Skip to main content

​
MacOS Security Warning (Manual Download)

If you manually downloaded the tk binary on macOS, you may encounter a security warning when trying to run it for the first time. This is due to Apple’s Gatekeeper security feature, which prevents unsigned applications from running.
This issue only affects manual binary downloads. If you installed via Homebrew, npm, or other package managers, you won’t encounter this problem.

​
The Problem

When you try to run tk for the first time, you’ll see this warning:
tk not opened warning dialog
The error message states: “tk” Not Opened - Apple could not verify “tk” is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy.

​
Quick Fix (Terminal)

If you’re comfortable with the terminal, you can resolve this instantly: 
# Remove quarantine flag and ad-hoc sign the binary
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine $(which tk) 2>/dev/null
codesign -s - -f $(which tk)
Both the public installer (curl -fsSL https://ticket-rs.io/install.sh | sh) and the local dev installer (./install.sh --local) perform ad-hoc codesigning automatically. If you see this issue after manually copying a binary, the commands above will fix it.

​
Solution: Allow the Binary in System Settings

Follow these steps to allow the tk binary to run:

​
Step 1: Trigger the Security Warning

First, try to run tk in your terminal. This will trigger macOS to register the security block: 
tk --version
You’ll see the warning dialog shown above. Click “Done” to dismiss it.

​
Step 2: Open Privacy & Security Settings

  1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
  2. Click on Privacy & Security in the sidebar
Privacy & Security settings

​
Step 3: Click “Allow Anyway”

Scroll down in the Security section until you see a message that says: “tk” was blocked to protect your Mac. or “tk-darwin-aarch64” was blocked to protect your Mac. Click the “Allow Anyway” button next to this message.
Allow Anyway button
The “Allow Anyway” button is only available for about an hour after you try to open the app. If you don’t see it, try running tk again in your terminal to re-trigger the security warning.

​
Step 4: Confirm and Open

  1. Enter your Mac password when prompted
  2. Try running tk again in your terminal:
tk --version
  1. You’ll see one more dialog asking you to confirm:
Open tk confirmation dialog
  1. Click “Open Anyway” (or just “Open” depending on your macOS version)

​
Success

The binary is now saved as an exception to your security settings. You can run tk normally from now on without seeing these warnings again.

​
Why Does This Happen?

This security warning appears because the tk binary is not code-signed with an Apple Developer certificate. Code signing requires an annual Apple Developer Program membership ($99/year), which is not feasible for all open-source projects.
Is it safe? Yes! The tk binary is built from open-source code using GitHub Actions. You can verify the build process in the project’s repository. However, as Apple’s warning states, you should only proceed if you trust the source (the official ticket-rs GitHub repository).

​
Avoid This Issue Entirely

To avoid this security warning, use the official installer script instead of manually downloading the binary: 
curl -fsSL https://ticket-rs.io/install.sh | sh
The installer script automatically removes the quarantine attribute and ad-hoc codesigns the binary on macOS, so you won’t encounter Gatekeeper warnings.

​
Additional Resources

Apple's Mac User Guide