Question

I’m trying to move an app file in OS X using the FileInputStream’s transferTo method, but keep getting FileNotFoundException (No such file or directory). I know this isn’t the case because the .exists() method returns true when I run it on the app file. I thought it had to do with File permissions but after a few tests that doesn’t seem to be the case. Here is the code I’m using to move the file:

public static void moveFile(File sourceFile, File destFile) throws IOException {
    FileChannel source = null;
    FileChannel destination = null;

    try {
        source = new FileInputStream(sourceFile).getChannel();
        destination = new FileOutputStream(destFile).getChannel();

        long count = 0;
        long size = source.size();
        source.transferTo(count, size, destination);
    }
    finally {
        if(source!=null) {
            source.close();
        }

        if(destination!=null) {
            destination.close();
        }
    }
}

EDIT 1: The title has been changed from “Move an .app file in os x” to “Copy an .app file in os x”. I need to keep the original file intact.

EDIT 2: I was able to copy the file by means of the Apache Commons FileUtils as suggested by Joel Westberg (specifically the copyDirectory method). The problem I’m facing now is when I go to run the copied app bundle the app bounces in the dock perpetually and never runs. Any ideas on why this is?

EDIT 3: I have figured out how to fix the perpetually bouncing problem. It turns out when I copied the app bundle that it didn’t set 2 unix scripts to executable that needed to be. I simply used the setExecutable method in the File class to fix this.

Answer 1

The simple answer is that there is no such thing as a .app file in OSX terminology. The .app that you see is a folder. You’ll get FileNotFound when trying to read it as a file, because it isn’t a file.

If you’re on Java 7 you can use the new Files.move() method to perform the action you want regardless of it being a File or Folder.

EDIT: As MadProgrammer suggested in the comments, it would be even easier to simply use File.renameTo() which has been around much longer.