OscarWatch Tracker macOS install

Pre-built OscarWatch Tracker releases from GitHub are not code-signed or notarised. On a Mac, the first launch usually needs a few extra steps to extract the archive, clear quarantine, and approve bundled native libraries. These prompts are normally one-time per install. It sounds worse than it is.

Which download?

Pick the archive that matches your Mac:

• OscarWatch-osx-arm64 for Apple Silicon (M-series)
• OscarWatch-osx-x64 for Intel

Both are on the GitHub Releases page. The Tracker download section on this site points there too.

1. Download and extract

1. Download the .zip or .tar.gz archive for your Mac from GitHub Releases.
2. In Finder, right-click the downloaded file and choose Open With → Archive Utility. That creates a folder in Downloads (for example OscarWatch-osx-arm64).
3. For convenience, rename that folder to OscarWatch.

2. Remove quarantine (Terminal)

Open Terminal and run the following, replacing xxxx with your macOS user name and adjusting the path if you saved the folder somewhere other than Downloads:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Users/xxxx/Downloads/OscarWatch/OscarWatch

If you extracted to a different location, point the command at the OscarWatch executable inside your folder.

3. Start OscarWatch

1. In Finder, open your OscarWatch folder.
2. Double-click the OscarWatch executable (no .app wrapper; the file is named OscarWatch).

Alternatively, right-click OscarWatch and choose Open once if Finder says the file cannot be opened.

4. Approve blocked libraries

macOS may show errors about a .dylib file (for example libportaudio.dylib under runtimes/osx-*/native/ inside the app folder). You may need to approve several bundled libraries, often about three, before the app starts cleanly.

1. Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security.
2. Scroll to Security and look for a message about a blocked file from OscarWatch.
3. Click Allow Anyway.
4. If a “file not open” dialogue is still showing, click Done, then try launching OscarWatch again.
5. Enter your Mac password when macOS asks you to authorise the library.
6. Repeat for each blocked .dylib until OscarWatch opens.

Tracking, passes and radio/rotator control work without pass recording if you skip PortAudio approval. If you use Settings → Recording, also grant microphone access when prompted.

After install

Settings and logs live under ~/.config/OscarWatch/ (or your XDG config directory).

Troubleshooting

• Still blocked after Allow Anyway. Quit OscarWatch, run the xattr command again on the executable, then relaunch.
• Wrong architecture. An Intel Mac needs osx-x64; Apple Silicon needs osx-arm64.
• Serial ports. Pick /dev/cu.* under Settings → Radio / Rotator.

Install steps adapted from a guide by Tim GW4VXE.