Arc Installation on Restricted MacOS

Arc is my personal favorite web browser, and this is how to install it on a restricted version of MacOS (such as a school computer).

This works for any application, not just Arc. You can use this method, just replace Arc with the name of the application you want to install.

Note: This guide is for educational purposes only. I am not responsible for any damage caused by following this guide.

1. Download the Arc Installer

First, download the Arc installer from the official website. You can do this by visiting arc.net and clicking the “Download Arc” button.

This will download to your Downloads folder, under the name Arc.dmg.

2. Open the Installer

Open the Arc.dmg file by double-clicking it. This will mount the disk image and open a new window with the Arc application.

Once you’ve opened the disk image, you’ll have to move it to your user’s Applications folder. You can do this by pressing Cmd + Space and searching for ~/Applications. Then, drag the Arc application from the disk image to the Applications folder.

3. Open Arc

Once Arc is moved to your Applications folder, try to open it. If it doesn’t open, you’ll have to do some additional steps to get it to work.

4. Editing the Info.plist

The way MacOS (Mosyle, in this case) restricts applications is by using a file called Info.plist. This file is located inside the Arc.app package. To edit it, you’ll have to right-click on the Arc application and select Show Package Contents.

Once you’ve done that, navigate to Contents > Info.plist. Right-click on Info.plist and open it with a text editor. I recommend using TextEdit for this.

Once you’ve opened Info.plist, you’ll have to edit the CFBundleIdentifier key. This is what MacOS uses to identify applications.

You can press Cmd + F and search for CFBundleIdentifier. Once you’ve found it, change it to something else, such as company.xthebrowser.Browser.

- <string>company.thebrowser.Browser</string>
+ <string>company.xthebrowser.Browser</string> 

5. Open Arc

Once you’ve saved the changes to Info.plist, try to open Arc again. It should open without any issues. 🎉