Apps that update or reinstall themselves

Apps update in different ways, and some of those ways don't expect the app to live on an external drive. Storage Studio watches every app you've moved. If an updater puts a fresh copy back on your Mac, Storage Studio notices, tells you, and moves it out again once you've quit it. If an app replaces itself in place and the update breaks it, Storage Studio can put it back from a safety copy it keeps on your drive.

Two kinds of updater

The Internal and Moved tabs show a small label for how each app updates, such as Mac App Store, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft AutoUpdate, Homebrew Cask, Sparkle 2 (package mode), Sparkle 1.x, Sparkle 2 (app mode) or Squirrel / ShipIt (Electron). The ? button in the Apps window explains each one.

Most apps whose updater reinstalls them, replaces them in place, or can't be predicted get the Override badge, so you choose to move them knowing this. Apps labelled Homebrew Cask, Sparkle 1.x or Sparkle 2 (app mode) get Caveat instead. See App safety levels. Apps managed by Setapp are never moved.

When an updater reinstalls an app

Storage Studio checks your moved apps every 10 minutes, and again when your drive is connected.

%% caption: What happens when an updater puts a moved app back on your Mac
flowchart TD
  A[A new copy appears where the moved app was] --> B[You get a notification and the Reinstalled by vendor label]
  B --> C{Does the new version ask for new permissions?}
  C -->|Yes| D[It is left on your Mac and you are asked to review it]
  C -->|No| E{Is the app open?}
  E -->|Yes| F[Storage Studio waits until you quit it]
  E -->|No| G[The new version is moved to your drive, replacing the old one]
  F --> G
  G --> H{Did the move work?}
  H -->|Yes| I[Back to normal]
  H -->|No| J[It tries again later, waiting longer each time]

• The notification is titled "… was reinstalled" and says Storage Studio will move it again.
• It never moves an app while the app is open.
• If the update added new permissions, the notification says "… needs permission review", and the app stays on your Mac. Storage Studio won't move it without you, because moving it could make macOS ask for permissions you wouldn't connect with Storage Studio.
• If moving the new copy fails, it tries again after 10 minutes, then after an hour, then 6 hours, then once a day.

When an update replaces an app in place

Some apps install an update by swapping the whole app in place. When the app is on an external drive, an update like that can fail partway and leave the app damaged. For these apps, Storage Studio keeps a compressed safety copy on your external drive when it moves them. Your Mac's space is still freed; the copy lives on the drive.

If Storage Studio later finds the app on the drive missing or incomplete:

• With a safety copy, it restores the app and tells you: "… was restored".
• Without one, it warns you: "… may be damaged", and suggests reconnecting the drive if it's unplugged, or reinstalling the app if it won't open.

If the shortcut on your Mac vanishes but the app on the drive is fine, Storage Studio simply puts the shortcut back.

For apps that update in place, keep your drive connected while an update runs.

Moving back after an update

If you click Move back and there's already a real copy of the app on your Mac (because an updater reinstalled it), Storage Studio keeps whichever version is newer. If your Mac's copy is newer, the older copy on the drive is removed. If the drive's copy is newer, your Mac's copy is set aside before the drive's copy takes its place.

See also: Moving an app to your external drive · Missing moved apps: hide, recover or remove · A moved app won't open · Self-healing