Utilizing macOS local APFS snapshots for Restic backups

Ha! I think I solved it. Man this is somewhat involved if you don’t know your ways around and have some understanding of the security features of macOS.

The solution was: Signing the Platypus created app bundle with a self signed Code Signing certificate. :tada:

Here is what I did:

  1. In the Keychain Access app using the Certificate Assistant, I created a local Code Signing certificate which is trusted only by my computer as it is the CA issuing the certificate
  2. Created an app bundle via Platypus which contains the Bash script and put it in /Applications/
  3. Signed the app bundle like this:
    codesign -s 'Restic B2 (test) - Moritz Dietz' '/Applications/Restic B2 - 3.app'
    Check the man page for codesign for more info
    3.1 For good measure I checked that it worked:
codesign --verify --verbose '/Applications/Restic B2 - 3.app'
/Applications/Restic B2 - 3.app: valid on disk
/Applications/Restic B2 - 3.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement
  1. Removed an earlier entry of the app bundle from the FDA list in the Systems Settings app (they renamed it with macOS Ventura :roll_eyes:)
  2. Re-added the new app bundle to the FDA list and switched the toggle to on

Then started the app and here’s a screenshot of it working :tada:

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