Tideline

macOS application manager

The application manager macOS lacks. It lists installed apps, surfaces every component attributable to one of them, shows the removal plan before asking for confirmation, and stays on the safe side.

Preparing distribution · signing and notarization pending

tideline.sunsato.com

Distribution channels
2Distribution channels
Release baseline
v1.0.0Release baseline

Removal scope

The scope the product targets is more than the app bundle:

One application

  • The application bundle

  • User data

  • Machine-wide support files

  • Background services

  • Helper tools

  • Installer records

  • Privacy-decision reset where macOS permits it

What the current build does

The scope above is the product target. The limit of the build that runs today is explicit:

The current build trashes the app bundle and selected Current User files, and can reset privacy decisions by verified bundle id.

All Users items are detected and stay visible, but are excluded from removal until the signed privileged-removal architecture exists. Machine-wide components are shown today, not deleted.

The safety model

The differentiator is not aggression; it is reversibility.

  • Every match is classified by identity confidence: Verified Identity or Review Match.

  • Every item is labelled by removal scope: Current User, Requires Administrator, or informational System Record.

  • Candidate files are shown with their path and size; nothing happens without confirmation.

  • The Trash is preferred over permanent deletion wherever possible.

  • Low-confidence or shared files are never removed automatically.

  • The protected TCC database is never touched; privacy cleanup is an explicit, optional reset.

  • Installer receipts are read-only records, never cleanup candidates.

Distribution

Mac App Store
The sandboxed channel; removal through App Management only.
Developer ID
A notarized DMG, with a narrow admin-escalation fallback.
Code separation
Done across both channels.
Pending
Signing, notarization, and stapling for the DMG channel; the sandbox entitlement and sandbox-validated discovery/removal for the MAS channel.

Removing an app bundle is gated by code signature, so unsigned builds cannot uninstall on a fresh Mac. That is a signing condition, not a defect.

Status

Decided
Two-channel distribution (27 July 2026) and code-level sandbox gating.
Open
The signed privileged-helper architecture, and the runtime unregister strategy for another app's background services.

Look closer.

Three products, three problems, one standard.Get in touch