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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-26T14:12:36+00:00

I’m using the new domain feature of PackageMaker (introduced for Mac OS 10.5) to

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I’m using the new domain feature of PackageMaker (introduced for Mac OS 10.5) to target the user home directory. I have created a .pmdoc file in PackageMaker.app, and everything works perfectly until I add my post-install script. Then, suddenly, my package wants root authorization when it didn’t before. I’ve tried building from the command-line using packagemaker --doc mypackage.pmdoc --info Dist/PackageInfo supplying a tweaked PackageInfo file that explicitly specifies auth="none", but this doesn’t work. When I investigate the output package by extracting it with xar -xf package.pkg, authentication seems to be specified in package.pkg/Distribution, an XML file that packagemaker generates for itself.

Due to frustration with the GUI, I’ve switched to using only packagemaker on the command line. However, now my packages don’t display my user interface files (although they are included in the .pkg archive), and still demand root authentication. The offending line in the generated Distribution file is (notice auth=”Root”):

<pkg-ref id="org.myUniqueID.pkg" installKBytes="12032" version="1.0" auth="Root">#grooveshark.pkg</pkg-ref>

This is how I run packagemaker:

packagemaker -r ./Grooveshark -f ./Dist/PackageInfo -s ./Dist/Scripts -e ./Dist/Resources -v --domain user --target 10.5 --no-relocate --discard-forks --no-recommend -o ./out.pkg

This is the layout of Dist:

Dist/Distribution         # this isn't used by packagemaker, it generates its own
Dist/PackageInfo
Dist/Resources/en.lproj/background
Dist/Resources/en.lproj/License
Dist/Resources/en.lproj/ReadMe
Dist/Resources/en.lproj/Welcome.rtfd
Dist/Resources/en.lproj/Welcome.rtfd/gsDesktopPreview-mini.png
Dist/Resources/en.lproj/Welcome.rtfd/gsDesktopPreview-searchSmall.png
Dist/Resources/en.lproj/Welcome.rtfd/TXT.rtf
Dist/Scripts/jsuuid       # specified as a postinstall in Dist/PackageInfo
Dist/Scripts/postflight

How can I configure my package so it will run a postinstall script without demanding root authentication? Is there some way I’m missing to specify both a PackageInfo file and a Distribution install-script XML file via the command line?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    I ended up moving files int place in a distribution layout, then I used the following script to first build a traditional flat package, then expand it, copy in the settings that allow for per-user installation, then use a different process to compact it in-place, without processing, back into a PKG.

    #!/usr/bin/bash
# Build Package for local install using witchcraft
PROJECT="some/filesystem/location/with/your/files"
BUILDDIR="$PROJECT/Dist/build"
PKGROOT="$PROJECT/Dist/Package_Root"

INFO="$PROJECT/Dist/PackageInfo"
DIST="$PROJECT/Dist/Distribution"

RESOURCES="$PROJECT/Dist/Resources"
SCRIPTS="$PROJECT/Dist/Scripts"

# Remove .DS_Store files
find "$PKGROOT" -name ".DS_Store" | sed 's/ /\\ /' | xargs rm
# make build dir
mkdir "$BUILDDIR"

# build flat package that needs root to install
packagemaker -r "$PKGROOT" -f "$INFO" -s "$SCRIPTS" $ARGS -o "$BUILDDIR/flat.pkg"

# Build distribution that installs into home dirs by unpacking the flat pkg

echo "Building Distribution"
echo "  Copying filesystem"
cp -r "$RESOURCES" "$BUILDDIR/Resources"
cp "$DIST" "$BUILDDIR/Distribution"
echo "  extracting flat package"
pkgutil --expand "$BUILDDIR/flat.pkg" "$BUILDDIR/grooveshark.pkg/"
rm "$BUILDDIR/flat.pkg"
echo "  flattening distribution"
pkgutil --flatten "$BUILDDIR" "$PROJECT/$1.pkg"
echo "Finished!"
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