Metabase OS X App

Building

The following steps need to be done before building the Mac App:

1. Install XCode.

2. Add a JRE to the /path/to/metabase/repo/OSX/Metabase/jre

   You must acquire a copy of a JRE (make sure you get a JRE rather than JDK) and move it to the correct location in the Mac App source directory so it can be included as part of the Mac App. To ship Java applications as Mac Apps, you must ship them with their own JRE. In this case we want to get a JRE from somewhere (more on this below) and move the Contents/Home directory from the JRE archive into OSX/Metabase/jre. (OSX/Metabase already exists inside the metabase/metabase repo.)

   Option 1: Download from AdoptOpenJDK (currently broken -- do not use)

   You can download a copy of a JRE from https://adoptopenjdk.net/releases.html?jvmVariant=hotspot — make sure you download a JRE rather than JDK. Move the Contents/Home directory from the JRE archive into OSX/Metabase/jre. (OSX/Metabase already exists inside the metabase/metabase repo.) For example:

   # IMPORTANT -- DO NOT COPY THIS -- THIS JRE DOESN'T WORK
   cd /path/to/metabase/repo
   wget https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK/openjdk11-binaries/releases/download/jdk-11.0.8%2B10/OpenJDK11U-jre_x64_mac_hotspot_11.0.8_10.tar.gz
   tar -xzvf OpenJDK11U-jre_x64_mac_hotspot_11.0.8_10.tar.gz
   mv jdk-11.0.8+10-jre/Contents/Home OSX/Metabase/jre
   

   VERY IMPORTANT!

   Make sure the JRE version you use is one that is known to work successfully with notarization. We have found out the one linked above does not work. I have found a nightly build that does work, but it’s no longer available for download. Cam and Sameer both have copies of a JRE that is known to work. Refer to Option 2.

   If you get notarization errors like

   The executable does not have the hardened runtime enabled.

   (Referring to files in Metabase.app/Contents/Resources/jre/bin/) then use a different build of the JRE.

   Assuming the OpenJDK folks have resolved this issue going forward, you are fine to use whatever the latest JRE version available is. I have been using the HotSpot JRE instead of the OpenJ9 one but it ultimately shouldn’t make a difference.

   Option 2: Ask Cam or Sameer for known working JRE

   Have Cam or Sameer ZIP up their /path/to/metabase/repo/OSX/Metabase/jre folder and send it to you. Don’t try Option 1 until we know the issues are fixed

3. Copy Metabase uberjar to OSX resources dir

   cp /path/to/metabase.jar OSX/Resources/metabase.jar
   

   Every time you want to build a new version of the Mac App, you can simply update the bundled uberjar the same way. I usually download the new JAR from downloads.metabase.com after it’s up and copy that one into place.

At this point, you should try opening up the Xcode project and building the Mac App in Xcode by clicking the run button. The app should build and launch at this point. If it doesn’t, ask Cam for help!

Releasing

The following steps are prereqs for releasing the Mac App:

1. Install XCode command-line tools. In Xcode > Preferences > Locations select your current Xcode version in the Command Line Tools drop-down.

2. Install AWS command-line client (if needed)

   brew install awscli
   

3. Configure AWS Credentials for metabase profile (used to upload artifacts to S3)

   You’ll need credentials that give you permission to write the metabase-osx-releases S3 bucket. You just need the access key ID and secret key; use the defaults for locale and other options.

   aws configure --profile metabase
   

4. Obtain a copy of the private key for signing app updates (ask Cam) and put a copy of it at OSX/dsa_priv.pem

   cp /path/to/private/key.pem OSX/dsa_priv.pem
   

5. Add Apple Developer ID Application Certificate to your computer’s keychain.

   1. Generate a Certificate Signing Request from the Keychain Access app.

      1. Keychain Access > Certificate Assistant > Request a Certificate From a Certificate Authority.

      2. Enter the email associated with your Apple Developer account.

      3. Leave “CA Email Address” blank

      4. Choose “Save to Disk”

   2. Have Sameer go to the Apple Developer Site and generate a Developer ID Application certificate for you by uploading the Certificate Signing Request you creating in the last step.

   3. Load the generated certificate on your computer.

6. Export your Apple ID for building the app as METABASE_MAC_APP_BUILD_APPLE_ID. (This Apple ID must be part of the Metabase org in the Apple developer site. Ask Cam or Sameer to add you if it isn’t.)

   #  Add this to .zshrc or .bashrc
   export METABASE_MAC_APP_BUILD_APPLE_ID=my_email@whatever.com
   

7. Create an App-Specific password for the Apple ID in the previous step

   1. Go to https://appleid.apple.com/account/manage then Security > App-Specific Passwords > Generate Password

   2. Store the password in Keychain

      xcrun altool \
      --store-password-in-keychain-item "METABASE_MAC_APP_BUILD_PASSWORD" \
      -u "$METABASE_MAC_APP_BUILD_APPLE_ID" \
      -p <secret_password>
      

8. Install Clojure CLI

   brew install clojure