Update Scout
Native for macOS 14+
Update Scout scans the apps you installed outside the Mac App Store, finds the newest release from the right source, and installs it safely — with signature checks, backups, and one‑click Update All.
%Introductory price — normally $14.99
One‑time purchase · Free updates · Universal (Apple silicon & Intel)
Works with the apps you already have
Update Scout combines the update metadata already inside your apps with trusted vendor and Homebrew sources — then picks the safest action for each one.
/Applications, ~/Applications, and your own custom folders, including apps nested in subfolders. Mac App Store apps are included too, so you can see when they have updates; Chrome web apps and Steam shortcuts are skipped automatically.
Sparkle appcasts, built-in vendor pages, installed Homebrew Casks, the full Homebrew Cask catalog, and the Mac App Store — each app is matched to the best available source.
Notarized downloads, checksum and code‑signature verification, macOS authorization only when required, and atomic replacement with rollback. Passwords are never collected by the app.
Smart version matching understands packaging quirks from Android Studio, Microsoft Office, Plex, and Zoom, so you don't get false “update available” alerts.
Update every compatible app together — up to three concurrent downloads with live progress, cancellation, and clear per‑app results.
Each replaced app is retained as a restorable backup for as long as you like, and every attempt is recorded in a searchable update history.
Check hourly, every six hours, daily, or weekly. Get a notification when updates arrive, live in the menu bar, and launch at login.
A fast SwiftUI app with no Electron, no accounts, and no telemetry. Update Scout talks to vendor feeds — never to us.
Complete English, German, Spanish, and French interfaces with VoiceOver labels, full keyboard control, and locale-aware dates and sizes.
A native window that shows the installed version, the available version, the source it came from, and the reasoning behind every match.
Filter by Updates, Up to Date, Manual Check, Errors, and Ignored — each with a live count. Search by app name or bundle identifier.
See what's new, the release date, download size, the publisher's signing team, and exactly why a version was matched — before you install.
HandBrake 1.12.0 improves hardware encoding, adds new presets for AV1, and fixes several subtitle bugs. This release also updates the bundled libraries and improves reliability on Apple silicon.
Up to three concurrent downloads with live progress. Signatures and checksums are verified, running apps wait to quit, and every item ends completed, needs‑attention, or failed.
Restore a previous version with one click, review a full update history, and keep backups for as long as you choose.
Sample data shown for illustration. App names and icons are trademarks of their respective owners and do not imply any endorsement.
Checking each app by hand is slow. Single‑source tools miss half your apps. Update Scout was built to be thorough and safe.
Tools that only read Homebrew, or only Sparkle, miss everything else. Update Scout combines all of them, so far more of your apps get real, automatic checks.
Naive version comparison flags updates that aren't real. Update Scout's matching rules understand packaging variants, so “up to date” actually means up to date.
It verifies checksums and the app's existing signing identity, keeps macOS quarantine intact, backs up what it replaces, and asks for admin rights only when the destination truly needs it.
Choose the update method per app, ignore or snooze a release, or open the vendor page yourself. Nothing is forced, and running apps are never force‑quit.
Apps you installed with Homebrew are upgraded with Homebrew, using the official API for fresh version data. Update Scout never fights your package manager.
Built entirely in SwiftUI for macOS. It launches instantly, feels at home, and keeps your list of apps on your Mac.
It's not that we didn't want to. An app that updates other apps simply cannot run under the rules the App Store requires.
Every app on the Mac App Store must run inside the App Sandbox — a strict container that blocks it from reaching other applications, running command‑line tools, or modifying anything in /Applications. Update Scout's entire job depends on exactly those abilities:
It inspects app bundles across /Applications and ~/Applications and atomically replaces them when you update. The sandbox forbids touching other apps.
It runs brew upgrade --cask for apps you installed with Homebrew. Sandboxed apps can't launch command‑line tools like this.
It hands control to each app's own Sparkle updater for signature checks and installation. That cross‑app coordination isn't allowed in the sandbox.
Installing into protected locations uses the standard macOS administrator prompt — a privileged operation the App Store doesn't permit.
So Update Scout is distributed directly, the way pro Mac tools have always been: notarized by Apple, signed with a Developer ID, and updated through its own signed Sparkle feed. You get the same trust checks — without the sandbox that would make the app impossible.
Notarized by Apple · Developer ID signed · Signed auto-updates
Buy once. Own it. Updates are free.
Secure checkout via Gumroad · Instant download
Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Universal binary for Apple silicon and Intel.
See what changed in every public version of Update Scout.
One‑time. You buy Update Scout once and own that version, and app updates are free through the built‑in signed update feed.
Any app you installed outside the Mac App Store that exposes a supported source: a Sparkle appcast, an installed Homebrew Cask, a match in the Homebrew Cask catalog, or a supported vendor page. Mac App Store apps are shown too, so you can see when they have updates — those install through the App Store.
No. Homebrew is optional — it's only used to detect and upgrade apps you installed with Homebrew. Everything else works without it.
Yes. Update Scout verifies checksums and each app's existing code‑signing identity, keeps macOS quarantine and trust intact, backs up the app it replaces, and asks for administrator rights only when a protected location requires it. It never collects your password and never runs arbitrary scripts.
An app that updates other apps needs to read and replace bundles in /Applications, run Homebrew, and drive other apps' updaters — none of which is allowed inside the App Sandbox the App Store requires. It's distributed directly and notarized by Apple instead.
Yes. Update Scout is a universal binary and runs natively on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Through its own signed Sparkle feed. Updates are cryptographically verified before they install, just like the trusted apps it checks for you.
Keep every Mac app up to date — even outside the App Store.
Buy Update Scout — $9.99Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Universal binary for Apple silicon and Intel.