Gatekeeper - Permanently Resetting Quarantine — by jdag and KALLT on MacRumors Forums

intermediateforumLink only (©)macOS Sierra

Thread from 2016 where the poster uses xattr -d -r com.apple.quarantine /Applications/APPNAME.app to strip the flag recursively. KALLT notes each download gets a unique quarantine flag, suggests right-click and Open instead, and says an app Gatekeeper reports as tampered with should be raised with its developer. Removing quarantine bypasses Gatekeeper's check, so only do it for software you trust.

Quick steps

xattr -d -r com.apple.quarantine /Applications/APPNAME.app

Paraphrased from the source. Menus can differ by version, so check the original for full details.

Read the full thread on forums.macrumors.com

Source: Gatekeeper - Permanently Resetting Quarantine by jdag and KALLT on MacRumors Forums. Licence: Link only (©).

Source reviewed: 2026-11-02
Link checked: 2026-11-02
Tested hands-on: Not by Oddbyte.Me

quarantinegatekeeperxattr

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