Install and manage your apps

Choose where to download

Where you get an app matters as much as the app itself. There are two trusted sources.

• The App Store, Apple's store: it installs and updates apps associated with your Apple Account.
• The developer's website: legitimate apps can also be downloaded there. Reach the site through an address you know.

Before installing, check the required macOS version, the supported model, the price and whether there is a subscription. A Windows app does not become a Mac app when it is renamed. Some older apps may need Rosetta, Apple's translator for programs made for Intel-based Macs; use only the installation offered by macOS.

Install according to the source

• From the App Store: find the app, open its page and check the developer's name. To download it, click the button that shows the price or Get, which appears when the app is free. Some apps later sell extra content or subscriptions: check that before confirming.
• With an official .dmg file: open it and follow its instructions. Often you drag the app into Applications. Then eject the disk image in Finder.
• With a .pkg installer: read its screens and confirm you expected that program before authorizing changes with your password.

After installing, you still need to open it for the first time.

1. Open the app from Applications or Spotlight.
2. If macOS shows a security warning, check the source and compatibility. Do not disable protections to run something unfamiliar.
3. Grant only the permissions it needs. You can review them later in System Settings, under Privacy & Security.

Keep your apps up to date

For App Store apps, open the App Store, click Updates in the sidebar, then click Update next to the app, or Update All. For the others, use their built-in updater or official website.

Remove what you do not use

If the app has its own uninstaller, follow the developer's instructions. For many apps, dragging the app from Applications to the Trash, at the right end of the Dock, is enough. That does not cancel subscriptions or necessarily remove documents or settings.

To avoid unnecessary apps opening when you sign in, open System Settings, click General, then click Login Items & Extensions. There you find the list of what opens by itself.

Choose which app opens a file

1. Select a test file in Finder.
2. In the File menu, choose Get Info.
3. In the Info window, click the arrow next to Open with.
4. Click the pop-up menu and choose an app.

That changes the app for that one file only. The Change All button changes it for every file of that type: do not click it if you only want to change one.