macOS App Notarization

I ask about macOS App Notarization.

Beginning in macOS 10.14.5, all new or updated kernel extensions and all software from developers new to distributing with Developer ID must be notarized in order to run.


When is the official release date for macOS 10.14.5?


Can Notarized App be used on older OS(before macOS 10.13.x)?

And Which OS Version can be used?


Is the APP notarized in 10.14.5 applicable to the next OS (10.14.6 ...)?


How long does it take to complete after uploading the macOS app to be notarized?

Replies

10.14.5 should be released "real soon now".


A notarized app will work on any OS version that meets the minimum deployment version.


It is safe to assume that a Notarized app will still be notarized in future versions of the OS. However, 10.15 is also due out soon, so there may not ever be a 10.14.6.


For me, notarization takes approximately 2 minutes.

Unfortunately notarization for app bundles implies enabling hardened runtime. The latter requires 10.9 "Mavericks", mostly for shared libraries. Hence deployment targets can't go earlier than 10.9.

Hence deployment targets can't go earlier than 10.9.

That’s not quite right. I’ve personally built and notarised an app and run it on 10.7.

The 10.9 restriction relates to the SDK. To notarise an app you must build it with the 10.9 or later SDK. However, it’s absolutely supported for folks to set the deployment target version less than the SDK version. In my case, I built my app with the 10.14 SDK and the deployment target to 10.7.

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Quinn “The Eskimo!”
Apple Developer Relations, Developer Technical Support, Core OS/Hardware

let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@apple.com"