How to launch a Mac app: a checklist that fits on one page
By Justinas Rolando, maker of MacPip
Get a signed build that opens on a Mac that has never seen it. Give your page a price and a download link. List on free Mac directories a week or two early. Pick one main day, stay around to answer people, and write down what each place really sent you.
Launching a Mac app is mostly a list of dull jobs done in the right order. Here is the order I would use. MacPip is new and small, so this is not a promise of a big day from us. It is a way not to waste the day you get.
Three weeks out: a build that really opens
If you sell from your own site, this comes first, because everything else points at the download.
- Sign with a Developer ID certificate, notarize and staple. Signing and notarization in plain words covers what that means.
- Paste your output into the notarization explainer and read what it says.
- Download your own build through a browser, on another Mac or user account. That way macOS treats it as a real download.
If you are heading for the Mac App Store, the job is different: your build goes through App Review, so leave room for a rejection and a second try. How to submit a Mac app compares the two routes.
Two weeks out: the page people land on
Someone who clicks through should find, without hunting:
- What the app does, in one line. See how to write a line that says what your Mac app does.
- The price, or a clear statement that it is free.
- The macOS version it needs.
- A real download or App Store link.
- Screenshots of the real app, with real content.
The landing page grader checks whether those things are in your HTML. The icon checker shows your icon at small sizes, and the screenshot checker tests images against the sizes Apple accepts.
One to two weeks out: list before you launch
List on free Mac directories early, so your pages and links already exist on the day. Where to launch a Mac app compares 14 places, with prices and conditions, and says where each one is stronger than we are.
To list here, paste your link on the submit page. You can choose a launch date up to 21 days ahead, and each day takes up to 5 launches, so keep a second date in mind. An automatic scan comes first, a clean app goes live in about 5 minutes, and a person then opens the app for the blue tick. It helps to browse a category close to yours first, such as menu bar apps, window management apps or developer tools, to see what your listing sits beside.
Launch day
- Install the live download once more, using the public link.
- Post in your own words. The launch post helper gives you a first draft to rewrite, not a finished post.
- Do not ask people to upvote. Product Hunt and Hacker News both forbid it.
- Keep the day free for replies. Answering questions quickly is the part only you can do.
On MacPip, vote counts stay hidden for the first 12 hours of the day, and results lock at midnight UTC.
I would keep Product Hunt and Show HN on different days if you try both, because each takes your full attention.
The week after
- Add the app to AlternativeTo and awesome-mac.
- Fix whatever people found confusing, and say so where they asked.
- Write down what each place really sent you. Your own numbers will beat any list, including this one.
Turn this into dates
The launch plan builder takes your launch date and the places you picked and gives you a dated plan. The longer launch checklist has every step, and it remembers your ticks in your browser.
Real listings to look at
Open any of these listings to see how the pieces fit together on a real page: the one line, the screenshots and the dated check report.
BackdropA native Mac window manager that organizes your windows by project.Window Management, checked October 30, 2026
TuningMacA system-wide equalizer and per-app volume mixer in your Mac menu bar.Audio and Video, checked October 30, 2026
TalkYA teleprompter that keeps your script next to the camera on your Mac.Meetings and Presenting, checked October 30, 2026
Sources
- MacPip guide: Where to launch a Mac app
- MacPip guide: How to submit a Mac app
- Product Hunt launch guide
- Show HN rules
Keep reading
- How to write a one-line description that says what your Mac app doesA plain way to write the one line under your Mac app's name: name the job, cut the hype, and test it on someone who has never seen the app.
- Signing and notarization, in plain words, for people making their first Mac appWhat code signing, notarization and stapling each do, in what order, what your users see without them, and how to check your own build.
- What a dofollow link is honestly worth, from a site that offers oneWhat dofollow means, what Google says about links, why a link from a new directory is worth little today, and what to do instead of buying links.