenance.

Repo plugins:

• Python repo plugins compatible with Munki 6 will not work with Munki 7. A Swift repo plugin protocol is available, and the MWA2APIRepo plugin was ported to Swift, largely as a proof-of-concept so that vendors who have incorporated Munki into their products and have written repo plugins have example code to follow.
  • https://github.com/munki/munki/tree/swift-cli/code/cli/MWA2APIRepo

Other notes:

• The installer package for this preview release contains a component package that installs the Python libraries used by Munki 6.6 (aka "munkilib"). This is intended as a transition aid. (We use Sal where I work and some of the Sal reporting scripts import code from inside munkilib). The intention would be for Munki admins to identify these sorts of dependencies and work to eliminate them.

• Installing the preview package over an existing Munki 6.x install will leave the munki-python symlink and Munki's Python.framework in place. This might be helpful while transitioning, but might also make it easier to miss dependencies on that Python. You might consider removing Munki 6's included Python to see what breaks.

This is a beta release of Munki 7.

In Munki 7, the command-line tools, previously written in Python and requiring a Python runtime, have all been rewritten in Swift and are compiled executables.

Please test and provide feedback. I would not recommend installing this beta on production-critical machines.

Supported OSes(?)

• The Munki 7 command-line tools are built with a deployment target of macOS 10.15. That means the code should run on 10.15+, but no testing has been done on any OS prior to macOS 14. This means Munki 7 drops support for macOS 10.13 and 10.14.
• Managed Software Center has been updated to adopt the new look for macOS 26 (when built against the macOS 26 SDK, and when running on macOS 26.) This new version has been tested on macOS 15 and the current macOS 26 beta. It should run as far back as macOS 10.15, but I currently have no access to an Intel Mac and no way to actually test that.

Build info

• This release was built with Xcode 26 beta (17A5241e) on macOS 26 beta (25A5306g).
• You can build this with Xcode 16, but the resulting Managed Software Center application will not adopt all the new macOS 26-specific behavior.

Testing focus areas:

• Appearance, behavior, and functionality of Managed Software Center.
• Admin tools
  • manifestutil interactive mode
  • NOTE: Be especially careful/vigilant testing the admin tools, as bugs here could affect multiple machines in your fleet, or even your entire fleet. Consider doing early testing on a test repo.
• Installation and functionality on macOS 10.15 - macOS 14
• Authenticated restarts
• App usage tracking
• Client certificate authentication; including certs in files in /Library/Managed Installs/certs and certs in the System keychain
• Middleware plugins

Changes since beta 6:

• Updated icon for Managed Software Center and friends that looks better on macOS 15 and earlier.
• Fix for missing --itemname and --appname options for makepkginfo (and munkiimport, which inherits options from makepkginfo)

Changes since beta 5:

• Managed Software Center:
  • Updated icon to comply with macOS 26's forced icon shape
  • Adopt "Liquid Glass" appearance for sidebar
• Managed Software Center/munki-notifier: switch to UNUserNotification APIs
• MunkiStatus: improvements in the "blurred background" used at the loginwindow
• Updates to some of the middleware modules to correctly handle URLs with reserved characters (like spaces)

Changes since beta 4:

• The interactive mode of manifestutil is now implemented and has full support for tab-completion
• The recursive file list algorithm used by tools like makecatalogs and manifestutil is faster and returns the list of files in the same order as the Python implementation. This made it possible to verify that (as an example) on our 2900+ item repo, makecatalogs generates exactly the same catalogs as does the Python version.
• More robust parsing of PEM files (for example, now properly handles files with CRLF line separators, typically from Windows). Thanks to Scott Blake.

Changes since beta 3:

• installhelper now built with deployment target of 10.15; this resolves installation issues on macOS < 15.4. Similar adjustments to several middleware plugins.

Changes since beta 2:

• Fixes for iconimporter and repoclean for an issue where running these tools would just result in a help/usage statement.

Changes since beta 1:

• Fix for makecatalogs for an issue where running this tool would just result in a help/usage statement.

New features:

• version_script: pkginfo items may now contain the key version_script. The expected value for this key is a string, containing a script that outputs the version number of a currently-installed version of the software, or an empty string (or exits non-zero) if the software is not currently installed. This is a new mechanism Munki can use to determine whether or not an item needs to be installed (or updated). Since it returns a version number, and Munki can use its existing version number logic, in most cases using a version_script will be superior to using an installcheck_script.
• During bootstrapping, if on A/C power or battery level is greater than 50% on Intel or greater than 30% on Apple silicon, the status app will prevent the display from going to sleep so that bootstrap progress is displayed. Thanks to Christopher Grande. (See #1215)

Removed features:

As part of this transition, some features and capabilities supported by previous versions of Munki are no longer supported:

• The startosinstall installer_type, used to install macOS major upgrades on Intel Macs is no longer supported. The stage_os_installer installer_type works on both Intel and Apple silicon, and is supported in Munki 7.

• Installation of Apple software updates. Munki 6 does not install Apple updates on Apple silicon, but instead prompts the user to use Apple tools (System Settings app; softwareupdate) to do so. Munki 7 extends this behavior to Intel Macs as well.

