Installing evoftp on macOS

By the end of this page evoftp is in your Applications folder and opens normally on macOS 11 Big Sur or newer. The only fiddly part is the first launch: the app is ad-hoc signed but not notarised by Apple, so macOS refuses a plain double-click until you approve it once.

Choosing the right download

There are two Mac builds in the evoftp downloads folder:

• evoftp-mac.zip — Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4 Macs).
• evoftp-mac-intel.zip — Intel Macs (2020 and earlier).

Not sure which you have? Apple menu → About This Mac. “Chip: Apple M…” means Apple Silicon; “Processor: Intel…” means Intel.

Installing the app

1. Download the zip. Safari usually unzips it for you; otherwise double-click the zip.
2. Drag evoftp.app into your Applications folder.

Opening it the first time

Use the method for your macOS version. After this one approval the app opens like any other.

1. macOS 14 Sonoma and earlier: right-click (or Control-click) evoftp.app → Open, then click Open in the dialog.
2. macOS 15 Sequoia and newer: double-click the app once (it will say it can’t be opened). Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to the message about evoftp and click Open Anyway. Confirm with your password or Touch ID.

Fixing “evoftp is damaged and can’t be opened”

This message is macOS’s quarantine flag on an unsigned download, not actual damage. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities) and run:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/evoftp.app

Then open the app again with the right-click → Open method above.

Where your passwords go

Saved servers and settings live in ~/Library/Application Support/evoftp. Because the build is not signed, it cannot use the Keychain yet.

Note: On macOS a saved password is stored unencrypted in the app’s config folder. If that matters to you, leave the password field empty when you add a server and type it each time you connect.

Updating and removing

evoftp checks for a new version at startup; choose Download in the dialog and replace the app in Applications with the new one. Your servers and settings are kept. To remove evoftp, delete the app and, for a clean slate, the config folder above.

Overview: evoftp guide.