Basically, a Mac application has a .app extension, but it’s not really a file — it’s a package. You can view the application’s contents by navigating to it in the Finder, right-clicking it and then choosing “Show Package Contents”.

• Aug 27, 2012 Note: If you’ve followed the How To Create A Simple iPhone App on iOS 5 Tutorial, you will find that this section is (almost) identical to that.One of the good things about Mac/iOS programming is that they share most of the SDK, obviously, except the UI classes and some OS specific parts.
• It’s quite easy to make a photo book on your Mac, using Apple’s Photos app, which is located in the Applications folder. ( Learn more about Apple’s photo books and other print.

The internal folder structure may vary between apps, but you can be sure that every Mac app will have a Contents folder with a MacOS subfolder in it. Inside the MacOS directory, there’s an extension-less file with the exact same name as the app itself. This file can be anything really, but in its simplest form it’s a shell script. As it turns out, this folder/file structure is all it takes to create a functional app!

Enter appify

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After this discovery, Thomas Aylott came up with a clever “appify” script that allows you to easily create Mac apps from shell scripts. The code looks like this:

Installing and using appify is pretty straightforward if you’re used to working with UNIX. (I’m not, so I had to figure this out.) Here’s how to install it:

1. Save the script to a directory in your PATH and name it appify (no extension). I chose to put it in /usr/local/bin, which requires root privileges.
2. Fire up Terminal.app and enter sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/appify to make appify executable without root privileges.

After that, you can create apps based on any shell script simply by launching Terminal.app and entering something like this:

Obviously, this would create a stand-alone application named Your App Name.app that executes the your-shell-script.sh script.

After that, you can very easily add a custom icon to the app if you want to.

Adding a custom app icon

1. Create an .icns file or a 512×512 PNG image with the icon you want, and copy it to the clipboard (⌘ + C). (Alternatively, copy it from an existing app as described in steps 2 and 3.)
2. Right-click the .app file of which you want to change the icon and select “Get Info” (or select the file and press ⌘ + I).
3. Select the app icon in the top left corner by clicking it once. It will get a subtle blue outline if you did it right.
4. Now hit ⌘ + V (paste) to overwrite the default icon with the new one.

Note that this will work for any file or folder, not just .app files.

Examples

Chrome/Chromium bootstrappers

I like to run Chrome/Chromium with some command-line switches or flags enabled. On Windows, you can create a shortcut and set the parameters you want in its properties; on a Mac, you’ll need to launch it from the command line every time. Well, not anymore :)

The & at the end is not a typo; it is there to make sure Chromium is launched in a separate thread. Without the &, Chromium would exit as soon as you quit Terminal.app.

Launch a local web server from a directory

Say you’re working on a project and you want to debug it from a web server. The following shell script will use Python to launch a local web server from a specific directory and open the index page in your default browser of choice. After appifying it, you won’t even need to open the terminal for it anymore.

More?

Needless to say, the possibilities are endless. Just to give another example, you could very easily create an app that minifies all JavaScript and CSS files in a specific folder. Got any nice ideas? Let me know by leaving a comment!

In 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook proudly announced that over 130 million people joined the ranks of iOS users that year.

This figure is primarily made up of iPhone users, which accounts for nearly 25% of the population in the United States, according to the NPD Group. You can think of this as 25% of the people in your city or town, or a quarter of your potential customers. And without an Apple app, you’re not reaching those customers.

But maybe you want to join the mobile revolution and create an app for your business, but you just don’t know how. Well if that’s the case, Como’s got your back!

Creating an Apple app is essential to the success of your business

By creating an Apple app, you’re not only tapping into a pool of millions of potential customers, you’re also guaranteeing that your business won’t get left in the dust. An app lets you compete not only with other small businesses, but with industry giants. Still, this is just one reason to make an iPhone app, while there are plenty of others:

Want to enable customers to easily make orders, reservations, locate your business, and read reviews?

Want to lure customers with holiday coupons, a loyalty card, and enticing push notifications that appear directly on their iPhones or iPads?

Want to increase sales by letting your mobile customers purchase your products instantly, at any time of the day, without having to step foot in your store?

If you do, then it sounds like it’s time you considered creating an Apple app.

And if you create your app with Como, you’ll reach customers on iPhone, iPad, and Android too because your app is compatible with both Apple & Android devices. Read about the benefits of having an Android-compatible app.

Wait, isn’t building an app hard?

You probably think that building an app is hard. And the truth is, it was. Years ago, building an app on your own was pretty much impossible to do if you weren’t a talented developer with brilliant design skills, but today you can do it on your own in a snap.

Como’s do-it-yourself (DIY) platform lets you create your app in minutes using content from your existing Facebook page or website, or you can make it from scratch. So if you have a Facebook page or a website, type it in and start building your app.

To get started, watch our video tutorials on how to start creating your app.

Now that you’ve built it,
what’s next?

Once you’ve created your app, the real fun begins. You can pick and choose designs, add and customize over 25 awesome features like coupons, a loyalty card, a mobile store, social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), menus, user reviews, and more.

And if you need any help, visit Como’s Help Center. There, you’ll find comprehensive articles, how-to videos, and tutorials on topics including:

• Designing your app
• Adding content and features to increase revenue
• Engaging customers
• Promoting your app once it’s live on the App Store

After you’ve put the finishing touches on your gorgeous app, it’s time to send it to the Apple App Store. And we’re happy to help you with that too!

Best Free Apps For Mac

You’ve got questions?
We’ve got answers.

From the instant you click “Create My App,” our customer success team is ready to walk you through every step of the process. In addition to the FAQs, articles, tutorials, and videos you’ll find on site, there’s an entire team ready to answer all your questions.

You can also get in touch with Como through Facebook, Twitter, and our blog. Visit the blog to get great tips on how to use your app to boost sales, connect with customers, and keep customers coming back.

Still not sure you need an Apple app?

Mobile commerce is on the rise, making up more than $58 billion in 2014.

And remember that a huge chunk of that came from iPhone users—over 79 million people in the United States.

Obviously, having an Apple app won’t mean that you’ll be automatically in the pockets and minds of millions of users, but it does give you the opportunity to stay connected with and keep tabs on your customers and potential customers in your local community who have iPhones.

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You can tell those customers about upcoming sales through push notifications, engage them through social media, or simply remind them that they can shop not only at your store in town, but they can shop directly through their phones at home or wherever they may be. Now that sounds like a pretty good reason to have an Apple app.

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