QtPass on macOS

QtPass runs on macOS, and the .dmg for every release is built on GitHub's macOS runners. Two things make it more work than it should be: the app is not signed, so macOS refuses it once, and the Homebrew cask is disabled for the same reason. Here is how to install it anyway, how to get GnuPG asking for your passphrase properly, and what would fix the signing for good.

Install QtPass 1.8.2 on macOS

  1. Download QtPass-1.8.2.dmg from the releases page; the .asc next to it is a GnuPG signature you can verify the download with.
  2. Open the image and drag QtPass to your Applications folder.
  3. Launch it once. macOS refuses, because the download carries the quarantine flag and the app is unsigned. Either remove the flag: 
    xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/QtPass.app
    or open System Settings → Privacy & Security right after the refused launch and click Open Anyway. On macOS 15 and later, right-click → Open no longer bypasses Gatekeeper for unsigned apps.

brew install --cask qtpass does not work since 1 September 2026; Homebrew disables every cask whose app fails the Gatekeeper check. The formula is not broken, the app is just not signed (why).

GnuPG and the passphrase dialog

QtPass needs gpg; pass and git are optional. Homebrew's GnuPG works, but without a graphical pinentry you get no passphrase prompt in a GUI app. Install both and tell the agent to use it: 

brew install gnupg pinentry-mac
echo "pinentry-program $(brew --prefix)/bin/pinentry-mac" \
  >> ~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf
gpgconf --kill gpg-agent

In QtPass, Configuration → Programs should show the Homebrew gpg: /opt/homebrew/bin/gpg on Apple silicon, /usr/local/bin/gpg on Intel. Fill it in when autodetection picks nothing. The FAQ has more on pinentry, and a note on QR codes on macOS.

Build from source 

brew install qt pass pinentry-mac
git clone https://github.com/IJHack/QtPass.git
cd QtPass
qmake6 && make && macdeployqt QtPass.app

A locally built app has no quarantine flag, so it opens without the detour above.

Why QtPass is not signed

Signing and notarizing a macOS app needs a paid Apple Developer Program membership, about 99 euro per year. QtPass is maintained by volunteers in their spare time; none of us use macOS any more (I have not touched a MacBook in five years) and none of us have that membership. QtPass started life as a macOS-only app, so there is some irony here.

The build side is solved: GitHub Actions already produce the .dmg. What is missing is a Developer ID certificate to sign it with and an account to notarize it against.

How you can help

Best option: you or your company already have an Apple Developer ID. Then you can sign and notarize our releases. It is a one-time setup: a Developer ID Application certificate and an app-specific password go into the GitHub Actions secrets, and from then on every release is signed and notarized automatically. Say hello in #1542.

Otherwise: fund the account. 100 euro covers one year of the Apple Developer Program. Two ways to do that:

As soon as the year is covered I will enrol, put signing and notarization into the release pipeline, publish a notarized 1.8.x .dmg, and ask Homebrew to re-enable the cask.

Status

August 2025
Homebrew announces that casks failing the Gatekeeper check will be disabled.
16 June 2026
Stefan reports it in #1542; thank you.
1 September 2026
The cask is disabled: disable! date: "2026-09-01", because: :fails_gatekeeper_check.
13 September 2026
QtPass 1.8.0 ships, unsigned .dmg.
18 September 2026
QtPass 1.8.2 ships, unsigned .dmg. No sponsor yet.

The other platforms are unaffected; see downloads. Thanks to everyone who keeps QtPass running on a platform its maintainers no longer use.