• Apple update metadata (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Pkginfo-For-Apple-Software-Updates) The installer_type apple_update_metadata is no longer supported.

• The following Adobe installer_types are no longer supported:

  • AdobeSetup
  • AdobeUberInstaller
  • AdobeAcrobatUpdater
  • AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage
  • AdobeCS5PatchInstaller
  • AdobeCCPInstaller

• Additionally, the following uninstall_methods are no longer supported:

  • AdobeSetup
  • AdobeUberUninstaller
  • AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage
  • AdobeCCPUninstaller

• To use Munki 7 to install Adobe software, use the Adobe admin console to create Apple installer packages (that Munki can install via its support for Apple installer packages).

• The installer_type profile is no longer supported. Munki 7 has no support for the installation or removal of configuration profiles, and additionally, support for configuration profile "emulation" has been removed as well. Admins should be using an MDM solution to manage configuration profiles on macOS.

• The appdmg installer_type is no longer supported (this has been deprecated for well over a decade): https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/App-Dmg-Package-Notes

• The suppress_bundle_relocation pkginfo key is no longer supported. This only ever worked for bundle-style packages.

Known issues:

• makecatalogs is slower than the Python version. Some work has been done to speed it up, but it's still slower.

Middleware:

• Python middleware compatible with Munki 6 will not work with Munki 7. Several popular middleware modules have been ported to Swift using Munki 7's middleware protocol, and are believed to work:
  • https://github.com/munki/DemoMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/AzureStorageMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/BunnyNetMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/CloudFrontMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/GCSMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/S3Middleware
• Though these ported middleware modules are believed to work, they are not officially supported at this time. My preference would be for others who actually use the modules to take over development, support, and maintenance.

Repo plugins:

• Python repo plugins compatible with Munki 6 will not work with Munki 7. A Swift repo plugin protocol is available, and the MWA2APIRepo plugin was ported to Swift, largely as a proof-of-concept so that vendors who have incorporated Munki into their products and have written repo plugins have example code to follow.
  • https://github.com/munki/munki/tree/swift-cli/code/cli/MWA2APIRepo

Other notes:

• The installer package for this preview release contains a component package that installs the Python libraries used by Munki 6.6 (aka "munkilib"). This is intended as a transition aid. (We use Sal where I work and some of the Sal reporting scripts import code from inside munkilib). The intention would be for Munki admins to identify these sorts of dependencies and work to eliminate them.

• Installing the preview package over an existing Munki 6.x install will leave the munki-python symlink and Munki's Python.framework in place. This might be helpful while transitioning, but might also make it easier to miss dependencies on that Python. You might consider removing Munki 6's included Python to see what breaks.

This is an early beta release of Munki 7.

In Munki 7, the command-line tools, previously written in Python and requiring a Python runtime, have all been rewritten in Swift and are compiled executables.

Please test and provide feedback. I would not recommend installing this beta on production-critical machines.

Supported OSes(?)

• The Munki 7 command-line tools are built with a deployment target of macOS 10.15. That means the code should run on 10.15+, but no testing has been done on any OS prior to macOS 14. This means Munki 7 drops support for macOS 10.13 and 10.14.
• Managed Software Center has been updated to adopt the new look for macOS 26 (when built against the macOS 26 SDK, and when running on macOS 26.) This new version has been tested on macOS 15 and the current macOS 26 beta. It should run as far back as macOS 10.15, but I currently have no access to an Intel Mac and no way to actually test that.

Build info

• This release was built with Xcode 26 beta (17A5241e) on macOS 26 beta (25A5295e).
• You can build this with Xcode 16, but the resulting Managed Software Center application will not adopt all the new macOS 26-specific behavior.

Testing focus areas:

• Appearance, behavior, and functionality of Managed Software Center.
• Admin tools
  • manifestutil interactive mode
  • NOTE: Be especially careful/vigilant testing the admin tools, as bugs here could affect multiple machines in your fleet, or even your entire fleet. Consider doing early testing on a test repo.
• Installation and functionality on macOS 10.15 - macOS 14
• Authenticated restarts
• App usage tracking
• Client certificate authentication; including certs in files in /Library/Managed Installs/certs and certs in the System keychain
• Middleware plugins

Changes since beta 5:

• Managed Software Center:
  • Updated icon to comply with macOS 26's forced icon shape
  • Adopt "Liquid Glass" appearance for sidebar
• Managed Software Center/munki-notifier: switch to UNUserNotification APIs
• MunkiStatus: improvements in the "blurred background" used at the loginwindow
• Updates to some of the middleware modules to correctly handle URLs with reserved characters (like spaces)

Changes since beta 4:

• The interactive mode of manifestutil is now implemented and has full support for tab-completion
• The recursive file list algorithm used by tools like makecatalogs and manifestutil is faster and returns the list of files in the same order as the Python implementation. This made it possible to verify that (as an example) on our 2900+ item repo, makecatalogs generates exactly the same catalogs as does the Python version.
• More robust parsing of PEM files (for example, now properly handles files with CRLF line separators, typically from Windows). Thanks to Scott Blake.

