Here are 3 examples of flat packages:Īs can be seen on these pictures, a flat package can contains 5 different files: We won't discuss metapackage in this document for the time being.

You can use Pacifist to see the files from the package, extract the payload or a specific file from the payload.Ī flat package can describe either a metapackage or a single package.The latest available version of the xar source code used by Apple is available on the Apple Open Source website. The latest version of xar at the time of this writing is 1.5.2 and it does not compile correctly on Mac OS X 10.5. You can also extract files from the package using this tool. You can list the contents of a flat package using the xar tool.Be aware this application is unfinished and buggy.

This application is within the PackageMaker application bundle so you need to have installed the Developer Tools. This will allow you to see which files are within the archive and inspect the contents of some of these files.

You can open a flat package using the Flat Package Editor application.You can inspect the contents of a flat package 3 ways: This type of package is still supported in Mac OS X 10.5 but a new format of package was introduced: flat packages.įlat packages are called that way supposedly because the package is now just a file. With previous versions of Mac OS X, a package was a Mac OS X bundle that contains a payload, scripts and a description of the package requirements and behavior. Please keep in mind, this is built from reverse-engineering the format so it may contain inaccuracies for options that are both undocumented and kept secret by Apple. This document will try to document the Flat Package Format introduced by Apple in Mac OS X 10.5. Flat Package Format - The missing documentation Flat Package Format - The missing documentation Description

Flats for apple instal