App Install [major update: 17. March | v1.0]

[laerador]

Hello there

This is my first Workflow published here, I hope, that some of you will find it useful.

App Install

Installs Apps from your Downloads folder

This Workflow is inspired by the Alfred v1 Extension from Christian Schlensker, written in Python, and set it up as an Alfred v2 Workflow. As far as I know, nobody else has ported this script over, so here we go:

• It searches your Downloads-Folder for any *.app, *.pkg, *.alfredworkflow, *.dmg- and *.zip-Files
• shows you a list sorted by most-recently-added
• you can search in that list by entering a string after the keyword
• installs the apps /Applications or opens the *.pkg

To use it, simply type install and hit Enter. If you use ⌘-↩ it will delete the download after installing.

 
You can search in the results:
 

 
You can also select any appropriate file within Alfred and use the install-File-Action:
 

Supported Filetypes:
Currently, this Workflow will find all zips, dmgs, apps, alfredworkflows and pkgs in your download-folder and install all apps and pkgs inside zips and dmgs. It does not try to find out, if a pkg is an uninstaller or not!
 
Getting the Workflow
You can find this Workflow on Github or download the Workflow directly.
 

Settings

You can customize the list of searched paths (for example, so that the workflow searches both your Download-Folder and your Desktop-Folder) and you can customize the install-location for normal Applications.

Please tell me how you like it, what you would want to change, etc! I am still looking for a new Icon (please contact me if you have one! (: ). Remember that I personally consider this Workflow as being Beta-Software so please help me to find and fix every bug you might encounter.
 

For more Information about Features and Settings, please read the Documentation at Github.

Changelog

• v1.0: [17. March]:
  • Complete rewrite; created individual installation-framework; new Icon
  • Bugfix: Prevent faulty symlinks when installing from zips by not using python anymore
  • Feature: Substring Filtering for Searchresults
• v0.4: [29. May]:
  • ​Ability to install Alfred Workflows
  • Ability to run pkgs
  • Some bugfixes
• v0.3: [28. May]
  • Fix Symlinkproblem in Zipfiles
  • Add ability to delete Download after install (by pressing ⌘-↩)
• v0.2:
  • Add ability to install from `*.zip`-Files
  • Show all possible matches instead of only one (This is still sorted by most-recent)
• v0.1:
  • Initial Release​

Thanks very much for you attention fellas, I hope you'll enjoy this little script.

Greetings,
Franz

Edited March 17, 2014 by laerador

[willnerd42]

I think that you should add installing apps from .zip files and installing via the .pkg installer, if possible.

 

P.S nice theme.

[laerador]

I think that you should add installing apps from .zip files and installing via the .pkg installer, if possible.

 

P.S nice theme.

I'm working on *.zips right now, currently investigating how to check the contents of the zip w/o extracting it. .pkgs seem to prove more difficult, since I must track when the install is done, so that I can safely unmount the dmg. I'll see, maybe I move the pkg to /tmp/ or so.

If you like the theme, I can put it up in the forum. Glad you like it!

[laerador]

I updated the script, so that it is able to process *.zip-Files (both as File-Action and normal command)

 

I hope you like it! Simply redownload the workflow.

[Net Wanderer]

I like it so far! Is there a way to have this script also install alfred extensions? 

[laerador]

I like it so far! Is there a way to have this script also install alfred extensions? 

 

Probably, but it doesnt really fit into this workflow, i think. At the moment it seems imposible to install workflows for Alfred without opening Alfred Preferences in the process, also there does not seem to be an easy way to check if the workflow was installed (that means, that i could not implement install->delete).

 

There have been some discussions about allowing Workflows to be installed silently, until then i would not like to include this. As of know, you could simply use Alfred's built-in open-Keyword to open/install the workflows. But if all you want is, that install also lists Alfredextentions (and opens them normaly), I might include an option for that in the near future.

[laerador]

Short update about what this Workflow can and can't do:

• It will list and install all apps, dmgs, zips, pkgs, alfredworkflows inside your Downloadsfolder to /Applications
  • From dmgs and zips it should only install Apps and pkgs.
  • Zips will not be fully extracted, only the Apps will be extracted and copied to /Applications
• While listing all possible, installable Items; CMD-Return will install the item and then move the original Source to trash.
• Install will be available as a File-Action for dmgs and zips

If you find anything that isn't working as expected, or if you want any other 'Installer' to be supported, please reply to this thread

[Net Wanderer]

Probably, but it doesnt really fit into this workflow, i think. At the moment it seems imposible to install workflows for Alfred without opening Alfred Preferences in the process, also there does not seem to be an easy way to check if the workflow was installed (that means, that i could not implement install->delete).

 

There have been some discussions about allowing Workflows to be installed silently, until then i would not like to include this. As of know, you could simply use Alfred's built-in open-Keyword to open/install the workflows. But if all you want is, that install also lists Alfredextentions (and opens them normaly), I might include an option for that in the near future.

 

Okay thank you!

[paulw]

Every time I try to install an app from a .zip, I get a non-working "app" of zero bytes in my application folder. Any idea what's going wrong?

[paulw]

Another thought: for those of us who organize our apps in folders within /Applications, would it be possible to have the workflow look for a previously installed version of the app and install the downloaded version to the same folder?

[laerador]

Every time I try to install an app from a .zip, I get a non-working "app" of zero bytes in my application folder. Any idea what's going wrong?

 

Sorry for the late reply,

 

any chance that that only happened with apps that came packaged as a zip? (I should read more carefully, yes that bug should be fixed in the new version)

 

Anyway i completely rewrote the workflow this weekend, fixing several bugs along the way. Could you please try the new version and tell me, if the problem still exists?

 

As for the search, I can see how that would make sense, need to try and find an efficient way to do that. I'll try around and see if i find an elegant solution.

Edited March 17, 2014 by laerador

[paulw]

Could you please try the new version and tell me, if the problem still exists?

 

The new version does work with .zip files now. However, I had a couple of apps that were packaged as .dmg files inside .zip files, with the extension .dmg.zip. The workflow doesn't recognize those, even when I rename them just to have a .zip extension.

 

As for the search, I can see how that would make sense, need to try and find an efficient way to do that. I'll try around and see if i find an elegant solution.

 

That would be cool! Thanks!

[paulw]

 

Hi laerador, do you think you might make progress with adding the ability to install apps that are updates into the correct folders? If I knew more about coding, I'd try and do it myself.

[paulw]

 

I made an Automator folder action that processes new apps added to /Applications.

It looks for apps with the same name in /Applications and its subfolders.

If it finds an app with the same name in a subfolder of /Applications, it asks if you want to replace the subfoldered app with the newly added one, and does so with shell commands—(moving the app via remove, copy, remove).

 

Seems to work most of the time. No fancy checks for date or anything like that, just app name. It does fix a problem I've wanted to solve for awhile now, with most dmg's and this workflow leading to app updates always being sent to /Applications and not my organized folder structure.

 

Here's the link if anyone's interested: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5187606/file%20app%20updates%20into%20folders.workflow.zip

Edited June 1, 2014 by paulw

[Carlos-Sz]

My suggestions:

 

- Show app/dmg/pkg icon instead of the workflow one

 

- Install and move to trash as the default action

 

Great workflow!