Changes since beta 3:

• installhelper now built with deployment target of 10.15; this resolves installation issues on macOS < 15.4. Similar adjustments to several middleware plugins.

Changes since beta 2:

• Fixes for iconimporter and repoclean for an issue where running these tools would just result in a help/usage statement.

Changes since beta 1:

• Fix for makecatalogs for an issue where running this tool would just result in a help/usage statement.

New features:

• version_script: pkginfo items may now contain the key version_script. The expected value for this key is a string, containing a script that outputs the version number of a currently-installed version of the software, or an empty string (or exits non-zero) if the software is not currently installed. This is a new mechanism Munki can use to determine whether or not an item needs to be installed (or updated). Since it returns a version number, and Munki can use its existing version number logic, in most cases using a version_script will be superior to using an installcheck_script.
• During bootstrapping, if on A/C power or battery level is greater than 50% on Intel or greater than 30% on Apple silicon, the status app will prevent the display from going to sleep so that bootstrap progress is displayed. Thanks to Christopher Grande. (See #1215)

Removed features:

As part of this transition, some features and capabilities supported by previous versions of Munki are no longer supported:

• The startosinstall installer_type, used to install macOS major upgrades on Intel Macs is no longer supported. The stage_os_installer installer_type works on both Intel and Apple silicon, and is supported in Munki 7.

• Installation of Apple software updates. Munki 6 does not install Apple updates on Apple silicon, but instead prompts the user to use Apple tools (System Settings app; softwareupdate) to do so. Munki 7 extends this behavior to Intel Macs as well.

• Apple update metadata (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Pkginfo-For-Apple-Software-Updates) The installer_type apple_update_metadata is no longer supported.

• The following Adobe installer_types are no longer supported:

  • AdobeSetup
  • AdobeUberInstaller
  • AdobeAcrobatUpdater
  • AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage
  • AdobeCS5PatchInstaller
  • AdobeCCPInstaller

• Additionally, the following uninstall_methods are no longer supported:

  • AdobeSetup
  • AdobeUberUninstaller
  • AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage
  • AdobeCCPUninstaller

• To use Munki 7 to install Adobe software, use the Adobe admin console to create Apple installer packages (that Munki can install via its support for Apple installer packages).

• The installer_type profile is no longer supported. Munki 7 has no support for the installation or removal of configuration profiles, and additionally, support for configuration profile "emulation" has been removed as well. Admins should be using an MDM solution to manage configuration profiles on macOS.

• The appdmg installer_type is no longer supported (this has been deprecated for well over a decade): https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/App-Dmg-Package-Notes

• The suppress_bundle_relocation pkginfo key is no longer supported. This only ever worked for bundle-style packages.

Known issues:

• makecatalogs is slower than the Python version. Some work has been done to speed it up, but it's still slower.

Middleware:

• Python middleware compatible with Munki 6 will not work with Munki 7. Several popular middleware modules have been ported to Swift using Munki 7's middleware protocol, and are believed to work:
  • https://github.com/munki/DemoMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/AzureStorageMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/BunnyNetMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/CloudFrontMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/GCSMiddleware
  • https://github.com/munki/S3Middleware
• Though these ported middleware modules are believed to work, they are not officially supported at this time. My preference would be for others who actually use the modules to take over development, support, and maintenance.

Repo plugins:

• Python repo plugins compatible with Munki 6 will not work with Munki 7. A Swift repo plugin protocol is available, and the MWA2APIRepo plugin was ported to Swift, largely as a proof-of-concept so that vendors who have incorporated Munki into their products and have written repo plugins have example code to follow.
  • https://github.com/munki/munki/tree/swift-cli/code/cli/MWA2APIRepo

Other notes:

• The installer package for this preview release contains a component package that installs the Python libraries used by Munki 6.6 (aka "munkilib"). This is intended as a transition aid. (We use Sal where I work and some of the Sal reporting scripts import code from inside munkilib). The intention would be for Munki admins to identify these sorts of dependencies and work to eliminate them.

• Installing the preview package over an existing Munki 6.x install will leave the munki-python symlink and Munki's Python.framework in place. This might be helpful while transitioning, but might also make it easier to miss dependencies on that Python. You might consider removing Munki 6's included Python to see what breaks.

This is the official release of Munki 6.6.5: a bug-fix and enhancement release of the Munki tools.

Fixes and enhancements

• Authorized restarts: Wait longer for a response from the authrestartd process so we do not timeout too soon: 41e4a5c
• Client certificate authentication: consider certificate chains when using client certificates for authentication. Thanks to @liamn #1235 and #1236
  A complete list of changes from the 6.6.4 release is here: v6.6.4...v6.6.5

Known issues

Downgrading from 6.6.x to 6.4.2 or earlier

If you install a version of the Munki tools that contains the Python 3.12 framework, and then later attempt to downgrade by installing an older version of the Munki tools (say, 6.4.2.4634) that contains a Python 3.10 (or earlier) framework, /usr/local/munki/munki-python will be broken. See https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Downgrading-Munki-tools for more information.

