list-macOS-apps

CLI script to inventory installed macOS apps across Homebrew, Mac App Store, and local Applications folders.

Features

• Lists Homebrew casks.
• Lists Mac App Store applications when mas is available.
• Lists manually installed .app bundles from /Applications and ~/Applications.
• Optionally includes Homebrew formulae.
• Exports the same canonical inventory to CSV, Markdown, and JSON.

Requirements

• macOS
• Bash
• brew for Homebrew sections
• mas for Mac App Store sections

The script does not install dependencies automatically. If a command is not available, the related section is skipped with a warning.

Usage

./list-installed-apps.sh [options]

Options

• --with-formulae: Include Homebrew formulae in the output.
• --export-csv: Export the inventory to installed_apps.csv.
• --export-md: Export the inventory to installed_apps.md.
• --export-json: Export the inventory to installed_apps.json.
• --output-dir DIR: Write export files into DIR.
• --help: Print usage information.

For a reproducible inventory of a mounted volume or a test fixture, set APPLICATIONS_DIRS to a colon-separated list of folders. When it is unset, the script scans /Applications and ~/Applications as usual.

Output model

All output formats are generated from a single internal inventory model so app names with spaces, Mac App Store entries, and manual-app deduplication stay consistent across console output and exports.

Development

Validation commands:

bash -n list-installed-apps.sh
shellcheck list-installed-apps.sh
./tests/test-list-installed-apps.sh

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.