this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2025
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Asklemmy
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Installing a downloaded app by dragging the .dmg into your Applications folder.
Just why? What is the case where I download an app installer, execute the installer, but don't want the app installed?
DMG actually not installer itself think about more like iso file image where system mount dmg file and u can run apps from there by double clicking them without installing or u can drag and drop content of dmg file to applications folder and become it like "installed"
You can drag it somewhere else or run it from the DMG? You can run apps outside that folder....
It's not "dragging the .dmg into your Applications folder", you mount the .DMG then drag the .app inside and move it where you like (a shortcut to your /Applications is provided)
The DMG also gives it compression. It's not an "installer", it's more a form of zip file. Like a .zip it allows publishers to bundle guides, photos, etc.
Besides the "just drag" method is so much better than clicking through an installation wizard. But some apps use .PKG files which is an installer wizard.
There's tons of legitimate arguments made against macOS but this seems like just unfamiliarity.
I've been prompted to manually drag the app into the Applications folder during install flow multiple times. It wasn't a substitute for an installation wizard, it was a part of it. I'm familiar with archives as well as .debs, .rpms and tarballs, and none of these or Windows equivalents required such interaction. Yeah, it's due to my unfamiliarity. In my state of being relatively unfamiliar with Mac OS, it seems pretty fucking weird.
The uninstall on a Mac just leaves a ton of garbage behind though. Dragging an app to the trashcan to uninstall is somewhat intuitive, but doesn't remove the app from startup. Which is a bit messy because then I need to install software to clean that up.
Windows isn't necessarily a lot better on that front, but it feels better ( the cleanup part )
AFAIK if an app was installed by dragging it to Applications, there's no way it could still run after you delete it. The actual executable is contained within the .app file.
It is true that uninstalled apps can leave files behind in other places though. Which is a problem on all platforms.
Yes. It's not running anymore. But the entry lingered in the startup section ( for whatever reason ).
I've also had a case where starting my Mac gave me "file cannot be found" notification, and that was also related to software that was removed. Running a cleanup tool removed entries I couldn't remove myself (ui) and the error disappeared.
It's closer to a zip file than an installer. That one never bothered me at all