Upgrading Munki with Munki

If you use a technique similar to the one described here to allow Munki to update itself without requiring a restart, be sure to mark the Munki 6.6.x launchd item as an unattended_install. If you don't do that, Munki may not be able to update itself completely without user involvement.
See this post: https://groups.google.com/g/munki-discuss/c/ikIw2mPddM0/m/h95J_DyrCwAJ for more details.

Autopkg recipes here for "munkitools6" have been updated to just install the package as-is, which is the current recommendation.

Additional Information

Build info

The GUI apps and the Python framework were built under Xcode 16.2 on macOS 15.3.1. Builds should work on Xcode 14.3.1 through Xcode 16.2, but these other versions of Xcode have not been tested and may cause different results. (Due to Apple bugs, Xcode 15.0.1 or Xcode 15 on macOS Sonoma will result in GUI apps that won't run on macOS < 10.15).

OS version support

This release should work on macOS 10.13 through macOS 15, though it gets little-to-no testing on versions prior to macOS 13. Please report issues you find with older macOS versions.

Package versioning

• Distribution package version: 6.6.5.4711
• munki core tools version: 6.6.5.4711
• LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons version: 6.6.0.4656
• Apps package version: 6.6.3.4707
• Python package version: 3.12.2.4689

Attachment info

The munkitools-6.6.5.4711.pkg attachment available here is an unsigned and unnotarized package that should install without requiring a restart . It should be suitable for most deployment scenarios, including those driven by DEP/ADE (if you first sign the package). It does not include a component to trigger "bootstrapping" or any other automatic run of the tools after installation.

Signed/notarized builds

Thanks to the efforts of @erikng and @natewalck, signed and notarized builds of Munki tools packages are available at https://github.com/macadmins/munki-builds/releases.
The build corresponding to this release is here: https://github.com/macadmins/munki-builds/releases/tag/v6.6.5.4711

Deprecation notes

The following Munki features are considered deprecated and will be removed in a future Munki release:

• Bundled Python: a future release of Munki will remove all dependency on Python and will no longer include a bundled version of Python.
• Installation of Apple software updates. Munki currently does not install Apple updates on Apple silicon, but instead prompts the user to use Apple tools (Settings app; softwareupdate) to do so. A future release will extend this behavior to Intel Macs as well.
• Special support/treatment of Adobe Creative Cloud packages (and other special Adobe installer types). The following installer_types will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberInstaller, AdobeAcrobatUpdater, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCS5PatchInstaller, AdobeCCPInstaller Additionally, the following uninstall_methods will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberUninstaller, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCCPUninstaller
• Support for configuration profile install and removal (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Managing-Configuration-Profiles). Installer_type profile will no longer be supported.
• Apple update metadata (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Pkginfo-For-Apple-Software-Updates) Installer_type apple_update_metadata will no longer be supported.
• appdmg installer_type (this has been deprecated for years, but support will be removed in the near future): https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/App-Dmg-Package-Notes
• suppress_bundle_relocation pkginfo key. This only ever worked for bundle-style packages. Bundle-style packages are no longer supported as of macOS Sequoia, and so support for this feature will be dropped in a future release of Munki.

This is the official release of Munki 6.6.4: a bug-fix release of the Munki tools.

Fixes

• Yet another attempt at fixing a cosmetic issue when Munki is running at the loginwindow and sometimes the background blur window doesn't cover the entire background: b385bd8
• When a package contains an Apple Archive-formatted payload instead of a pax/cpio archive, ensure /usr/bin/aa exists before attempting to call it. Addresses a crashing issue when extracting icons on macOS < 11 40b44ae

A complete list of changes from the 6.6.3 release is here: v6.6.3...v6.6.4

Known issues

Downgrading from 6.6.x to 6.4.2 or earlier

If you install a version of the Munki tools that contains the Python 3.12 framework, and then later attempt to downgrade by installing an older version of the Munki tools (say, 6.4.2.4634) that contains a Python 3.10 (or earlier) framework, /usr/local/munki/munki-python will be broken. See https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Downgrading-Munki-tools for more information.

Upgrading Munki with Munki

If you use a technique similar to the one described here to allow Munki to update itself without requiring a restart, be sure to mark the Munki 6.6.x launchd item as an unattended_install. If you don't do that, Munki may not be able to update itself completely without user involvement.
See this post: https://groups.google.com/g/munki-discuss/c/ikIw2mPddM0/m/h95J_DyrCwAJ for more details.

Autopkg recipes here for "munkitools6" have been updated to just install the package as-is, which is the current recommendation.

Additional Information

Build info

The GUI apps and the Python framework were built under Xcode 16.2 on macOS 15.3. Builds should work on Xcode 14.3.1 through Xcode 16.2, but these other versions of Xcode have not been tested and may cause different results. (Due to Apple bugs, Xcode 15.0.1 or Xcode 15 on macOS Sonoma will result in GUI apps that won't run on macOS < 10.15).

OS version support

This release should work on macOS 10.13 through macOS 15, though it gets little-to-no testing on versions prior to macOS 13. Please report issues you find with older macOS versions.

