Install Ferrocast

Download the DMG

Download the latest DMG, open it, drag Ferrocast to Applications and open it. The app is signed ad-hoc, not notarized, so macOS blocks the first launch of a browser download: open System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose “Open Anyway”. Every release, with a SHA256SUMS.txt, is on the GitHub Releases page. Apple Silicon only.

Alternative: install with Homebrew

The Homebrew formula compiles the app from source on your own Mac, so the app carries no quarantine flag and macOS shows no warning. Homebrew installs Rust for you if you do not have it, and the first install takes a few minutes. Run these commands in Terminal:

brew tap drumst0ck/ferrocast
brew install drumst0ck/ferrocast/ferrocast  # compiles on your Mac (needs Rust, brew installs it)
ln -sfn "$(brew --prefix)/opt/ferrocast/Ferrocast.app" /Applications/Ferrocast.app
open /Applications/Ferrocast.app            # grant Accessibility when it asks
brew upgrade ferrocast                      # to update

Run brew tap first: Homebrew refuses to load formulae from a tap you have not added. The formula lives in drumst0ck/homebrew-ferrocast and follows each stable release automatically.

Updates

Download install: Ferrocast checks GitHub once a day for a new stable release (prereleases are ignored). By default it shows the release notes and lets you install, postpone or skip that version; you can switch to automatic installs, turn the daily check off, or press “Check now” under Settings → General → Updates. The tray menu and About also have “Check for Updates…”.
Homebrew install: the app never replaces itself; updates run brew upgrade ferrocast.
A self-update replaces the app with the new build. Because the signature is ad-hoc, macOS may ask for Accessibility again after it; grant it again.

Why a formula and not a cask

The official Homebrew cask requires signed and notarized apps (a paid Apple Developer account) and disables the ones that do not pass Gatekeeper from September 2026. Building from source on your own machine means the app carries no quarantine flag and Gatekeeper does not get involved: no paid account is needed and no protection is bypassed. In exchange, the first install compiles for a few minutes and the signature is ad-hoc, for local use.

Update

brew upgrade ferrocast. The ad-hoc signature is anchored to the identifier dev.ferrocast.launcher instead of the binary hash, so macOS should keep the Accessibility permission between versions. If macOS asks again after an upgrade, grant it again. See Troubleshooting.

Uninstall

brew uninstall ferrocast removes the formula; delete the /Applications/Ferrocast.app symlink created above. Your data lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Ferrocast (see Data and privacy); delete that folder yourself if you want it gone.