Restore ad-hoc signing for macOS bundles#268
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forketyfork merged 2 commits intomainfrom Mar 11, 2026
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Architect release artifacts stopped launching after the workflow switched from ad-hoc bundle signing to fully unsigned bundles. Clearing quarantine was no longer enough because Finder and LaunchServices rejected app bundles that were not signed at all. Switch the release workflow back to the bundle script's ad-hoc signing path and rename the release assets accordingly. Update the release documentation to explain that GitHub downloads are ad-hoc signed for local launch, but still not Developer ID signed or notarized.
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Pull request overview
Restores ad-hoc signing for macOS release bundles so the downloaded app can launch after quarantine removal, while still avoiding Developer ID signing and notarization.
Changes:
- Update the release workflow to produce ad-hoc-signed macOS bundles again (drop
--unsigned) and rename artifacts back to non--unsignednames. - Update installation and development docs to match the restored ad-hoc signing behavior and new asset names.
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
docs/development.md |
Updates release documentation to reflect ad-hoc signing and the restored asset names. |
README.md |
Updates macOS install instructions and clarifies ad-hoc-signed (but not notarized/Developer ID) behavior. |
.github/workflows/release.yaml |
Removes --unsigned from bundling and renames archives/artifacts to match the restored signing approach. |
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Solution
PR #266 changed the macOS release flow from ad-hoc signed app bundles to completely unsigned bundles. In practice that was too far: after download and quarantine removal, macOS still refused to launch the app because the bundle had no signature at all.
This change restores ad-hoc signing in the release workflow without bringing back Apple developer certificate signing. The published archives are still not Developer ID signed and still not notarized. The release asset names and documentation now match that behavior again.
Issue linkage will be added during mandatory cleanup.
Test plan
Releaseworkflow withworkflow_dispatchArchitect.appopen