Does not pass macOS Gatekeeper check on macOS

WireframeSketcher 7.4.4 for macOS (Apple Silicon) does not pass the macOS Gatekeeper check. When I open the app, I get the following macOS dialog:

It says the following:

“WireframeSketcher.app” Not Opened

Apple could not verify “WireframeSketcher.app” is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy.

[Move to Trash]

[Done]

If I click "Move to Trash", it would move the app to the Trash (obviously). If I click "Done", the dialog is dismissed, and the app does not open.

This is on macOS Golden Gate (27.2), but I believe it will occur on macOS Tahoe and any other supported version of macOS as well.

I initially wondered if this might be an Eclipse RCP thing, but I tried opening the Eclipse IDE for Java Developers 2026-09 app, and it opens just fine (i.e., it passes the Gatekeeper check; no Gatekeeper dialog). I also tried DBeaver Community Edition 26.2.3, which is an Eclipse RCP app, and it opens just fine too.

Hi Lewis,

WireframeSketcher is a signed application, but it's not notarized and so an additional manual step is needed to make it run on macOS. See this link from Mac User Guide for more details: https://support.apple.com/en-euro/guide/mac-help/mh40620/mac

Let me know if this works for you.

Unfortunately, no, that does not make it work. I already had that setting set that way:

Looking into this more, I think signing the app but not notarizing it is no longer sufficient; I think it needs to also be notarized now. This is based on Notarizing macOS software before distribution, which says:

Beginning in macOS 10.15, all software built after June 1, 2019, and distributed with Developer ID must be notarized. However, you aren’t required to notarize software that you distribute through the Mac App Store because the App Store submission process already includes equivalent security checks.

If I check from the command line with spctl, I can see that it's rejecting WireframeSketcher, whereas it does not reject Eclipse Java nor DBeaver:

$ spctl --assess --type install /Applications/WireframeSketcher.app
/Applications/WireframeSketcher.app: rejected
$ spctl --assess --type install /Applications/Eclipse\ Java.app
$ spctl --assess --type install /Applications/DBeaver.app

I also tried gktool, and it shows a similar outcome (but not perfect for DBeaver):

$ gktool scan /Applications/WireframeSketcher.app
Scan completed, but failed because the software is not signed by a distributor that meets the system Gatekeeper requirements.
$ gktool scan /Applications/Eclipse\ Java.app
Scan completed and software is allowed by system policy.
$ gktool scan /Applications/DBeaver.app
Progress: 205320192/205320192
Scan completed, and would be allowed but the user still needs to approve it on first launch.

Also, Homebrew is now requiring that apps pass the Gatekeeper check on macOS, and I see that the wireframe-sketcher cask has been disabled as of 2026-09-01 because of this:

$ brew info wireframe-sketcher
==> wireframe-sketcher ⊘ (disabled) (WireframeSketcher): 7.4.3
Tool for creating wireframes, mockups and prototypes
https://wireframesketcher.com/
Disabled because it does not pass the macOS Gatekeeper check! It was disabled on 2026-09-01.
Not installed
From: https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-cask/blob/HEAD/Casks/w/wireframe-sketcher.rb
==> Requirements
Required: macOS ✔
==> Artifacts
WireframeSketcher.app (App)

I see some references to a CLI command that can be used like this:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine WireframeSketcher.app

Can you give it a try and see if it works for you? Soma variation also include "-r" flag for recursive, and sometimes it's used with sudo.

Let me know if this works for you.

Lewis, can you check if you get the following prompt under Settings > Privacy & Security? It normally appears after you get the "Not Opened" dialog and choose "Done", not "Move to Trash".

Re System Settings > Privacy & Security > Security > WireframeSketcher.app > Open Anyway, yes, I get that in-line prompt. If I click the Open Anyway button, and I got a dialog that says the following:

Open "WireframeSketcher.app"?

Apple is not able to verify that it is free from malware that could harm your Mac or compromise your privacy. Don't open this unless you are certain it is from a trustworthy source.

[Move to Trash]

[Open Anyway]

[Done]

If I click the Open Anyway button in that dialog, WireframeSketcher appears to start to open in that its app icon in the Dock starts bouncing, but it never actually opens. The app icon just keeps bouncing indefinitely. I then had to context-click on the app icon in the Dock and choose "Force Quit" in the pop-up menu to stop it from trying to start. It never opened.

Like in my previous reply to the suggestion to remove the com.apple.quarantine extended attribute from the app, I feel that this "Open Anyway" approach is doing a similar thing of just throwing away security that macOS is providing. I really think that notarizing is the correct thing to do here. I think that that's what pretty much all apps do now that want to provide a normal user experience on macOS.

Lewis,

I agree that notarization would fix this warning, but I was looking for an immediate solution.

Is it possible that you have downloaded a version of WireframeSketcher for a wrong processor? We are providing two packages, one for Intel processors and one for Apple Silicon. Not sure if macOS explicitly warns you about this.

In any case, it might be helpful to try and start with a clean download and see if it works for you. If the app still hangs then please email me the ~/Documents/WireframeSketcher/.metadata/.log file. Perhaps I can find the problem there.

Hi, Peter! OK, thanks.

Yes, you're right that now the app won't open no matter what I do. For example, even after removing the com.apple.quarantine extended attribute, it won't open. I suspect a macOS bug, but I'm not certain. I restarted my computer, and now if I remove the com.apple.quarantine extended attribute, WireframeSketcher opens fine. So, no need to worry about an immediate solution; I can run the app with this workaround.

Re downloading WireframeSketcher for the wrong architecture, no, I'm positive I downloaded via the "Download for macOS (Apple Silicon) (117 MB)" link, and if I context-click on the installed app and choose Get Info, the General section shows "Kind: Application (Apple silicon)".