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Installing the beta

Ledge 0.1.0 Beta 1 isn't notarized by Apple yet, so the first time you open it macOS stops it and asks you to allow it. It takes a minute, once.

Install it

  1. Download Ledge 0.1.0 Beta 1 (6 MB). It needs macOS 14 or later.
  2. Open the downloaded DMG and drag Ledge onto Applications.
  3. Open Ledge from your Applications folder. macOS says it couldn't verify Ledge is free of malware. Click Done, not Move to Trash.
  4. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll down to Security. Next to “Ledge was blocked to protect your Mac”, click Open Anyway, enter your password, then click Open Anyway once more.
  5. Ledge starts and appears in the notch. It asks for permissions as you turn on the features that need them; see Getting started.

Why macOS asks

macOS opens an app it downloaded without asking only when Apple has notarized it: scanned it and checked who made it. That takes Apple's Developer Program, which Ledge will join for its full release. Until then the beta is signed but not notarized, so macOS leaves the choice to you. Ledge works the same either way.

With Terminal instead

If you're comfortable with Terminal, this does the same as Open Anyway: it removes the “downloaded from the internet” mark from Ledge, so macOS opens it like an app you built yourself. Only do this for apps you trust.

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Ledge.app

To check the download is the one we published, compare its SHA-256 with the one on its release page:

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Ledge-0.1.0-beta.1.dmg

Updates

  • When a new beta is out, the notch says so for a moment, and Settings → About has a Download button.
  • Quit Ledge, then drag the new Ledge onto Applications and replace the old one. macOS may ask you to Open Anyway again.
  • Your settings, shelf and clipboard history stay. So do Ledge's permissions, usually; if a feature stops working, turn its permission off and on again in System Settings. If you signed in to Spotify, macOS asks once for your password so Ledge can read its saved sign-in.