Package versioning

• Distribution package version: 6.6.4.4708
• munki core tools version: 6.6.4.4708
• LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons version: 6.6.0.4656
• Apps package version: 6.6.3.4707
• Python package version: 3.12.2.4689

Attachment info

The munkitools-6.6.4.4708.pkg attachment available here is an unsigned and unnotarized package that should install without requiring a restart . It should be suitable for most deployment scenarios, including those driven by DEP/ADE (if you first sign the package). It does not include a component to trigger "bootstrapping" or any other automatic run of the tools after installation.

Signed/notarized builds

Thanks to the efforts of @erikng and @natewalck, signed and notarized builds of Munki tools packages are available at https://github.com/macadmins/munki-builds/releases.
The build corresponding to this release is here: https://github.com/macadmins/munki-builds/releases/tag/v6.6.4.4708

Deprecation notes

The following Munki features are considered deprecated and will be removed in a future Munki release:

• Bundled Python: a future release of Munki will remove all dependency on Python and will no longer include a bundled version of Python.
• Installation of Apple software updates. Munki currently does not install Apple updates on Apple silicon, but instead prompts the user to use Apple tools (Settings app; softwareupdate) to do so. A future release will extend this behavior to Intel Macs as well.
• Special support/treatment of Adobe Creative Cloud packages (and other special Adobe installer types). The following installer_types will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberInstaller, AdobeAcrobatUpdater, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCS5PatchInstaller, AdobeCCPInstaller Additionally, the following uninstall_methods will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberUninstaller, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCCPUninstaller
• Support for configuration profile install and removal (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Managing-Configuration-Profiles). Installer_type profile will no longer be supported.
• Apple update metadata (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Pkginfo-For-Apple-Software-Updates) Installer_type apple_update_metadata will no longer be supported.
• appdmg installer_type (this has been deprecated for years, but support will be removed in the near future): https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/App-Dmg-Package-Notes
• suppress_bundle_relocation pkginfo key. This only ever worked for bundle-style packages.

This is the official release of Munki 6.6.3: a bug-fix release of the Munki tools.

Fixes

• A fix for an issue with aggressive notifications if Managed Software Center is open and the user is working full-screen in another application. Thanks to @BrandonNolet for the report (#1229) and thanks to @tburgin for the fix: d130308
• A fix for an issue when expanding a package to look for product icons when the package contains an Apple Archive-formatted payload instead of a pax/cpio archive. 85e82c6

A complete list of changes from the 6.6.2 release is here: v6.6.2...v6.6.3

Known issues

Downgrading from 6.6.x to 6.4.2 or earlier

If you install a version of the Munki tools that contains the Python 3.12 framework, and then later attempt to downgrade by installing an older version of the Munki tools (say, 6.4.2.4634) that contains a Python 3.10 (or earlier) framework, /usr/local/munki/munki-python will be broken. See https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Downgrading-Munki-tools for more information.

Upgrading Munki with Munki

If you use a technique similar to the one described here to allow Munki to update itself without requiring a restart, be sure to mark the Munki 6.6.x launchd item as an unattended_install. If you don't do that, Munki may not be able to update itself completely without user involvement.
See this post: https://groups.google.com/g/munki-discuss/c/ikIw2mPddM0/m/h95J_DyrCwAJ for more details.

Autopkg recipes here for "munkitools6" have been updated to just install the package as-is, which is the current recommendation.

Additional Information

Build info

The GUI apps and the Python framework were built under Xcode 15.4 on macOS 14.7. Xcode 14.3.1 on macOS 13 should work as well. Other versions of Xcode have not been tested and may cause different results. (Due to Apple bugs, Xcode 15.0.1 or Xcode 15 on macOS Sonoma will result in GUI apps that won't run on macOS < 10.15).

OS version support

This release should work on macOS 10.13 through macOS 15, though it gets little-to-no testing on versions prior to macOS 13. Please report issues you find with older macOS versions.

Package versioning

• Distribution package version: 6.6.3.4704
• munki core tools version: 6.6.3.4704
• LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons version: 6.6.0.4656
• Apps package version: 6.6.3.4704
• Python package version: 3.12.2.4689

Attachment info

The munkitools-6.6.3.4704.pkg attachment available here is an unsigned and unnotarized package that should install without requiring a restart . It should be suitable for most deployment scenarios, including those driven by DEP/ADE (if you first sign the package). It does not include a component to trigger "bootstrapping" or any other automatic run of the tools after installation.

Signed/notarized builds

Thanks to the efforts of @erikng and @natewalck, signed and notarized builds of Munki tools packages are available at https://github.com/macadmins/munki-builds/releases. There may be a delay for new releases -- please be patient.

