[GH-ISSUE #2545] MacOS app needs CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString for MDM #5242

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opened 2026-08-05 01:02:09 -04:00 by saavagebueno · 13 comments
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Originally created by @alastairtech on GitHub (Sep 5, 2024).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/2545

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Seems the MacOS app does not have CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString defined. This makes it harder to deploy using MDM suites as most will call on those strings to check if the app is installed and up to date.

Describe the solution you'd like
Add the CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString values to the automated MacOS app build in the Info.plist file.

Describe alternatives you've considered
Tried to add the string values to the app. You can't do this by default when MacOS system integrity protection is enabled. Adding them breaks the app anway.

Additional context
NA

Originally created by @alastairtech on GitHub (Sep 5, 2024). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/2545 **Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.** Seems the MacOS app does not have CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString defined. This makes it harder to deploy using MDM suites as most will call on those strings to check if the app is installed and up to date. **Describe the solution you'd like** Add the CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString values to the automated MacOS app build in the Info.plist file. **Describe alternatives you've considered** Tried to add the string values to the app. You can't do this by default when MacOS system integrity protection is enabled. Adding them breaks the app anway. **Additional context** NA
saavagebueno added the feature-request label 2026-08-05 01:02:09 -04:00
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@sc-nanjing commented on GitHub (Sep 10, 2024):

I've been trying to deploy the MacOS pkg file via Microsoft Intune, and when I add the pkg file I get this message below. This seems like it could be related.

"The selected app package does not appear to have either a ProductCode or ProductVersion."

<!-- gh-comment-id:2341590784 --> @sc-nanjing commented on GitHub (Sep 10, 2024): I've been trying to deploy the MacOS pkg file via Microsoft Intune, and when I add the pkg file I get this message below. This seems like it could be related. "The selected app package does not appear to have either a ProductCode or ProductVersion."
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@alastairtech commented on GitHub (Sep 10, 2024):

I've been trying to deploy the MacOS pkg file via Microsoft Intune, and when I add the pkg file I get this message below. This seems like it could be related.

"The selected app package does not appear to have either a ProductCode or ProductVersion."

I believe this because the mentioned strings are missing. Intune looks for CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString when uploading pkgs so it can detect the app's status when installed.

<!-- gh-comment-id:2342337214 --> @alastairtech commented on GitHub (Sep 10, 2024): > I've been trying to deploy the MacOS pkg file via Microsoft Intune, and when I add the pkg file I get this message below. This seems like it could be related. > > "The selected app package does not appear to have either a ProductCode or ProductVersion." I believe this because the mentioned strings are missing. Intune looks for CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString when uploading pkgs so it can detect the app's status when installed.
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@florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Sep 18, 2024):

Mee too - This affects both amd64 and arm64 versions of the PKG (v0.29.3)
CleanShot 2024-09-18 at 16 32 19@2x

More infos about PKGs on macOS and Microsoft Intune:

<!-- gh-comment-id:2358646726 --> @florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Sep 18, 2024): Mee too - This affects both amd64 and arm64 versions of the PKG (v0.29.3) ![CleanShot 2024-09-18 at 16 32 19@2x](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/2880eb52-6763-48eb-9624-f58d3e14597b) More infos about PKGs on macOS and Microsoft Intune: - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/intune/apps/lob-apps-macos - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/intune/apps/macos-unmanaged-pkg
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@florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Oct 12, 2024):

Still the same with 0.30.1 PKGs:
CleanShot 2024-10-12 at 10 41 16@2x

<!-- gh-comment-id:2408460767 --> @florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Oct 12, 2024): Still the same with 0.30.1 PKGs: ![CleanShot 2024-10-12 at 10 41 16@2x](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/72c84b5b-43d2-4c2e-9516-b5c2781dca00)
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@mgarces commented on GitHub (Nov 4, 2024):

I believe this was fixed from v0.30.2 release; could you please test it and report back? From that version there is also an universal package (amd64 & arm64).

