App Will Eat Itself - Githubissues

grahampugh commented 2 years ago

It doesn't seem to be right that downloading an installer to /Applications should result in an error output from mist-cli, because it wants to delete itself. Is that really intended? It seems to be a side-effect of the behaviour of the script, where it first downloads to /Applications and then attempts to copy it to either the default destination (/Users/Shared/Mist), or to a custom output directory (in this case, /Applications). Worse still, if the --force flag is used under these settings, the downloaded app gets immediately deleted!

To me, it would make sense if the downloaded app was compiled directly in the output-directory, rather than being copied there after being compiled in /Applications.

% mist download installer 13.0 application --application-name Install %NAME%.app --output-directory /Applications --cache-downloads --include-betas
┌──────────────────┐
│ INPUT VALIDATION │
└──────────────────┘
  ├─ User is 'root'...
  ├─ Download search string will be '13.0'...
  ├─ Include betas in search results will be 'true'...
  ├─ Only include compatible installers will be 'false'...
  ├─ Cache downloads will be 'true'...
  ├─ Output directory will be '/Applications'...
  ├─ Temporary directory will be '/private/tmp/com.ninxsoft.mist'...
  ├─ Force flag has not been set, existing files will not be overwritten...
  ├─ Application name will be 'Install %NAME%.app'...
┌────────┐
│ SEARCH │
└────────┘
  ├─ Searching for macOS download '13.0'...
  ├─ Found [012-84573] macOS Ventura beta 13.0 (22A5373b) [2022-10-12]
┌───────┐
│ SETUP │
└───────┘
  ├─ Nothing to do!
┌──────────┐
│ DOWNLOAD │
└──────────┘
  ├─ [ 1 / 7 ] 012-84573.English.dist.......... [ 07.52 KB / 07.52 KB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 2 / 7 ] BuildManifest.plist............. [ 03.36 MB / 03.36 MB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 3 / 7 ] Info.plist...................... [ 05.30 KB / 05.30 KB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 4 / 7 ] InstallAssistant.pkg............ [ 12.12 GB / 12.12 GB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 5 / 7 ] InstallInfo.plist............... [  0181  B /  0181  B (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 6 / 7 ] MajorOSInfo.pkg................. [ 01.33 MB / 01.33 MB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 7 / 7 ] UpdateBrain.zip................. [ 03.45 MB / 03.45 MB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
┌─────────┐
│ INSTALL │
└─────────┘
  ├─ Creating new installer '/Applications/Install macOS Ventura beta.app'...
  ├─ Created new installer '/Applications/Install macOS Ventura beta.app'
┌─────────────┐
│ APPLICATION │
└─────────────┘
  └─ Existing file: '/Applications/Install macOS Ventura beta.app'. Use [--force] to overwrite.
Error: existingFile(path: "/Applications/Install macOS Ventura beta.app")

ninxsoft commented 2 years ago

The logic I am currently using in Mist.app that I haven't gotten around to implementing in mist-cli is to generate a temporary disk image containing the .app installer.

I never liked the idea of installing the package on / and copying / deleting out of /Applications. Bringing across the disk image approach should remove any dependency on /Applications 👍

IIRC smart cookies like the maintainer of installinstallmacos.py follow similar logic 😛

grahampugh commented 1 year ago

On the other hand, downloading directly to /Applications or some other folder is faster than copying to (and from) a disk image, and also avoids problems that I encounter quite frequently with people who have software that restricts the mounting of disk images.

The only real problem here is that the installer is being downloaded to /Applications, but the --output flag is not smart enough to check that the destination is the same as the source, and so gets itself in a tizz. A simple check to see if the source and destination are the same should solve that.

tempusthales commented 1 year ago

@ninxsoft I actually came across this today and everything I have tried is moot. Verbatim what @grahampugh is documenting is happening. Any path way for a fix? Soon(tm)? :)

ninxsoft commented 1 year ago

Progress! 🥳

I have a working pull request (#112) which creates the Install macOS.app in a Disk Image (.dmg) and no longer in /Applications:

A disk image will be created in the temporary directory, where the Install macOS.app will be generated
Exporting an Application will copy the application from the mounted disk image directly into the output directory
Exporting a Disk Image will copy the application from the mounted disk image to a temp directory, from where a disk image will be generated and saved into the output directory
Exporting an ISO will use createinstallmedia to create a disk image in the temporary directory, from where the ISO will be converted and saved into the output directory
Exporting a Package (macOS Catalina or older) will generate a package directly into the output directory
Exporting a Package (macOS Big Sur or newer) will copy the Apple-provided package directly into the output directory
- When exporting only a package (macOS Big Sur or newer), the disk image creation + teardown steps are completely skipped, as they are not required!

This all aligns with how Mist.app operates (and helps keep things correct in my head)

Will leave #112 open for a few days to continue testing + window for providing feedback.

