Forcing `open` command to open unsigned app?

Question

I've got my Security preferences set to allow apps downloaded from "Mac App Store and identified developers." When I try to open an unsigned app:

open xyz.app

I see the following:

Usually, I right-click on the app and click "Open". This brings up a similar dialogue, but this one includes an "open anyway"-type button:

Is there a way to do this only using the open command -- something like:

open --even-if-unsigned xyz.app

Answer 1

The solution presented here is no longer supported as of macOS 15+

1. Create and add a Gatekeeper label to the app. (‘Approved’ is an arbitrary string.)

    spctl --add --label "Approved" /path/to/xyz.app
   

2. Approve all apps with the label.

    spctl --enable --label "Approved"
   

   This only needs to be done once and adding the same named label to apps in the future automatically enables their access.

3. Open the app as usual.

    open xyz.app
   

For more information about spctl (SecAssessment system policy security), see the man page.

Answer 2

You could strip the quarantine from the app:

xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /path/to/xyz.app

You may want/need to use sudo for that command, depending on permissions.

Then Gatekeeper isn't involved, at all. Of course, that also means that the signature isn't verified, which removes an important safety feature.

Answer 3

Neither of the above solutions worked for me. But I found another one involving System Preferences.

1. Right click on App and select Open
2. Click Done
3. Open System Settings -> Privacy & Security
4. Scroll down all the way
5. Click Open Anyway