Frequently Asked Questions

Toolbox is a collection of open-source automation tools for macOS and Windows, built by CodeCraftedApps. It includes four tools:

• Non App Store Apps Download — a native macOS app for batch downloading apps from official sources.
• Package Manager Setup — bootstraps a full dev environment with Homebrew or Chocolatey.
• Repo Sync — clones and updates all your GitHub repos at once.
• App Downloader — downloads installer files for apps not available through a package manager.

Each tool automates a common setup or maintenance task using native technologies like shell scripts, PowerShell, Apple Shortcuts, and Power Automate Desktop.

Yes. Every tool in the collection is completely free and open source under the MIT License. You can use, modify, and distribute the code without restriction. The full source is available on GitHub.

No. Each tool comes with step-by-step instructions written in plain language. The Getting Started guide walks you through everything from opening Terminal or PowerShell to running your first script. You don't need to write or understand code to use these tools.

Yes. Package Manager Setup, Repo Sync, and App Downloader all support both macOS and Windows. Non App Store Apps Download is macOS only because it uses AppleScript and a native macOS app interface. Each tool page lists its supported platforms.

You need Git to clone the repository to your machine.

• macOS: Run xcode-select --install in Terminal to get Git via Command Line Developer Tools.
• Windows: Install Git via winget install --id Git.Git -e or download it from git-scm.com.

After that, each tool may have platform-specific dependencies (like Homebrew or Chocolatey), but the scripts install those automatically when needed. See the Getting Started guide for full details.

Package Manager Setup installs apps directly through a package manager (Homebrew on macOS, Chocolatey on Windows). The apps are fully installed and ready to use when the script finishes.

App Downloader only downloads installer files (like .dmg or .exe) to your Downloads folder — it does not install them. It also tracks version numbers across runs so you know when updates are available.

Use Package Manager Setup for developer tools and CLI utilities. Use App Downloader for apps that aren't available through a package manager or when you prefer to review and install manually.

Yes. Each script contains an array at the top of the file that lists the packages or apps it will process. Open the script in any text editor, add or remove entries from the array, save, and run. The scripts include comments explaining the expected format for each entry.

They are one-click launchers that run the scripts without you needing to open Terminal or PowerShell yourself.

• Apple Shortcuts (macOS Monterey and later) — a built-in macOS app for creating and running automations. Double-click a .shortcut file to import it, then run it from the Shortcuts app.
• Power Automate Desktop (Windows 10/11) — a free Microsoft app for desktop automation. Copy the contents of a .pad file into a new flow, then click Run.

Package Manager Setup, Repo Sync, and App Downloader all include pre-built launcher files for both platforms.

Yes. All scripts are open source, so you can review every line of code before running them. They only install well-known, official packages and download from official sources.

Every script supports a check mode that shows what would happen without making any changes:

• macOS: Add --check to any script command.
• Windows: Add -Check to any script command.

We recommend reviewing the script source on GitHub before your first run.

Idempotent means a script is safe to run multiple times without causing problems. If a package is already installed and up to date, the script skips it. If a repo has already been cloned, it pulls the latest changes instead of cloning again. You can run any script as often as you like and it will only make the changes that are actually needed.

This usually means the script file doesn't have execute permission. You can fix it two ways:

Option A: Grant execute permission, then run the script:

Option B: Run it with the bash prefix (no execute permission needed):

Windows restricts script execution by default for security. Run this command in an Administrator PowerShell session before running the script:

This allows scripts to run in the current session only. It resets when you close PowerShell, so your system policy stays unchanged. Then run the script as normal.

Repo Sync requires the GitHub CLI (gh) to be authenticated with your GitHub account. Run the following command and follow the prompts to sign in via your browser:

Once authenticated, the script can access your repositories. You only need to do this once per machine. If gh is not installed, run Package Manager Setup first — it installs the GitHub CLI automatically.

Open an issue on the GitHub repository. Include a description of the problem, your operating system and version, and any error messages you see (copy and paste them from Terminal or PowerShell).

You can also reach us via the contact page or email [email protected].