Thanks! 🙌

ninxsoft commented 1 year ago

Sample output:

➜ mist ✔ sudo mist download installer "Ventura" application image iso package --cache-downloads --temporary-directory "/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache" --force
┌──────────────────┐
│ INPUT VALIDATION │
└──────────────────┘
  ├─ User is 'root'...
  ├─ Download search string will be 'Ventura'...
  ├─ Include betas in search results will be 'false'...
  ├─ Only include compatible installers will be 'false'...
  ├─ Cache downloads will be 'true'...
  ├─ Output directory will be '/Users/Shared/Mist'...
  ├─ Temporary directory will be '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache'...
  ├─ Force flag set, existing files will be overwritten...
  ├─ Application name will be 'Install %NAME% %VERSION%-%BUILD%.app'...
  ├─ Disk Image name will be 'Install %NAME% %VERSION%-%BUILD%.dmg'...
  ├─ Bootable Disk Image name will be 'Install %NAME% %VERSION%-%BUILD%.iso'...
  ├─ Package name will be 'Install %NAME% %VERSION%-%BUILD%.pkg'...
  ├─ Package identifier will be 'com.company.pkg.%NAME%.%VERSION%.%BUILD%'...
┌────────┐
│ SEARCH │
└────────┘
  ├─ Searching for macOS download 'Ventura'...
  ├─ Found [012-60271] macOS Ventura 13.1 (22C65) [2022-12-14]
┌───────┐
│ SETUP │
└───────┘
  ├─ Nothing to do!
┌──────────┐
│ DOWNLOAD │
└──────────┘
  ├─ [ 1 / 7 ] 012-60271.English.dist.......... [ 07.46 KB / 07.46 KB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 2 / 7 ] BuildManifest.plist............. [ 03.36 MB / 03.36 MB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 3 / 7 ] Info.plist...................... [ 05.04 KB / 05.04 KB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 4 / 7 ] InstallAssistant.pkg............ [ 12.22 GB / 12.22 GB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 5 / 7 ] InstallInfo.plist............... [  0181  B /  0181  B (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 6 / 7 ] MajorOSInfo.pkg................. [ 01.33 MB / 01.33 MB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
  ├─ [ 7 / 7 ] UpdateBrain.zip................. [ 03.46 MB / 03.46 MB (100.0%) ]
  │            Verifying... ✓✓✓
┌─────────┐
│ INSTALL │
└─────────┘
  ├─ Creating image '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/012-60271.dmg'...
  ├─ Mounting disk image at mount point '/Volumes/012-60271'...
  ├─ Creating new installer '/Volumes/012-60271//Applications/Install macOS Ventura.app'...
  ├─ Created new installer '/Volumes/012-60271//Applications/Install macOS Ventura.app'
┌─────────────┐
│ APPLICATION │
└─────────────┘
  ├─ Deleting old application '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.app'...
  ├─ Copying '/Volumes/012-60271//Applications/Install macOS Ventura.app' to '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.app'...
┌────────────┐
│ DISK IMAGE │
└────────────┘
  ├─ Creating new temporary directory '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/image'...
  ├─ Copying '/Volumes/012-60271//Applications/Install macOS Ventura.app' to '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/image/Install macOS Ventura.app'...
  ├─ Deleting old image '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.dmg'...
  ├─ Creating image '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.dmg'...
  ├─ Deleting temporary directory '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/image'...
  ├─ Created image '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.dmg'
┌─────────────────────┐
│ BOOTABLE DISK IMAGE │
└─────────────────────┘
  ├─ Creating new temporary directory '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/iso'...
  ├─ Creating disk image '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/iso/012-60271.dmg'...
  ├─ Mounting disk image at mount point '/Volumes/Install macOS Ventura'...
  ├─ Creating install media at mount point '/Volumes/Install macOS Ventura'...
  ├─ Unmounting disk image at mount point '/Volumes/Install macOS Ventura'...
  ├─ Deleting old image '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.iso'...
  ├─ Converting disk image '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/iso/012-60271.cdr'...
  ├─ Moving '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/iso/012-60271.cdr' to '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.iso'...
  ├─ Deleting temporary directory '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/iso'...
  ├─ Created bootable disk image '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.iso'
┌─────────┐
│ PACKAGE │
└─────────┘
  ├─ Deleting old package '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.pkg'...
  ├─ Copying '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/InstallAssistant.pkg' to '/Users/Shared/Mist/Install macOS Ventura 13.1-22C65.pkg'...
┌──────────┐
│ TEARDOWN │
└──────────┘
  ├─ Unmounting disk image at mount point '/Volumes/012-60271'...
  └─ Deleting image '/Users/Shared/Mist/Cache/012-60271/012-60271.dmg'...

grahampugh commented 1 year ago

EDIT: my bad, my wrapper script was set to only install mist if there wasn't a version already installed, so it was still running 1.9.1.

ninxsoft / mist-cli

App Will Eat Itself #112