Deprecation notes

The following Munki features are considered deprecated and will be removed in a future Munki release:

• Bundled Python: a future release of Munki will remove all dependency on Python and will no longer include a bundled version of Python.
• Installation of Apple software updates. Munki currently does not install Apple updates on Apple silicon, but instead prompts the user to use Apple tools (Settings app; softwareupdate) to do so. A future release will extend this behavior to Intel Macs as well.
• Special support/treatment of Adobe Creative Cloud packages (and other special Adobe installer types). The following installer_types will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberInstaller, AdobeAcrobatUpdater, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCS5PatchInstaller, AdobeCCPInstaller Additionally, the following uninstall_methods will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberUninstaller, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCCPUninstaller
• Support for configuration profile install and removal (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Managing-Configuration-Profiles). Installer_type profile will no longer be supported.
• Apple update metadata (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Pkginfo-For-Apple-Software-Updates) Installer_type apple_update_metadata will no longer be supported.
• appdmg installer_type (this has been deprecated for years, but support will be removed in the near future): https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/App-Dmg-Package-Notes
• suppress_bundle_relocation pkginfo key. This only ever worked for bundle-style packages.

This is the official release of Munki 6.6.2: a bug-fix release of the Munki tools.

Fixes

• A fix for an issue with MunkiStatus at the loginwindow where the new blurred backdrop windows would hide the log window and any other utility windows that might be displayed at the loginwindow. 2d34cbe
• When processing optional_installs, correctly record installed_size if available instead of just duplicating installer_item_size. 93b2640

A complete list of changes from the 6.6.1 release is here: v6.6.1...v6.6.2

Known issues

Downgrading from 6.6.x to 6.4.2 or earlier

If you install a version of the Munki tools that contains the Python 3.12 framework, and then later attempt to downgrade by installing an older version of the Munki tools (say, 6.4.2.4634) that contains a Python 3.10 (or earlier) framework, /usr/local/munki/munki-python will be broken. See https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Downgrading-Munki-tools for more information.

Upgrading Munki with Munki

If you use a technique similar to the one described here to allow Munki to update itself without requiring a restart, be sure to mark the Munki 6.6 launchd item as an unattended_install. If you don't do that, Munki may not be able to update itself completely without user involvement.
See this post: https://groups.google.com/g/munki-discuss/c/ikIw2mPddM0/m/h95J_DyrCwAJ for more details.

Autopkg recipes here for "munkitools6" have been updated to just install the package as-is, which is the current recommendation.

Additional Information

Build info

The GUI apps and the Python framework were built under Xcode 15.4 on macOS 14.6.1 Xcode 14.3.1 on macOS 13 should work as well. Other versions of Xcode have not been tested and may cause different results. (Due to Apple bugs, Xcode 15.0.1 or Xcode 15 on macOS Sonoma will result in GUI apps that won't run on macOS < 10.15).

OS version support

This release should work on macOS 10.13 through macOS 15, though it gets little-to-no testing on versions prior to macOS 13. Please report issues you find with older macOS versions.

Package versioning

• Distribution package version: 6.6.2.4700
• munki core tools version: 6.6.2.4699
• LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons version: 6.6.0.4656
• Apps package version: 6.6.1.4700
• Python package version: 3.12.2.4689

Attachment info

The munkitools-6.6.2.4700.pkg attachment available here is an unsigned and unnotarized package that should install without requiring a restart . It should be suitable for most deployment scenarios, including those driven by DEP/ADE (if you first sign the package). It does not include a component to trigger "bootstrapping" or any other automatic run of the tools after installation.

Signed/notarized builds

Thanks to the efforts of @erikng and @natewalck, signed and notarized builds of Munki tools packages are available at https://github.com/macadmins/munki-builds/releases. There may be a delay for new releases -- please be patient.

Deprecation notes

The following Munki features are considered deprecated and will be removed in a future Munki release:

• Bundled Python: a future release of Munki will remove all dependency on Python and will no longer include a bundled version of Python.
• Installation of Apple software updates. Munki currently does not install Apple updates on Apple silicon, but instead prompts the user to use Apple tools (Settings app; softwareupdate) to do so. A future release will extend this behavior to Intel Macs as well.
• Special support/treatment of Adobe Creative Cloud packages (and other special Adobe installer types). The following installer_types will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberInstaller, AdobeAcrobatUpdater, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCS5PatchInstaller, AdobeCCPInstaller Additionally, the following uninstall_methods will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberUninstaller, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCCPUninstaller
• Support for configuration profile install and removal (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Managing-Configuration-Profiles). Installer_type profile will no longer be supported.
• Apple update metadata (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Pkginfo-For-Apple-Software-Updates) Installer_type apple_update_metadata will no longer be supported.
• appdmg installer_type (this has been deprecated for years, but support will be removed in the near future): https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/App-Dmg-Package-Notes
• suppress_bundle_relocation pkginfo key. This only ever worked for bundle-style packages.

This is the official release of Munki 6.6.1: a a bug-fix and minor enhancement release of the Munki tools.

