DMG file is a compressed file format being used widely on Mac computer. Windows OS doesn't natively support DMG disk image files, so if you need to create a bootable USB drive from a DMG file, mostly for bootable Mac OS X or macOS installation USB, you need a special utility to help you complete the task. NameComponent.pkg, created in the previous section. MyFramework.pkg, a dependency of NameComponent.pkg (created as seen in the previous section). Productbuild is the tool used to create product archives, that is: packages to be installed by users or to be submitted to the Mac App Store. A product archive is made up of one or more component.

Recently I made a Jenkins Pipeline to build a QT Application for multiple Linux distributions, Windows and macOS. In the process I had to figure out how to package a macOS Application.

I ended up building it with a script similar to what I did for Linux.

As you can see, I use qmake and make to build the application. That is great, because it can be done from a script, and scripts can be started from Jenkins.

To build the actual dmg package, I use a utility shipped with QT, macdeployqt. This makes sure that all the required libraries are properly packaged into the bundle. My first attempt worked fine on my local machine, but when I downloaded the package from the build machine, I was unable to install it because it was unsigned.

Make A Pkg From Dmg Files

Signing

It turned out that macdeployqt can sign the package. However I needed to create a certificate signed by Apple, of the correct type, issued to the correct entity.

In order to do that, you must be a registered Apple Developer. Then you must go to xcode, open preferences and accounts. I have enrolled my company, rather than myself, in the Apple Developer program, so I had to select the 'The Last Viking LTD' team (rather than the personal, team), click on 'Manage Certificates', and then create a 'Developer ID Application' certificate.

The name of the certificate is then given to macdeployqt after the -codesign option.

Create A Pkg From Dmg

So with this in place, I can build a deployable package for macOS directly from Jenkins.