<!-- gh-comment-id:2455844285 --> @mgarces commented on GitHub (Nov 4, 2024): I believe this was fixed from `v0.30.2` release; could you please test it and report back? From that version there is also an universal package (amd64 & arm64).
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@florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Nov 4, 2024):

@mgarces thanks a lot. Confirmed ❤️
CleanShot 2024-11-04 at 23 40 43@2x

<!-- gh-comment-id:2455849088 --> @florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Nov 4, 2024): @mgarces thanks a lot. Confirmed ❤️ ![CleanShot 2024-11-04 at 23 40 43@2x](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7d33c55b-9b41-4378-8cb8-72214579f3ef)
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@florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Nov 4, 2024):

I think the universal is missing on the "standard download page":
https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/releases/tag/v0.31.0
CleanShot 2024-11-04 at 23 43 13@2x

https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/releases/tag/v0.31.0

I'm unsure what I need... Do I need both packages?
CleanShot 2024-11-04 at 23 44 31@2x

<!-- gh-comment-id:2455854322 --> @florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Nov 4, 2024): I think the universal is missing on the "standard download page": https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/releases/tag/v0.31.0 ![CleanShot 2024-11-04 at 23 43 13@2x](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/334cbe09-cb17-4806-b404-59e3adf93068) https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/releases/tag/v0.31.0 I'm unsure what I need... Do I need both packages? ![CleanShot 2024-11-04 at 23 44 31@2x](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/79483010-eb35-46be-a8ae-daed7b700611)
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@florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Nov 5, 2024):

MacOS Menubar icon missing:
I have a strange issue with netbird on macOS.
Due to the fact that CFBundleIdentifier was missing from the PKGs in the past, I wasn’t able to deploy it using Intune MDM because that attribute is mandatory...

So I deployed it on one client using homeBrew (brew install netbird netbird-ui).

With the new netbird_0.31.0_darwin.pkg available with CFBundleIdentifier populated, I created and deployed an app to my macOS client. (i uninstalled netbird & netbird-ui using brew before).
The installation via Intune MD worked, but I can’t see the Netbird menubar icon. It’s missing but the process is running.
Netbird status -d shows all machines connected, but I can’t launch the UI.

CleanShot 2024-11-05 at 15 37 17@2x

<!-- gh-comment-id:2457355118 --> @florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Nov 5, 2024): **MacOS Menubar icon missing:** I have a strange issue with netbird on macOS. Due to the fact that CFBundleIdentifier was missing from the PKGs in the past, I wasn’t able to deploy it using Intune MDM because that attribute is mandatory... So I deployed it on one client using homeBrew (brew install netbird netbird-ui). With the new [netbird_0.31.0_darwin.pkg](https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/releases/download/v0.31.0/netbird_0.31.0_darwin.pkg) available with CFBundleIdentifier populated, I created and deployed an app to my macOS client. (i uninstalled netbird & netbird-ui using brew before). The installation via Intune MD worked, but I can’t see the Netbird menubar icon. It’s missing but the process is running. Netbird status -d shows all machines connected, but I can’t launch the UI. ![CleanShot 2024-11-05 at 15 37 17@2x](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f991d7a0-14a8-4dfa-aba5-614cc1e6bdfa)
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@mgarces commented on GitHub (Nov 6, 2024):

hello @florian-obradovic can you please show us the output of

md5 /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/*
file /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/*

I've replicated your setup, but I still get the netbird-ui and netbird processes running.
image
and
image

<!-- gh-comment-id:2459425219 --> @mgarces commented on GitHub (Nov 6, 2024): hello @florian-obradovic can you please show us the output of ``` md5 /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/* file /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/* ``` I've replicated your setup, but I still get the `netbird-ui` and `netbird` processes running. <img width="952" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/df0f07a8-f91e-4160-a4d6-974bf6aa58d3"> and <img width="352" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/bc97c0ad-0d3c-421f-96d7-bd8741ab8b5d">
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@mgarces commented on GitHub (Nov 6, 2024):

also

ps aux | grep -i netbird
<!-- gh-comment-id:2459441269 --> @mgarces commented on GitHub (Nov 6, 2024): also ``` ps aux | grep -i netbird ```
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@florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Nov 8, 2024):

Hi @mgarces.
Thanks a lot.

