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

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

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

App Store apps each have 2 unique IDs:

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

list, outdated & search normally output tabular data, with a few fields for each app on its own row.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

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.

list, outdated, get, install, lucky, update & uninstall obtain data for installed apps from the Spotlight Metadata Service (MDS).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

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.

get, install, lucky, update & outdated --accurate require an Apple Account signed in to the App Store.

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.

Licensed under the MIT license.

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