Managing Packages

You can use Jamf Pro and Jamf Admin to manage the packages you plan to deploy to computers in your environment. Managing packages involves adding the package to your distribution point and to Jamf Pro, and configuring settings for the package.

Before you can deploy a package, it must exist on the distribution point you plan to deploy it from and in Jamf Pro. There are three ways to achieve this:

  • Add the package to Jamf Admin—This method adds the package to the principal distribution point and Jamf Pro. You can then add the package to other distribution points via replication.

  • Upload the package directly to Jamf Pro—This method is only available if your principal distribution point is the cloud distribution point. It adds the package to the principal distribution point and Jamf Pro. You can then add the package to other distribution points via replication.

  • Manually—This method is only available if your principal distribution point is a file share distribution point. It involves manually copying the package to the distribution point and then entering information about the package in Jamf Pro.

Note: On computers with macOS 10.15 or later that do not have an MDM profile, you must use an HTTP, HTTPS, or cloud distribution point to install packages.

Each of these methods also involves configuring settings for the package. When you configure settings for a package, you can do the following:

  • Add the package to a category. For more information, see Categories.

  • Choose a priority for deploying or uninstalling the package.

  • Fill user templates with the contents of the home directory in the package’s Users folder.

  • Fill existing user home directories with the contents of the home directory in the package’s Users folder.

  • Allow the package to be uninstalled.

    Note: You must index a package before you can uninstall it.

  • Specify whether computers must be restarted after installing the package.

  • Choose whether the package must be installed on the boot drive after imaging.

  • Specify operating system and architecture type requirements for deploying the package.

  • Only allow the package to be installed if it is available in Software Update.

You can also index packages. Indexing creates a log of all the files contained within a package. This allows you to uninstall the package and view the contents of the package from Jamf Pro. Packages can only be indexed using Jamf Admin.

In addition, you can validate packages using the checksum. For more information, see Calculating a Checksum.

When you add, edit, or delete a package in Jamf Admin, the saved changes are reflected in Jamf Pro and vice versa.

Requirements

To manage packages, you need a distribution point set up in Jamf Pro. For more information, see About Distribution Points.

To add a package to Jamf Admin, the file must be in one of the following formats:

  • Disk Image (.dmg)

  • Installer Package (.pkg)

  • Metapackage (.mpkg)

  • Compressed archive (.zip)

  • Application (.app)

To deploy the package using Jamf Pro, it must be in one the following formats:

  • DMG

  • PKG

  • MPKG
    The MPKG format may not always work natively with policies. This is because permissions that are embedded in the files within the MPKG may conflict with the privileges used by the distribution point read/write user. It is recommended that you deploy the MPKG file to a test computer first. If the deployment does not install successfully, use Composer to make a DMG package for distribution with a policy. Composer will not convert the MPKG to DMG format, but you can use the Snapshot or the Pre-installed method to create a DMG package. Composer can be used to convert DMG and PKG packages.
    For more information, see the Composer User Guide.

Note: There are special instructions for managing macOS Installers. For more information, see Managing macOS Installers.

Adding a Package to Jamf Admin

Adding a package to Jamf Admin automatically adds the package to the principal distribution point and Jamf Pro.

  1. Open Jamf Admin and authenticate to the Jamf Pro server.

  2. Drag the package to the main repository in Jamf Admin.
    The package is displayed in blue text in the Unknown category until you add it to a category.

  3. Double-click the package in the main repository.

  4. Click the General tab and configure basic settings for the package, including the display name and category.

    images/download/attachments/81543473/Package_General.png

  5. Click the Options tab and configure additional settings for the package, including the priority, and operating system and architecture type requirements.

    Note: Package Limitations options do not apply when installing a package during imaging.

    images/download/attachments/81543473/Package_Options.png

  6. Click OK.

Uploading a Package to Jamf Pro

If your principal distribution point is the cloud distribution point, you can upload the package directly to Jamf Pro. This adds the package to the principal distribution point and Jamf Pro.

  1. Log in to Jamf Pro.

  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Settings images/download/thumbnails/81543473/Icon_Settings_Hover.png .

