If you’re familiar with using sudo command in the command line, then you know how to do things with superuser privileges. But when it comes to running GUI Apps as root on Mac OS X, things don’t work quite the same way. You can’t just make ‘sudo’ an otherwise useful command. Instead, you’ll have to use ‘sudo’ pointing directly to an executable file contained in a specific application package file. In this guide, we’ll show you how to run GUI Apps as root on Mac OS X.
How to Run a GUI App as Root on Mac OS X
The syntax of the command you need to run is:
sudo /Path/To/Application/ApplicationName.app/Path/To/Executable
In most cases, the applications you’ll be running are stored in the ‘/Applications/’ directory. Also, the executable file is almost always stored in the ‘/Contents/MacOS/’ package, regardless of the application’s name. So, the command you’ll most likely use is:
sudo /Applications/ApplicationName.app/Contents/MacOS/ApplicationName
If you want to run the TextEdit app as an administrator, for example, you would use this command:
sudo /Applications/TextEdit.app/Contents/MacOS/TextEdit
If you want TextEdit to run as a background application that won’t close if you close the terminal window, add the ‘-b’ flag to the sudo command. The command will look like this:
sudo -b /Applications/TextEdit.app/Contents/MacOS/TextEdit
To ensure that the application is running as an administrator, use the ‘ps’ command with ‘grep’ and use TextEdit again as an example. The command would be:
ps au | grep TextEdit
You can also view the OS X process management application ‘Activity Monitor’ and find the application running there as an administrator.
The process can be shortened by adding an alias in the ‘.bash_profile’ file.
Note that although you can run an application as an administrator, you may not be able to edit all system files or save changes. Some applications may lock files when opened in administrator mode. It’s still better to use the command line and a text-based editor for certain tasks.
Benefits
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FAQs
What is this guide about?
This guide is about ‘How to Run GUI Apps as root in Mac OS X.’
How will this guide help me?
This guide provides a step-by-step guide on running GUI Apps as root on Mac OS X.
Which devices are supported?
This guide is for Apple devices only.
Which operating systems are supported?
macOS or iOS are the supported operating systems.
Final Note
If you have any queries or want to add new methods for running GUI apps as root on Mac OS X, please leave a comment or contact us.
Please note that this guide is for educational purposes only. If you find any misinformation, kindly let us know.
