Mac · advanced path

Mac manual install.

Most customers should use the signed Mac .dmg installer on the download page. This page keeps the hand-install path for advanced installs, troubleshooting, and scripted setups — same signed disk image, placed from Terminal instead of dragged. Plan on about 5 minutes.

What you'll need

A Mac running macOS 13 (Ventura) or newer
About 5 minutes
The license key you received when you signed up
Comfort opening Terminal and pasting a few commands (no programming required)

Want the normal path instead? Use the signed .dmg at /download#mac; open it and drag GlidePath Money to Applications — no Terminal. (Starting it at login is the optional Step 4 below, the same on either path.)

Step 1 — Download the signed disk image

Check your Mac's processor (Apple menu → "About This Mac"), then get the matching .dmg from the download page — Apple Silicon and Intel are listed separately there, and both are code-signed and Apple-notarized with their checksums published in SHA256SUMS.txt.

Mount it by double-clicking, then continue with Step 2 to place the app by hand instead of dragging it — that is the only part of this path that differs from the normal install.

Step 2 — Place the app by hand

With the disk image mounted, open Terminal and run:

mkdir -p ~/Applications   # a fresh Mac may not have this folder yet
cp -R "/Volumes/GlidePath Money/GlidePath Money.app" ~/Applications/
hdiutil detach "/Volumes/GlidePath Money"

No xattr step, and nothing to un-quarantine: the app inside the disk image is notarized by Apple, so Gatekeeper trusts it wherever you put it. Copying it in Terminal rather than dragging it is the only difference from the normal install.

Why there is no tarball here any more

This page used to link two unsigned .tar.gz builds and walk you through clearing Gatekeeper's quarantine flag by hand. Those builds are no longer published, so the links have been removed rather than left pointing at something we no longer stand behind. Every Mac install now starts from the same signed disk image.

The disk image is code-signed by QuickTech LLC, the app inside is notarized by Apple, and both architectures have published checksums in SHA256SUMS.txt so you can verify what you downloaded before you run it.

Step 3 — Start the app

Back in Terminal:

open -a "GlidePath Money"

Open your browser to http://localhost:5000.

Step 3b — Activate (first launch only)

The first screen you'll see is Activate, not the dashboard — enter the license key and the purchase email from your welcome email. Accept the license agreement once, and you land on the dashboard with the guided welcome card asking you to add your household, accounts, etc. Activation re-checks weekly in the background; day to day you go straight to the dashboard.

Step 4 — (Optional) Make it start at login

To have GlidePath Money launch automatically when you log into your Mac, create a Launch Agent. Save the file below as ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.glidepathmoney.app.plist:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
  <key>Label</key>
  <string>com.glidepathmoney.app</string>
  <key>ProgramArguments</key>
  <array>
    <string>/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Applications/GlidePathMoney/GlidePathMoney</string>
  </array>
  <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
  <string>/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Applications/GlidePathMoney</string>
  <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
  <dict>
    <key>GLIDEPATHMONEY_DATA_FOLDER</key>
    <string>/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Library/Application Support/GlidePath Money/data</string>
  </dict>
  <key>RunAtLoad</key>
  <true/>
  <key>KeepAlive</key>
  <true/>
</dict>
</plist>

Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your Mac username. Then:

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.glidepathmoney.app.plist

Where your data lives

On Mac, GlidePath Money defaults to ~/Library/Application Support/GlidePath Money/data for your CSVs. You can override this by setting GLIDEPATHMONEY_DATA_FOLDER in your shell environment or in the LaunchAgent plist above.

Updating to a newer version

Download the latest signed Mac installer from /download#mac and run it. If you installed by hand, mount the new disk image and copy the app over the old one the same way as Step 2. Your data folder is untouched either way.

Stuck?

Email hi@glidepathmoney.com with the exact step you're on and any error message. If you are not deliberately using the manual path, start with the signed Mac installer; it is the path we expect most customers to use.