  3. Click Computer Management.

  4. In the “Computer Management” section, click Packages images/download/thumbnails/81543473/Packages.png .

  5. Click New images/download/thumbnails/81543473/Icon_New_Button.png .

  6. Use the General pane to configure basic settings for the package, including the display name and category.

    Note: If you do not add the package to a category, Jamf Admin displays the package in blue text in the Unknown category.

  7. Click Upload Package and upload the package.

  8. (Optional) If you are uploading an enrollment package, you can upload a custom manifest file by clicking the Upload Manifest File button. You can remove the file by clicking the Delete Manifest File button.

  9. Click the Options tab and configure additional settings for the package, including the priority.
    Packages with higher priority install first. Package priority defaults to "10". A package with a priority of "1" is deployed or uninstalled before other packages. Multiple packages with the same priority install in alphabetical order based on the package name.

  10. (Optional) Click the Limitations tab and configure limitations for the package, including operating system and architecture type requirements.

  11. Click Save images/download/thumbnails/81531754/floppy-disk.png .

Manually Adding a Package to a Distribution Point and Jamf Pro

If your principal distribution point is a file share distribution point, you can manually copy a package to the distribution point and then enter information about the package in Jamf Pro.

  1. Copy the package to the Packages folder at the root of the file share on the distribution point.

  2. Log in to Jamf Pro.

  3. In the top-right corner of the page, click Settings images/download/thumbnails/81543473/Icon_Settings_Hover.png .

  4. Click Computer Management.

  5. In the “Computer Management” section, click Packages images/download/thumbnails/81543473/Packages.png .

  6. Click New images/download/thumbnails/81543473/Icon_New_Button.png .

  7. Use the General pane to configure basic settings for the package, including the display name, category, and filename.

    Note: If you do not add the package to a category, Jamf Admin displays the package in blue text in the Unknown category.

  8. Click the Options tab and additional settings for the package, including the priority.

  9. (Optional) Click the Limitations tab and configure limitations for the package, including operating system and architecture type requirements.

  10. Click Save images/download/thumbnails/81531754/floppy-disk.png .

Editing or Deleting a Package Using Jamf Admin

  1. Open Jamf Admin and authenticate to the Jamf Pro server.

  2. In the main repository, select the package you want to edit or delete.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • To edit the package, double-click it and make changes as needed. Click OK. Then click File > Save.

    • To delete the package, click Delete images/download/thumbnails/81543473/icon_CA_delete.png and then click Delete again to confirm.

The edit or delete action is applied immediately on the principal distribution point. The action is applied to your other distribution points when replication occurs.

Indexing a Package

Indexing a package creates a log of all the files contained within the package. This allows you to uninstall the package and view the contents of the package from Jamf Pro.

Packages can be indexed using Jamf Admin only. The time it takes to index a package depends on the amount of data in the package.

  1. Open Jamf Admin and authenticate to the Jamf Pro server.

  2. In the main repository, select the package you want to index and click Index at the bottom of the pane.

  3. If prompted, authenticate locally.

  4. Save the changes by clicking File > Save.

When the indexing process is complete, Jamf Admin defaults back to the main repository.

Viewing the Contents of an Indexed Package

  1. Log in to Jamf Pro.

  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Settings images/download/thumbnails/81543473/Icon_Settings_Hover.png .

  3. Click Computer Management.

  4. In the “Computer Management” section, click Packages images/download/thumbnails/81543473/Packages.png .

  5. Click the package you want to view the contents of.

  6. Click Contents.

A table that contains the package contents is displayed.

Calculating a Checksum

The checksum is calculated when a package is uploaded to Jamf Pro. The checksum ensures authenticity when the package is downloaded.

The checksum can also be calculated manually using Jamf Admin:

  1. Open Jamf Admin and authenticate to the Jamf Pro server.

  2. In the main repository, select the package you want to calculate checksum for.

  3. Control-click (or right-click) and select Calculate Selected Package Checksum(s).

Related Information

For related information, see the following sections in this guide:

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