openclaw/docs/platforms/mac/release.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
OpenClaw macOS release checklist (Sparkle feed, packaging, signing)	Cutting or validating a OpenClaw macOS release Updating the Sparkle appcast or feed assets	macOS Release

OpenClaw macOS release (Sparkle)

This app now ships Sparkle auto-updates. Release builds must be Developer ID–signed, zipped, and published with a signed appcast entry.

Prereqs

• Developer ID Application cert installed (example: Developer ID Application: <Developer Name> (<TEAMID>)).
• Sparkle private key path set in the environment as SPARKLE_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE (path to your Sparkle ed25519 private key; public key baked into Info.plist). If it is missing, check ~/.profile.
• Notary credentials (keychain profile or API key) for xcrun notarytool if you want Gatekeeper-safe DMG/zip distribution.
  • We use a Keychain profile named openclaw-notary, created from App Store Connect API key env vars in your shell profile:
    • APP_STORE_CONNECT_API_KEY_P8, APP_STORE_CONNECT_KEY_ID, APP_STORE_CONNECT_ISSUER_ID
    • echo "$APP_STORE_CONNECT_API_KEY_P8" | sed 's/\\n/\n/g' > /tmp/openclaw-notary.p8
    • xcrun notarytool store-credentials "openclaw-notary" --key /tmp/openclaw-notary.p8 --key-id "$APP_STORE_CONNECT_KEY_ID" --issuer "$APP_STORE_CONNECT_ISSUER_ID"
• pnpm deps installed (pnpm install --config.node-linker=hoisted).
• Sparkle tools are fetched automatically via SwiftPM at apps/macos/.build/artifacts/sparkle/Sparkle/bin/ (sign_update, generate_appcast, etc.).

Build & package

Notes:

• APP_BUILD maps to CFBundleVersion/sparkle:version; keep it numeric + monotonic (no -beta), or Sparkle compares it as equal.
• If APP_BUILD is omitted, scripts/package-mac-app.sh derives a Sparkle-safe default from APP_VERSION (YYYYMMDDNN: stable defaults to 90, prereleases use a suffix-derived lane) and uses the higher of that value and git commit count.
• You can still override APP_BUILD explicitly when release engineering needs a specific monotonic value.
• For BUILD_CONFIG=release, scripts/package-mac-app.sh now defaults to universal (arm64 x86_64) automatically. You can still override with BUILD_ARCHS=arm64 or BUILD_ARCHS=x86_64. For local/dev builds (BUILD_CONFIG=debug), it defaults to the current architecture ($(uname -m)).
• Use scripts/package-mac-dist.sh for release artifacts (zip + DMG + notarization). Use scripts/package-mac-app.sh for local/dev packaging.

# From repo root; set release IDs so Sparkle feed is enabled.
# This command builds release artifacts without notarization.
# APP_BUILD must be numeric + monotonic for Sparkle compare.
# Default is auto-derived from APP_VERSION when omitted.
SKIP_NOTARIZE=1 \
BUNDLE_ID=ai.openclaw.mac \
APP_VERSION=2026.3.9 \
BUILD_CONFIG=release \
SIGN_IDENTITY="Developer ID Application: <Developer Name> (<TEAMID>)" \
scripts/package-mac-dist.sh

# `package-mac-dist.sh` already creates the zip + DMG.
# If you used `package-mac-app.sh` directly instead, create them manually:
# If you want notarization/stapling in this step, use the NOTARIZE command below.
ditto -c -k --sequesterRsrc --keepParent dist/OpenClaw.app dist/OpenClaw-2026.3.9.zip

# Optional: build a styled DMG for humans (drag to /Applications)
scripts/create-dmg.sh dist/OpenClaw.app dist/OpenClaw-2026.3.9.dmg

# Recommended: build + notarize/staple zip + DMG
# First, create a keychain profile once:
#   xcrun notarytool store-credentials "openclaw-notary" \
#     --apple-id "<apple-id>" --team-id "<team-id>" --password "<app-specific-password>"
NOTARIZE=1 NOTARYTOOL_PROFILE=openclaw-notary \
BUNDLE_ID=ai.openclaw.mac \
APP_VERSION=2026.3.9 \
BUILD_CONFIG=release \
SIGN_IDENTITY="Developer ID Application: <Developer Name> (<TEAMID>)" \
scripts/package-mac-dist.sh

# Optional: ship dSYM alongside the release
ditto -c -k --keepParent apps/macos/.build/release/OpenClaw.app.dSYM dist/OpenClaw-2026.3.9.dSYM.zip

Appcast entry

Use the release note generator so Sparkle renders formatted HTML notes:

SPARKLE_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE=/path/to/ed25519-private-key scripts/make_appcast.sh dist/OpenClaw-2026.3.9.zip https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openclaw/openclaw/main/appcast.xml

Generates HTML release notes from CHANGELOG.md (via scripts/changelog-to-html.sh) and embeds them in the appcast entry. Commit the updated appcast.xml alongside the release assets (zip + dSYM) when publishing.

Publish & verify

• Upload OpenClaw-2026.3.9.zip (and OpenClaw-2026.3.9.dSYM.zip) to the GitHub release for tag v2026.3.9.
• Ensure the raw appcast URL matches the baked feed: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openclaw/openclaw/main/appcast.xml.
• Sanity checks:
  • curl -I https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openclaw/openclaw/main/appcast.xml returns 200.
  • curl -I <enclosure url> returns 200 after assets upload.
  • On a previous public build, run “Check for Updates…” from the About tab and verify Sparkle installs the new build cleanly.

Definition of done: signed app + appcast are published, update flow works from an older installed version, and release assets are attached to the GitHub release.