Leveraging a User Applications Folder on macOS

The Why

A macOS user does not necessarily have the ability to install applications in the system /Applications folder. This often is because they are not an administrator on their machine. However, they can install applications in their own user folder. This is typically /Users/<username>/Applications.

The How

If a /Users/<username>/Applications folder does not exist, the user should create it in the root of their home directory.

In the terminal, run the following command: mkdir ~/Applications, or create the folder using Finder.

Installing Applications

Installing an Application via Drag and Drop

Applications that are packaged in .dmg files can be installed by mounting the .dmg file and dragging the application to the user Applications folder. This is done by opening the .dmg file in Finder, then dragging the application from the .dmg file into the /Users/<username>/Applications folder.

Note

The .dmg file should be unmounted after the application is installed.

Important

Applications in package files (.pkg files) can't easily be installed to a user's Applications folder. You can sometimes use a tool like Pacifist to extract the application from the package file and install it to the user's Applications folder.

Installing an Application via Homebrew Cask

Homebrew is a package manager for macOS. It is used to install applications and software. It is a terminal application. Before using brew to install an application, there are a few steps that must be completed beforehand.

Installing Homebrew

The installation of Homebrew is outside the scope of this document, particularly if the person installing the application is not an administrator on the machine. See the Homebrew website for more information.

Set up Homebrew Cask Options

The following instructions are for ZSH, though they can easily be adapted for your shell of choice.

Run the following to set the HOMEBREW_CASK_OPTS environment variable: echo 'export HOMEBREW_CASK_OPTS="--appdir=/Users/<username>/Applications"' >> ~/.zshrc

Note

You should use your actual username in place of <username>.

Then, run the following command to apply the changes to the current terminal session: source ~/.zshrc

Now, the apps that are installed via brew will be installed in the user Applications folder.

For example, to install the fantastic terminal application iTerm, run the following command: brew install iterm2

iTerm will now be in the user's Applications folder.

Important

Applications installed via Homebrew Cask will NOT be updated automatically. The user must manually update the application, typically by the applications built-in update feature.

Warning

Some applications will ONLY work if they are installed in the system Applications folder. One good example is 1Password.