Opening the macOS build

The Mac builds are real and work, but they are experimental and not yet signed with an Apple certificate. Signing and notarizing an app costs a solo developer $99 a year, and that's coming. Until then, macOS will show a scary warning the first time you open it. Here is how to run it the proper way. It takes about a minute, once.

Download for Apple Silicon (M1–M4) Download for Intel Mac

Most Macs from 2020 on are Apple Silicon. If you're unsure: Apple menu → About This Mac. A "Chip" that starts with Apple means Apple Silicon; a "Processor" that says Intel means Intel.

1. Install it

  1. Open the downloaded .dmg.
  2. Drag Sloom Studio into your Applications folder.

2. Open it past Gatekeeper

The first time you open it, macOS blocks it because it isn't signed yet. What you do depends on the message you see.

If it says "unidentified developer" / "cannot be opened":

  1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
  2. Scroll down. You'll see a line about Sloom Studio being blocked. Click Open Anyway, then confirm.
  3. (On older macOS you can instead right-click the app in Applications → Open → Open.)

If it says "Sloom Studio is damaged and can't be opened" (common on Apple Silicon for apps that aren't notarized yet) — the app is fine, macOS just flagged it because it came from the internet. Remove that flag once:

Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal) and paste this, then press Return:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Sloom Studio.app"

Then open Sloom Studio normally. This only removes the download-quarantine flag; it does not change the app.

Is this safe?

Yes. "Unsigned" doesn't mean unsafe, it means the app hasn't been through Apple's paid certificate process yet. Sloom Studio is local-first: your projects and any API keys stay on your machine. If you'd rather verify for yourself, the full source is on GitHub, and you can check your download against the SHA-256 checksums. A properly signed and notarized Mac build is on the roadmap.

Stuck or something looks wrong? Email support@sloom.studio and it gets sorted fast.