Post #134: Startup Styles of Exported Godot Apps on macOS

05 Oct, 2026

This is a quick "guide" on how exported Godot Apps on macOS will behave (at startup) from the user's perspective. This guide assumes you have exported the app already.

⭐️ This guide clearly shows how on macOS (and arguably Windows & Linux, as well) you should get your app signed, notarized, and distribute it through the Mac app store if you can.

There are a couple of options...

1. ✅ If the app is signed, notarized, and distributed through the macOS App Store, the app should run out of the box.
2. ⚠️ If the app is signed, notarized, and distributed outside the macOS App Store, one of two things will happen:
   1. macOS double checks if the user wants to open the app, as it's from the internet.
   2. macOS won't let the user open the app, as their Mac is configured to only allow apps that have come through the macOS App Store. This requires going into System Settings and allowing apps if they are from "identified developers".
3. ❗️ If the app is signed, but not notarized, the user will have to go to System Settings to get the app to "Open Anyway".
4. ❌ If the app is not signed and not notarized, but the executable is linker-signed, macOS will tell the user the app is damaged and can't be run. This requires the user to remote the quarantine attribute manually using the Terminal.
5. ❌⛔️🚫 Finally, if the app is not signed and not notarized (at least for Apple silicon Macs), macOS will say the user doesn't have permission to open the app, and they'll have to sign it manually to open it.

This info comes from this great Godot doc page: Running Godot apps on macOS