Info

These posts are being re-created from old Jamf Nation posts not because they are the best but because they may have useful things that were mangled in the Jamf Nation transition to its most recent hosting platform.

That, & they were always supposed to be blog posts anyway… I didn’t have a blog then.

Note

UPDATE 1: 20260305

When I wrote this script, it was intentionally for blocking Migration Assistant.app - I re-wrote it so any app can be blocked this way just by setting the variables at the top.

All you really need to know is the CFBundleName or CFBundleDisplayName (assuming that for most apps those match.) The “process identifier” (prcidnt) variable can really be anything (follow the given format & make it something unique.) Also, you’ll probably want to customize the messaging.

UPDATE 2: 20260327

 (finally) has enabled configurable MDM support for Managed Migration Assistant

The “Migration Assistant.app” was introduced in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - 20 years isn’t THAT long to wait…


Snow Leopard box

meow.


So, here’s a thing:

Have you ever wished your users didn’t try to use Migration Assistant? Maybe you have something better (Alectrona Migrator, Druva - that’s what I used to use & it was the best…)

But, maybe, you just want to stop them. Yes, you can use Restricted Software. Maybe you’ve deployed Santa. But, maybe, for some reason, the internet has led you here & ta da:

#!/bin/bash

# set -x
# trap read debug

# macos-block-app.sh @2024 Fleet Device Management
# Brock Walters (brock@fleetdm.com)


#####################################
### variables: populate as needed ###
#####################################

# The text that appears on the title bar of the AppleScript dialog window
apscttl='Migration Assistant Blocked'

# The text that appears in the AppleScript dialog window
apsctxt='Migration Assistant is blocked on this computer. Please contact your administrator for help.'

# The name of the app to block as it appears in Finder
blckapp='Migration Assistant'

# The 'identifier' for the 'block', e.g., blk.migr.asst
prcidnt='blk.migr.asst'

###########################
### DO NOT MODIFY BELOW ###
###########################


# paths
plstpth="/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.$prcidnt.plist"
scptpth="/opt/$prcidnt.sh"


# write out blocking script
/bin/cat << EOF > "$scptpth"
#!/bin/sh

if /usr/bin/pgrep -ail "$blckapp"
then
    /usr/bin/pkill -ail "$blckapp"
    /usr/bin/osascript -e "display dialog \"${apsctxt}\" buttons {\"OK\"} default button 1 with title \"${apscttl}\" with icon file \"System:Library:CoreServices:CoreTypes.bundle:Contents:Resources:AlertStopIcon.icns\""
fi
EOF
/bin/chmod 755 "$scptpth"
/usr/sbin/chown 0:0 "$scptpth"


# write out launch daemon
/bin/cat << EOF > "$plstpth"
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>Label</key>
      <string>$prcidnt</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
      <array>
        <string>/bin/sh</string>
        <string>$scptpth</string>
      </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
      <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
      <true/>
  </dict>
</plist>
EOF
/bin/chmod 644 "$plstpth"
/usr/sbin/chown 0:0 "$plstpth"
/usr/bin/plutil -convert binary1 "$plstpth"


# start launch daemon
/bin/launchctl bootstrap system "$plstpth"


Source: https://community.jamf.com/general-discussions-2/migration-assistant-32668