App Auto-Patch 3: 17-minute Quick-start for Jamf Pro

The go-to, open source, “patch-nearly-every-macOS-app-I-didn’t-even-know-was-in-my-environment” now MDM-agnostic super-tool just turned three

Introduction

App Auto-Patch 3 integrates local application discovery, Installomator, and user-friendly swiftDialog prompts to automate application patch management for Mac computers.

With version 3, we have elevated automation by introducing several new features, including an automated background agent, settings via a configuration profile and enhanced deferral options.

App Auto-Patch Wiki

The end-user experience can differ based on how you configure App Auto-Patch:

• Completely Silent
• Silent Discovery, Interactive Patching
• Full Interactive

17-minute Quick-start for Jamf Pro

Configuration Profile

While version 3 of App Auto-Patch is now MDM-agnostic, it still works great with Jamf Pro.

The Jamf Pro-specific Script Parameters from previous versions have been replaced with an easy-to-use Configuration Profile, thanks to a robust custom schema. (If you’re unfamiliar with leveraging a custom schema in Jamf Pro, review Deploying Custom Computer Configuration Profiles Using the Application & Custom Settings Payload.)

For this quick-start, you can simply accept the supplied default values and deploy to your test Mac.

Installation

Install App Auto-Patch 3 on each managed Mac:

1. Copy-pasta the latest version of the App-Auto-Patch-via-Dialog.zsh script to your Jamf Pro server
2. Create a new policy to execute the script:
   • General
     • Trigger: Recurring Check-in
     • Execution Frequency: Once per computer
   • Scripts
     • App Auto-Patch
3. There is no Step 3.

App Auto-Patch 3 automatically installs itself and all necessary components anytime it’s run from outside its working directory: /Library/Management/AppAutoPatch.

Testing

With both the Configuration Profile and App Auto-Patch installed on your test Mac, you’re now ready to test-drive via an elevated Terminal session. While there are many Command Line Options, my (current) favorite is:
appautopatch --reset-defaults --reset-labels

In a second Terminal session — elevated or otherwise — observe the App Auto-Patch logs via:
tail -f /Library/Management/AppAutoPatch/logs/aap.log

You may wish to also create a Self Service policy for your opt-in beta testers.

Support

Best-effort support is available on the Mac Admins Slack (free, registration required) #app-auto-patch Channel, or you can open an issue on GitHub.

Resources

• App Auto-Patch Wiki
• Deploying App Auto-Patch via Intune, Mosyle or other MDMs

Shout-out

Finally, a big, big shout-out to Andrew Spokes for getting version three across to goal line (and thanks to all the contributors.)