# Install and run on MacOSX **URL:** \ **Category:** Technical Support & Bugs\ **Tags:** v3\_6\ **Created:** [April 17, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/install-and-run-on-macosx/76950 "2023-04-17T21:11:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cholmcc](https://forum.vassalengine.org/user_avatar/forum.vassalengine.org/cholmcc/32/8319_2.png) [@cholmcc](https://forum.vassalengine.org/u/cholmcc)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/install-and-run-on-macosx/76950/1 "2023-04-17T21:11:47Z")
Hi, If you have trouble running VASSAL on MacOSX (11.7 and possibly later) - I.e., you can install by downloading the DMG from [the site](https://vassalengine.org/download.html), but when you try to run it, then MacOSX complains that it won’t run the app because it was downloaded via Chrome/FireFox/… - _do not despair_ - here’s how to get around it. - Open up a Terminal (Finder-\>Applications-\>Utilities-\>Terminal) - Change directory to your Desktop - Run the following command - Double click the VASSAL `DMG` now - Drag the VASSAL app to the installation directory as instructed. If this is well-known and -understood and I’ve just overlooked it somewhere - my apologies. Anyway, I hope it will be of help. Yours, _Christian_ ---
**Author:** ![JoelCFC25](https://forum.vassalengine.org/user_avatar/forum.vassalengine.org/joelcfc25/32/2687_2.png) [@JoelCFC25](https://forum.vassalengine.org/u/JoelCFC25)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 12:12am UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/install-and-run-on-macosx/76950/2 "2023-04-18T00:12:25Z")
An inability to open/mount a disk image because it was downloaded by Chrome/Firefox is a new one to me–I’ve been using VASSAL successfully on MacOS since at least that OS version and likely much longer. Gatekeeper blocking the actual app from running because it’s not signed is a well-known issue, but first time hearing of this one! Note that the command line won’t be of any help to Apple Silicon users who might run into this–they’d have to modify the URL to get the right build for that architecture. ---
**Author:** ![Biffybeans](https://forum.vassalengine.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Biffybeans](https://forum.vassalengine.org/u/Biffybeans)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 6:17am UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/install-and-run-on-macosx/76950/3 "2023-04-18T06:17:55Z")
Is there a way to get around the issue of it blocking the app from running because it’s not signed? ---
**Author:** ![uckelman](https://forum.vassalengine.org/user_avatar/forum.vassalengine.org/uckelman/32/10020_2.png) [@uckelman](https://forum.vassalengine.org/u/uckelman)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 10:53am UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/install-and-run-on-macosx/76950/4 "2023-04-18T10:53:28Z")
Could we see some screenshots of the problem? It would help to have more context around this. (I take it that this is a different issue from the one @JoelCFC25 points to in the wiki?) ---
**Author:** ![JoelCFC25](https://forum.vassalengine.org/user_avatar/forum.vassalengine.org/joelcfc25/32/2687_2.png) [@JoelCFC25](https://forum.vassalengine.org/u/JoelCFC25)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 12:15pm UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/install-and-run-on-macosx/76950/5 "2023-04-18T12:15:11Z")
Sure–see [the troubleshooting note about this](https://vassalengine.org/wiki/Troubleshooting_Common_Problems#(Mac)_%22VASSAL_cannot_be_opened_because_the_developer_cannot_be_verified._MacOS_cannot_verify_that_this_app_is_free_from_malware.%22). ---
**Author:** ![cholmcc](https://forum.vassalengine.org/user_avatar/forum.vassalengine.org/cholmcc/32/8319_2.png) [@cholmcc](https://forum.vassalengine.org/u/cholmcc)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 10:48pm UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/install-and-run-on-macosx/76950/7 "2023-04-18T22:48:52Z")
Hi, > [@JoelCFC25](#): > > An inability to open/mount a disk image because it was downloaded by Chrome/Firefox is a new one to me–I’ve been using VASSAL successfully on MacOS since at least that OS version and likely much longer. I didn’t mean to say you couldn’t “mount” the `DMG`- if you got that impression, then I wasn’t clear enough. What I meant to say is that you cannot run the app _after_ it was installed. The trouble is indeed as explained on [the wiki](https://vassalengine.org/wiki/Troubleshooting_Common_Problems#(Mac)_%22VASSAL_cannot_be_opened_because_the_developer_cannot_be_verified._MacOS_cannot_verify_that_this_app_is_free_from_malware.%22) > [@JoelCFC25](#): > > Gatekeeper blocking the actual app from running because it’s not signed is a well-known issue, but first time hearing of this one! Note that the command line won’t be of any help to Apple Silicon users who might run into this–they’d have to modify the URL to get the right build for that architecture. Well, the command line _will_ help as long as you specify the right image to get. The list of images can be seen at [GitHub](https://github.com/vassalengine/vassal/releases/) - the user simply need to - right click the appropriate target, select **Copy link address** (or other OS-specific equivalent) - Open a terminal - Write - Then double click the downloaded file and install per instructions. The appropriate link for MacOSX on Apple M1 and current release would be ``` https://github.com/vassalengine/vassal/releases/download/3.6.16/VASSAL-3.6.16-macos-aarch64.dmg ``` For MacOSX on x8664 and β-2 of 3.7.0 would be ``` https://github.com/vassalengine/vassal/releases/download/3.7.0-beta2/VASSAL-3.7.0-beta2-macos-x86_64.dmg ``` and so on. The work-around on [the wiki](https://vassalengine.org/wiki/Troubleshooting_Common_Problems#(Mac)_%22VASSAL_cannot_be_opened_because_the_developer_cannot_be_verified._MacOS_cannot_verify_that_this_app_is_free_from_malware.%22) is indeed valid, but the `curl` trick is another way to get around the gate-keeper (sort of shows that MacOSX isn’t really all that secure as its made out to be). > [@cholmcc](#): > > If this is well-known and -understood and I’ve just overlooked it somewhere - my apologies So it seems the problem is known and there’s a fix (now two 🙂 ) so - as I said - my apologies. Yours, _Christian_ ---
**Author:** ![JoelCFC25](https://forum.vassalengine.org/user_avatar/forum.vassalengine.org/joelcfc25/32/2687_2.png) [@JoelCFC25](https://forum.vassalengine.org/u/JoelCFC25)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/install-and-run-on-macosx/76950/8 "2023-04-19T12:55:28Z")
That’s pretty amusing–and good to know–that downloading with `curl` evades Gatekeeper. Still, if you look at the sweep of history and the kinds of installation difficulties and troubleshooting questions users tend to post, I don’t have much confidence that there will be more than a handful of users savvy enough to use this method. I might, though! You should add your method to that wiki page. My point about the command line example given was not that the _technique_ wouldn’t work for other builds as long as you modified the URL target (as you later expanded on)–just that the _specific_ one in the OP would not work for Mac users who don’t have Intel architecture. ---
**Author:** ![cholmcc](https://forum.vassalengine.org/user_avatar/forum.vassalengine.org/cholmcc/32/8319_2.png) [@cholmcc](https://forum.vassalengine.org/u/cholmcc)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 9:49am UTC](https://forum.vassalengine.org/t/install-and-run-on-macosx/76950/9 "2023-05-03T09:49:42Z")
> [@JoelCFC25](#): > > You should add your method to that wiki page. I finally got around to add the method to the [Wiki](https://vassalengine.org/w/index.php?title=Troubleshooting_Common_Problems&modqueued=1#(Mac)_%22VASSAL_cannot_be_opened_because_the_developer_cannot_be_verified._MacOS_cannot_verify_that_this_app_is_free_from_malware.%22). Pending approval.