FastScripts 2.7.6: More Mojave Permissions

February 21st, 2019

FastScripts 2.7.6 is now available for download from the FastScripts home page and on the Mac App Store.

Since macOS Mojave 10.14 shipped, many folks have noticed the increase in “permission requests” when an app wants to access something like your Photos, Calendar, Contacts, etc. FastScripts doesn’t itself ask for permission to access the data from these apps, but the permission prompts appear when some script that a user runs itself attempts to obtain data from the protected apps.

At some point along the way I think Apple tightened things up so that the permission prompt is not even displayed if the host app (FastScripts, in this case) doesn’t include a ‘usage description’, which explains to the user why it wants access. In FastScripts’s case, the explanation is always just some form of “because you are running a script that does this”, but nonetheless, I think I need to include these strings in order to support scripting these privacy-guarded assets.

This update also fixes a Dark Mode bug when presenting scripting errors:

  • Adapt script error panel to macOS Mojave’s Dark Mode
  • Add usage explanation strings for requests via scripts to access Reminders, Photos, and Calendar information. This fixes a problem where scripts that attempted to automate these apps wouldn’t prompt for user permission to do so.

If you enjoy FastScripts, please consider writing a review or rating the app on the Mac App Store, or spreading the word on Facebook or Twitter! Thanks for your support. Questions or concerns? Get in touch at support@red-sweater.com. Thank you.