Bug fixes

• Address an issue that could cause the main updates window to not be displayed during an "aggressive notification", leaving all displays "blurred" but no window to interact with: 17d50aa
• Address an issue where the Software Updates pane was not visible for ten seconds after clicking "Update now" when an "aggressive notification" had occurred (the window opened behind the blur windows, and these windows remained in place for ten seconds): f36fceb

Enhancements

• New --show-config-plist option for managedsoftwareupdate that outputs the current configuration as an XML plist. Thanks to @grahamgilbert (7523768)
• Add default Apple software update catalog for macOS 15 Sequoia (ee5d524)

A complete list of changes from the 6.6.0 release is here: v6.6.0...v6.6.1

Known issues

Downgrading from 6.6.x to 6.4.2 or earlier

If you install a version of the Munki tools that contains the Python 3.12 framework, and then later attempt to downgrade by installing an older version of the Munki tools (say, 6.4.2.4634) that contains a Python 3.10 (or earlier) framework, /usr/local/munki/munki-python will be broken. See https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Downgrading-Munki-tools for more information.

Upgrading Munki with Munki

If you use a technique similar to the one described here to allow Munki to update itself without requiring a restart, be sure to mark the Munki 6.6 launchd item as an unattended_install. If you don't do that, Munki may not be able to update itself completely without user involvement.
See this post: https://groups.google.com/g/munki-discuss/c/ikIw2mPddM0/m/h95J_DyrCwAJ for more details.

Autopkg recipes here for "munkitools6" have been updated to just install the package as-is, which is the current recommendation.

Additional Information

Build info

The GUI apps and the Python framework were built under Xcode 15.4 on macOS 14.6.1 Xcode 14.3.1 on macOS 13 should work as well. Other versions of Xcode have not been tested and may cause different results. (Due to Apple bugs, Xcode 15.0.1 or Xcode 15 on macOS Sonoma will result in GUI apps that won't run on macOS < 10.15).

OS version support

This release should work on macOS 10.13 through the macOS 15 beta, though it gets little-to-no testing on versions prior to macOS 13. Please report issues you find with older macOS versions.

Package versioning

• Distribution package version: 6.6.1.4696
• munki core tools version: 6.6.1.4696
• LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons version: 6.6.0.4656
• Apps package version: 6.6.1.4695
• Python package version: 3.12.2.4689

Attachment info

The munkitools-6.6.1.4696.pkg attachment available here is an unsigned and unnotarized package that should install without requiring a restart . It should be suitable for most deployment scenarios, including those driven by DEP/ADE (if you first sign the package). It does not include a component to trigger "bootstrapping" or any other automatic run of the tools after installation.

Signed/notarized builds

Thanks to the efforts of @erikng and @natewalck, signed and notarized builds of Munki tools packages are available at https://github.com/macadmins/munki-builds/releases. There may be a delay for new releases -- please be patient.

Deprecation notes

The following Munki features are considered deprecated and will be removed in a future Munki release:

• Bundled Python: a future release of Munki will remove all dependency on Python and will no longer include a bundled version of Python.
• Installation of Apple software updates. Munki currently does not install Apple updates on Apple silicon, but instead prompts the user to use Apple tools (Settings app; softwareupdate) to do so. A future release will extend this behavior to Intel Macs as well.
• Special support/treatment of Adobe Creative Cloud packages (and other special Adobe installer types). The following installer_types will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberInstaller, AdobeAcrobatUpdater, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCS5PatchInstaller, AdobeCCPInstaller Additionally, the following uninstall_methods will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberUninstaller, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCCPUninstaller
• Support for configuration profile install and removal (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Managing-Configuration-Profiles). Installer_type profile will no longer be supported.
• Apple update metadata (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Pkginfo-For-Apple-Software-Updates) Installer_type apple_update_metadata will no longer be supported.
• appdmg installer_type (this has been deprecated for years, but support will be removed in the near future): https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/App-Dmg-Package-Notes
• suppress_bundle_relocation pkginfo key. This only ever worked for bundle-style packages.

This is the official release of Munki 6.6: a feature release of the Munki tools.
This build is identical to v6.6RC1.

Changes

• When presenting "Aggressive Notifications" (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/aggressive-update-notifications-in-munki-5) , Managed Software Center will now use a full-screen blur effect behind the Updates window to encourage user interaction with the app. Previously, it "dimmed", or "greyed out" everything behind the app window, which might have been too subtle an indication that the user should pay attention to Managed Software Center. Thanks to Bart Reardon for much of the relevent code, borrowed from Swift Dialog. e6de68c

• At the loginwindow, MunkiStatus will also use a blurred background behind its progress window. The blurred background is more consistent with Apple's UI for Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant. 6d22382
  and also faa0481, Thanks to @nixtar.

• Some changes to the structure and organization of the Managed Software Center application bundle that make customizing the app icon without breaking signing possible. Thanks to Ben Toms. dc2725e

• The above changes then triggered required changes to several launchd jobs. To avoid the need for a restart or logout, a new helper tool has been added to manage launchd job changes. Thanks to Ben Toms. 183005e (and others)
  and also cc7252d, Thanks to @rrenstrom.

A complete list of changes from the 6.5.0 release is here: v6.5.1...v6.6.0

Known issues

Downgrading from 6.6.x to 6.4.2 or earlier

If you install a version of the Munki tools that contains the Python 3.12 framework, and then later attempt to downgrade by installing an older version of the Munki tools (say, 6.4.2.4634) that contains a Python 3.10 (or earlier) framework, /usr/local/munki/munki-python will be broken. See https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Downgrading-Munki-tools for more information.

