Tutorial

Learn how to find and retrieve application installation paths on Mac devices using scripts. This is essential for application management, script deployment, and allowlist/blocklist configuration.

Basic App Path Finder

Find the path of an application using its bundle identifier:

#!/bin/bash

# Specify the bundle ID
BUNDLE_ID="com.apple.Safari"

# Find app path using mdfind
APP_PATH=$(mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier=='${BUNDLE_ID}'")

if [[ -n "$APP_PATH" ]]; then
    echo "Application path: $APP_PATH"
else
    echo "Application not found: $BUNDLE_ID"
fi

Enhanced Path Discovery

Script with validation and multiple search methods:

#!/bin/bash

# Function to find app path
find_app_path() {
    local bundle_id="$1"
    
    # Method 1: Use mdfind with bundle identifier
    local app_path=$(mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier=='${bundle_id}'" | head -1)
    
    if [[ -n "$app_path" && -d "$app_path" ]]; then
        echo "$app_path"
        return 0
    fi
    
    # Method 2: Search common directories
    local common_paths=(
        "/Applications"
        "/System/Applications"
        "/Applications/Utilities"
        "/System/Library/CoreServices"
    )
    
    for path in "${common_paths[@]}"; do
        if [[ -d "$path" ]]; then
            local found=$(find "$path" -name "*.app" -maxdepth 2 -exec defaults read {}/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleIdentifier \; -print 2>/dev/null | grep -B1 "^${bundle_id}$" | grep "\.app$")
            if [[ -n "$found" ]]; then
                echo "$found"
                return 0
            fi
        fi
    done
    
    return 1
}

# Example usage
BUNDLE_ID="${1:-com.apple.Safari}"

echo "Searching for application: $BUNDLE_ID"

if APP_PATH=$(find_app_path "$BUNDLE_ID"); then
    echo "Found application at: $APP_PATH"
    
    # Get additional info
    APP_NAME=$(defaults read "$APP_PATH/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleName 2>/dev/null)
    APP_VERSION=$(defaults read "$APP_PATH/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleShortVersionString 2>/dev/null)
    
    echo "Application Name: ${APP_NAME:-Unknown}"
    echo "Version: ${APP_VERSION:-Unknown}"
else
    echo "Application not found: $BUNDLE_ID"
    exit 1
fi

Multiple App Path Finder

Find paths for multiple applications at once:

#!/bin/bash

# Array of bundle IDs to search for
BUNDLE_IDS=(
    "com.apple.Safari"
    "com.apple.finder"
    "com.apple.systempreferences"
    "com.microsoft.Excel"
    "com.adobe.Photoshop"
)

# Function to find app path
find_app_path() {
    local bundle_id="$1"
    mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier=='${bundle_id}'" | head -1
}

echo "=== Application Path Report ==="
echo "Generated: $(date)"
echo "Device: $(hostname)"
echo "================================"

for bundle_id in "${BUNDLE_IDS[@]}"; do
    echo "Searching: $bundle_id"
    
    app_path=$(find_app_path "$bundle_id")
    
    if [[ -n "$app_path" && -d "$app_path" ]]; then
        echo "  ✓ Found: $app_path"
        
        # Get app version if available
        version=$(defaults read "$app_path/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleShortVersionString 2>/dev/null)
        if [[ -n "$version" ]]; then
            echo "  📦 Version: $version"
        fi
    else
        echo "  ✗ Not found"
    fi
    echo
done

Bundle ID Discovery

Find bundle IDs of installed applications:

#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Installed Applications Bundle IDs ==="

# Search in common application directories
SEARCH_PATHS=(
    "/Applications"
    "/System/Applications"
    "/Applications/Utilities"
)

for search_path in "${SEARCH_PATHS[@]}"; do
    if [[ -d "$search_path" ]]; then
        echo "Scanning: $search_path"
        
        find "$search_path" -name "*.app" -maxdepth 2 | while read app_path; do
            app_name=$(basename "$app_path" .app)
            bundle_id=$(defaults read "$app_path/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleIdentifier 2>/dev/null)
            
            if [[ -n "$bundle_id" ]]; then
                echo "  $app_name -> $bundle_id"
            fi
        done
        echo
    fi
done

Usage with Roundfleet

1. Modify the BUNDLE_ID variable with your target application
2. For multiple apps, update the BUNDLE_IDS array
3. Deploy through Roundfleet's remote script execution
4. View results in the action history

Common Bundle IDs

Troubleshooting

No results found: Verify the bundle ID is correct and application is installed Multiple paths returned: Use head -1 to get the first result or filter by specific location Permission denied: Ensure script has necessary file system access permissions

Note: Bundle IDs are case-sensitive. Use the exact format as provided by the application developer.