mas is a command-line interface for the Mac App Store designed for scripting & automation.

Installation

Provider	Method	mas	macOS
Homebrew Core	brew install mas		14+ (recommended)
Homebrew Tap	brew install mas-cli/tap/mas		13+
MacPorts	sudo port install mas		13+
GitHub Releases	Installers & source archives	All	Release-dependent

Commands

Detailed documentation is available via man mas & mas --help.

Command	Functionality	Notes	Aliases
search <term>…	Search for App Store apps	json
lookup <id>…	Output App Store app details	json	info
list [<id>…]	Output installed apps	spotlight, json
outdated [<id>…]	Output outdated apps	spotlight, json
outdated --accurate [<id>…]	Output outdated apps	spotlight, account, json
get <id>…	Get free apps, install any apps	spotlight, root, account	purchase
install <id>…	Install gotten or purchased apps	spotlight, root, account
lucky <term>…	Install first matching app	spotlight, root, account
update [<id>…]	Update outdated apps	spotlight, root, account	upgrade
update --accurate [<id>…]	Update outdated apps	spotlight, root, account	upgrade
uninstall (<id>…|--all)	Uninstall apps	spotlight, root
signout	Sign out from App Store
open [<id>]	Open app App Store page
home <id>…	Open app web pages
seller <id>…	Open seller app web pages		vendor
reset	Reset App Store processes
config	Output config	json
version	Output version

Integrations

Tool	Functionality
Homebrew Bundle	Include installed apps in Brewfile; get, install & update Brewfile apps
Topgrade	Update apps

Known Issues

Issue	Solution
Manage system software (macOS, Safari…)	Use softwareupdate
App info inconsistencies	Wait hours – days (App Store uses eventual consistency)
Cannot purchase paid apps	Purchase paid apps directly in App Store; submit PR
iOS & iPadOS apps unsupported	Submit PR
Hangs	Index apps in Spotlight; open bug report if hangs persist
Undetected installed apps	Index apps in Spotlight
This redownload is not available for this Apple Account… error	Sign in correct Apple Account to App Store, or uninstall app & get it with current Apple Account
Other bugs	Subscribe to existing, or open new, bug report

Development

Action	Command
Build	Scripts/build or Xcode 26+
Set up zsh wrapper	Scripts/setup_libexec
Run zsh wrapper	Scripts/mas
Test (Swift Testing)	Scripts/test

App IDs

App Store apps each have 2 unique IDs:

Type	Format	Example (for Xcode)
ADAM ID	Integer	497799835
Bundle ID	String	com.apple.dt.Xcode

mas commands accept both types of app IDs as arguments.

By default, all-digit app IDs are considered ADAM IDs; other app IDs are considered bundle IDs.

--bundle forces all-digit app IDs to also be considered bundle IDs.

ADAM IDs can be found via:

1. mas search <term>…
2. mas list
3. The App Store:
   1. Open an app's App Store page
   2. Open the page's Share Sheet
   3. Choose Copy
   4. Extract the ADAM ID from the URL in the copied text
      • e.g., 497799835 from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/xcode/id497799835?mt=12

JSON App Output

list, outdated & search normally output tabular data, with a few fields for each app on its own row.

lookup normally outputs fields as key-value pairs—one per line—in a contiguous block for each app, with a blank line between apps.

If --json is supplied, these commands output a stream of JSON objects—one per app—each containing all fields provided by Apple for that app.

Many of the JSON keys provided by Apple are poorly named, so they are mapped to better names by an algorithm.

Mapped JSON keys are sorted.

Each JSON key should be unique within an object; if duplicate keys exist in an object, their relative ordering in the input is preserved in the output.

If Apple renames or adds JSON keys, suboptimal JSON keys might be output until the mapping is updated.

JSON Config Output

config normally outputs settings as key-value pairs, one per line.

If --json is supplied, config outputs all settings in a single JSON object.

Since the JSON keys are defined by mas, they are guaranteed to be unique & correct.

Spotlight

list, outdated, get, install, lucky, update & uninstall obtain data for installed apps from the Spotlight Metadata Service (MDS).

Spotlight indexing thus must be enabled & valid for folders containing App Store apps.

Check if an app is properly indexed in Spotlight via:

## General format:
$ mdls -rn kMDItemAppStoreAdamID <path-to-app>
## Outputs the ADAM ID if the app is indexed
## Outputs nothing if the app is not indexed

## Example:
$ mdls -rn kMDItemAppStoreAdamID /Applications/Xcode.app
497799835

If an app is indexed in Spotlight, find the path to the app from its ADAM ID via:

mdfind 'kMDItemAppStoreAdamID = <adam-id>'

If any App Store apps are not properly indexed, index via:

# Individual app (if the omitted apps are known). e.g., for Xcode:
mdimport /Applications/Xcode.app

# All apps:
vol="$(/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Print :PreferredVolume:name" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.appstored.plist 2>/dev/null)"
mdimport /Applications ${vol:+"/Volumes/${vol}/Applications"}

# All volumes:
sudo mdutil -Eai on

Root Privileges

get, install, lucky, update & uninstall require root privileges.

If run without root privileges, mas requests them as necessary.

mas uses existing valid sudo credentials, falling back to prompting for the macOS user password, which is piped directly to a sudo process; the password is never visible to, nor stored by, mas.

Any sudo credentials used or established by mas remain valid after mas finishes, pursuant to the user-configured sudo timeout.

App Store Apple Account Requirements

get, install, lucky, update & outdated --accurate require an Apple Account signed in to the App Store.

App Store Apple Account Requirements for get

get requires an Apple Account signed in to the App Store.

Even when an Apple Account is already signed in to the App Store, the system security settings might require authenticating the Apple Account for each app being gotten.

If System Settings > Touch ID & Password > Use Touch ID for purchases in iTunes Store, App Store and Apple Books is:

• Enabled: You must authenticate (via Touch ID or Apple Account password) for each app being gotten.
• Disabled: If System Settings > Apple Account > Media & Purchases > Free Downloads is:
  • Always Require: You must authenticate (via Apple Account password) for each app being gotten.
  • Never Require: Apps are gotten without additional authentication.

Note: App Store authentication is separate from any macOS user authentication required to grant root privileges to get apps.

License

Licensed under the MIT license.

Originally created by Andrew Naylor (@argon on GitHub | @argon on X).