Installory support

Help for scanning local package metadata, granting folder access, and reviewing cleanup scripts safely.

What Installory does

Installory is a native macOS app that inventories developer packages installed on your Mac. It reads package metadata for Homebrew, pip, pipx, npm, Cargo, RubyGems, and Mac App Store receipt-bearing apps, then presents names, versions, locations, manager labels, dependencies, and related package details in one place.

Installory is not a package manager. It does not install, upgrade, or uninstall packages directly.

Grant or re-grant folder access

Installory is sandboxed. It can only scan directories you grant through the macOS folder picker. Access is read-only and stored with security-scoped bookmarks so future scans can use the same folders.

  1. Open Installory and use the app's directory access or recommended grants controls.
  2. Choose the relevant folder, such as /opt/homebrew, /usr/local, ~/.local/share/pipx, ~/.cargo, a RubyGems directory, /Applications, or ~/Applications.
  3. If a previously granted folder moved, was deleted, or stopped scanning, remove the stale grant and choose the folder again.

Why scans may show no packages

An empty scan usually means Installory cannot see the folder where that package manager stores metadata, or that the selected manager has no packages in the granted directory.

  • Homebrew can be under /opt/homebrew on Apple silicon Macs or /usr/local on Intel Macs.
  • Python packages can live under several interpreter-specific directories — including ~/.local/share/uv/python for uv, and .venv / venv folders inside projects you've granted access to. If a Python install isn't appearing, grant the folder that contains its bin/python or the project root.
  • Mac App Store apps appear only after granting access to an Applications folder, and only apps with local App Store receipts are counted.

What "Scan Coverage" means

The sidebar's Scan Coverage section lists every package manager Installory checked, what it found, and the reason for anything it skipped or failed.

  • Skipped usually means the manager isn't installed on this Mac, or its folder hasn't been granted yet.
  • Timed out can happen on very deep ~/.nvm trees. Try Rescan, or grant access to a specific Node version's directory rather than the whole tree.
  • Failed with a reason means parsing tripped on something specific. Please send the reason to support so we can fix it.

How cleanup scripts work

When you choose cleanup, Installory generates a reviewable shell script or uninstall command. The script is shown to you as text with actions to copy it or save it. Installory does not execute the script, open Terminal for you, invoke package manager commands, or remove packages itself.

Generated scripts are defensive by default. They include a shell preamble, echo commands before running them, skip read-only packages, and comment out common essentials that should not be removed casually.

Safety warning: review every line before running a script. If you do not understand a command or package name, leave it out until you are sure.

Privacy and provenance

Installory makes no network calls and does not transmit your package inventory. The current App Store release does not read shell history or AI assistant transcripts; provenance collection from those sources is disabled.

Contact support

Questions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome. We aim to reply within two business days.

Email: will.ricchiuti@gmail.com

Prefer another channel? You can also reach the developer on GitHub at github.com/willytop8.