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Managed App Configuration for native apps

Native macOS apps – that is, applications uploaded manually as .pkg or .dmg – can be pre-configured in Relution. However, the intended path differs from the one for apps from the App Store. The decisive factor is the source of the app, as it determines which method is available.

The app source determines the configuration method

The Managed App Configuration policy configuration requires the app to have been installed through a channel managed by Apple. It is available exclusively for apps from the App Store or apps obtained via the Volume Purchase Program (VPP). For these apps, the operating system handles the assignment of the configuration to the app based on the bundle ID.

For native apps, this mechanism is not available, because they were not installed through the managed App Store channel. The configuration of a native app must therefore be transmitted as a payload via the Apple Configurator 2 policy configuration.

App sourceConfiguration method
App Store / VPPManaged App Configuration
Native app (.pkg / .dmg)Payload via Apple Configurator 2

Configuring native apps via Apple Configurator 2

Which keys and values are supported in the payload (property list) is specified by the respective app vendor. The setup is done in a few steps:

  1. The native app is first provisioned as usual so that it is installed on the target devices.
  2. The desired app configuration is assembled as a payload (see the recommendation below).
  3. An Apple Configurator 2 configuration is added to the policy and the payload is stored there.
  4. The policy is saved and assigned to the affected devices or groups.

Recommendation: create the payload with the iMazing Profile Editor

Writing a payload manually is error-prone. For convenient creation, the third-party tool iMazing Profile Editor is recommended. It allows the configuration to be assembled through a graphical interface, without writing the underlying property list by hand.

The procedure is as follows:

  1. In the iMazing Profile Editor, the desired settings for the app are set via the interface.
  2. The result is exported as a profile or .mobileconfig.
  3. The relevant payload content is transferred into the Apple Configurator 2 configuration in Relution.

The payload can also use the placeholders provided by Relution (e.g. ${user.email}) to fill in the configuration on a per-user basis. The placeholders are replaced when the configuration is transmitted to the devices.