Upgrading Munki with Munki

If you use a technique similar to the one described here to allow Munki to update itself without requiring a restart, be sure to mark the Munki 6.6 launchd item as an unattended_install. If you don't do that, Munki may not be able to update itself completely without user involvement.
See this post: https://groups.google.com/g/munki-discuss/c/ikIw2mPddM0/m/h95J_DyrCwAJ for more details.

Additional Information

Build info

The GUI apps and the Python framework were built under Xcode 15.4 on macOS 14.6. Xcode 14.3.1 on macOS 13 should work as well. Other versions of Xcode have not been tested and may cause different results. (Due to Apple bugs, Xcode 15.0.1 or Xcode 15 on macOS Sonoma will result in GUI apps that won't run on macOS < 10.15).

OS version support

This release should work on macOS 10.13 through the macOS 15 beta, though it gets little-to-no testing on versions prior to macOS 13. Please report issues you find with older macOS versions.

Package versioning

• Distribution package version: 6.6.0.4690
• munki core tools version: 6.6.0.4686
• LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons version: 6.6.0.4656
• Apps package version: 6.6.0.4690
• Python package version: 3.12.2.4689

Attachment info

The munkitools-6.6.0.4688.pkg attachment available here is an unsigned and unnotarized package that should install without requiring a restart . It should be suitable for most deployment scenarios, including those driven by DEP/ADE (if you first sign the package). It does not include a component to trigger "bootstrapping" or any other automatic run of the tools after installation.

Signed/notarized builds

Thanks to the efforts of @erikng and @natewalck, signed and notarized builds of Munki tools packages are available at https://github.com/macadmins/munki-builds/releases. There may be a delay for new releases -- please be patient.

Deprecation announcement

The following Munki features are considered deprecated and will be removed in a future Munki release:

• Special support/treatment of Adobe Creative Cloud packages (and other special Adobe installer types). The following installer_types will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberInstaller, AdobeAcrobatUpdater, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCS5PatchInstaller, AdobeCCPInstaller Additionally, the following uninstall_methods will no longer be supported: AdobeSetup, AdobeUberUninstaller, AdobeCS5AAMEEPackage, AdobeCCPUninstaller
• Support for configuration profile install and removal (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Managing-Configuration-Profiles). Installer_type profile will no longer be supported.
• Apple update metadata (https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Pkginfo-For-Apple-Software-Updates) Installer_type apple_update_metadata will no longer be supported.
• appdmg installer_type (this has been deprecated for years, but support will be removed in the near future): https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/App-Dmg-Package-Notes
• suppress_bundle_relocation pkginfo key. This only ever worked for bundle-style packages.

Also being considered for deprecation/removal in the future is support for installation of Apple software updates. This is almost entirely non-functional for Apple silicon currently, so this would just continue the trend.

This is the official release of Munki 6.5.1: a bug-fix release of the Munki tools.

Changes

• A fix for a bug that prevented the new application data in conditional expressions feature from actually working as intended. (fbe22d2)
  See Conditional Application Data for more info on this feature, introduced (but due to the bug, effectively non-functional) in Munki 6.5: (bf1ce5a)
  Thanks to Tyler Gunderson for the bug report.

A complete list of changes from the 6.5.0 release is here: v6.5.0...v6.5.1

Known issues

Downgrading from 6.5.x to 6.4.2 or earlier

If you install a version of the Munki tools that contains the Python 3.12 framework, and then later attempt to downgrade by installing an older version of the Munki tools (say, 6.4.2.4634) that contains a Python 3.10 (or earlier) framework, /usr/local/munki/munki-python will be broken. See https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki/Downgrading-Munki-tools for more information.

Additional Information

Build info

The GUI apps and the Python framework were built under Xcode 15.3 on macOS 14.5. Xcode 14.3.1 on macOS 13 should work as well. Other versions of Xcode have not been tested and may cause different results. (Due to Apple bugs, Xcode 15.0.1 or Xcode 15 on macOS Sonoma will result in GUI apps that won't run on macOS < 10.15).

OS version support

This release should work on macOS 10.13 through macOS 14, though it gets little-to-no testing on versions prior to macOS 12. Please report issues you find with older macOS versions.

Package versioning

• Distribution package version: 6.5.1.4661
• munki core tools version: 6.5.1.4661
• LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons version: 3.0.3265
• Apps package version: 6.5.0.4654
• Python package version: 3.12.2.4653

Attachment info

The munkitools-6.5.1.4661.pkg attachment available here is an unsigned and unnotarized package that should install without requiring a restart unless upgrading from an extremely old Munki tools (like one of the 3.x releases or earlier). It should be suitable for most initial deployment scenarios, including those driven by DEP/ADE (if you first sign the package). It does not include a component to trigger "bootstrapping" or any other automatic run of the tools after installation.

Signed/notarized builds

Thanks to the efforts of @erikng and @natewalck, signed and notarized builds of Munki tools packages are available at https://github.com/macadmins/munki-builds/releases. There may be a delay for new releases -- please be patient.