User tinac is no local admin:

netbird version
0.31.0

 ps aux |grep -i netbird
root               548   1,0  0,3 411980160  45616   ??  Ss   10:17am   0:10.97 /usr/local/bin/netbird service run --config /etc/netbird/config.json --log-level info --daemon-addr unix:///var/run/netbird.sock --log-file /var/log/netbird/client.log
tinac             1131   0,0  0,3 412813104  52272   ??  S    10:18am   0:01.61 /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird-ui

ls -l /usr/local/bin/netbird
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  48  5 Nov 15:43 /usr/local/bin/netbird -> /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird
md5 /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/*
MD5 (/Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird) = d0da84253b429d799795da5b27f3331b
MD5 (/Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird-ui) = 5ee0f770886b24b3d5732423158f3b52

file /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/*
/Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird:    Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64
/Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird-ui: Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64

Screenshot of Netbird-UI Menu Bar running as localadmin user:
CleanShot 2024-11-08 at 10 57 31@2x

In Activity Monitor, I only see netbird-ui:
CleanShot 2024-11-08 at 10 59 53@2x

<!-- gh-comment-id:2464283398 --> @florian-obradovic commented on GitHub (Nov 8, 2024): Hi @mgarces. Thanks a lot. User tinac is no local admin: ``` netbird version 0.31.0 ps aux |grep -i netbird root 548 1,0 0,3 411980160 45616 ?? Ss 10:17am 0:10.97 /usr/local/bin/netbird service run --config /etc/netbird/config.json --log-level info --daemon-addr unix:///var/run/netbird.sock --log-file /var/log/netbird/client.log tinac 1131 0,0 0,3 412813104 52272 ?? S 10:18am 0:01.61 /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird-ui ls -l /usr/local/bin/netbird lrwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 48 5 Nov 15:43 /usr/local/bin/netbird -> /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird ``` ``` md5 /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/* MD5 (/Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird) = d0da84253b429d799795da5b27f3331b MD5 (/Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird-ui) = 5ee0f770886b24b3d5732423158f3b52 file /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/* /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird: Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64 /Applications/NetBird.app/Contents/MacOS/netbird-ui: Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64 ``` Screenshot of Netbird-UI Menu Bar running as localadmin user: ![CleanShot 2024-11-08 at 10 57 31@2x](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8ac1f9fd-c074-4beb-96d0-950eb21a5901) In Activity Monitor, I only see netbird-ui: ![CleanShot 2024-11-08 at 10 59 53@2x](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/69d37ca5-d654-4f95-be96-8cfa90768478)
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@leon-th commented on GitHub (Mar 25, 2026):

I can confirm that the CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString are present in newer builds.
Deployment with Intune works flawlessly.
Therefore I believe this feature request/issue can be closed or marked as done.

<!-- gh-comment-id:4128360332 --> @leon-th commented on GitHub (Mar 25, 2026): I can confirm that the CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString are present in newer builds. Deployment with Intune works flawlessly. Therefore I believe this feature request/issue can be closed or marked as done.
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@TechHutTV commented on GitHub (May 9, 2026):

Fixed in PR #2738 (universal bin + sign workflow), shipped in v0.30.2 — the macOS PKG now carries proper CFBundleIdentifier and CFBundleShortVersionString values, and a universal binary is produced for amd64+arm64. Multiple commenters have since confirmed Intune deployment works. Closing as fixed.

<!-- gh-comment-id:4413175792 --> @TechHutTV commented on GitHub (May 9, 2026): Fixed in PR #2738 (universal bin + sign workflow), shipped in v0.30.2 — the macOS PKG now carries proper `CFBundleIdentifier` and `CFBundleShortVersionString` values, and a universal binary is produced for amd64+arm64. Multiple commenters have since confirmed Intune deployment works. Closing as fixed.
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Reference: DYNR/netbird#5242