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Vixlo 0.1

If macOS will not open Vixlo

Vixlo 0.1 is a tester build. It is signed for testing but not notarised, which is Apple's check for apps that come from outside the App Store, so a Mac that has never opened it may stop it the first time. This page shows what that looks like and the steps that get past it. You do them once on each Mac.

What the Mac shows​

You unzip Vixlo, drag it to Applications and double-click it. Instead of Vixlo's window, a message from macOS appears. It says the Mac cannot check Vixlo for malicious software, or could not verify it; the wording differs between versions of macOS. The message offers a button that closes it, Done or Cancel, and a button that moves Vixlo to the bin. Nothing of Vixlo has run.

The message macOS shows the first time it blocks Vixlo, with a button that closes it and a button that moves Vixlo to the bin

caution

Close the message. Do not press the button that moves Vixlo to the bin (Move to Bin, or Move to Trash on some Macs). It throws the app away, and you would have to unzip the download again.

This is the Mac's own check, not a fault in the download.

Opening Vixlo anyway​

  1. Open Vixlo once, so the Mac knows which app you mean to allow, and close the message that appears.

  2. Choose Apple menu ▸ System Settings, then Privacy & Security in the sidebar, and scroll down to the Security section.

  3. A line there says that Vixlo was blocked, with an Open Anyway button beside it. Press it.

    The Security section of Privacy & Security in System Settings, with the line saying Vixlo was blocked and the Open Anyway button beside it

  4. The Mac asks for your login password or Touch ID. That prompt is macOS's own, and Vixlo does not see what you type.

  5. A last message asks whether you are sure you want to open Vixlo. Press Open.

Vixlo opens on its Sign in to Vixlo card, and Signing in takes it from there. From then on it opens with a double-click like any other app.

The allowance is for Vixlo alone. No other app and no other setting on the Mac changes, and you never need to turn the Mac's protection off to run Vixlo. A newer download that replaces this copy may ask again.

The ⌃-click way​

On macOS 14 there is a shorter route. ⌃-click Vixlo in Applications (hold ⌃ as you click) and choose Open; the message that follows has an Open button of its own. On macOS 15 and later this route no longer gets past the block, so use the steps above.

When Open Anyway is not there​

The line in Privacy & Security appears only after the Mac has refused Vixlo, and it does not stay for ever. If it is missing, open Vixlo again, close the message and look again.

If the Mac shows something different from this page, or Open Anyway never appears, write to support@vixlo.app and say what the Mac showed.