EasyDMG Finally Automates the Mac App Install Dance

A free macOS utility called EasyDMG now handles the entire disk-image install process automatically, ending a drag-and-drop ritual that has barely changed since Mac OS X launched a quarter-century ago.

What the tool actually replaces

Installing software outside the Mac App Store has long meant the same manual sequence: download a DMG file, open it to mount a virtual disk, drag the application into the Applications folder, then unmount the disk and delete the DMG to keep things tidy. Developer Jeff Schumann built EasyDMG, according to Wired, to automate every step of that sequence. The app is free, carries a hamster mascot, and ships with the slogan "Created out of spite."

Setup requires one manual install — the same drag-and-drop process the tool exists to replace — after which a settings toggle sets EasyDMG as the default handler for DMG files. From that point on, opening a DMG triggers EasyDMG instead of the standard disk-image window, showing a progress bar as it mounts the disk, verifies the application, and completes the install.

Defaults and the fine print

By default, EasyDMG deletes the source DMG file after installing and opens a Finder window showing the new application. Wired reports the app has no telemetry — the only network request it makes is checking for its own updates — and that it doesn't run in the background, launching only when a DMG is opened and closing once the install finishes.

A short settings list covers the rest: stop auto-deleting DMG files, toggle whether Finder opens post-install, launch the installed app immediately, or swap the progress window for a simple notification. One available toggle disables macOS warnings about unidentified developers — Wired's writeup flags that as an option users probably shouldn't take. As Wired's Justin Pot put it, a streamlined app like this "doesn't need many" options: set it up once, then never open the settings again.

Why it matters

• The DMG install flow is one of the few pieces of stock macOS behavior that has gone essentially unchanged since 2001, making a fully automated alternative notable on its own.
• No telemetry beyond update checks addresses a common objection to "convenience" utilities that quietly phone home.
• It's free and Mac App Store distribution isn't required, so anyone installing software via DMG can adopt it without a purchase decision.

For anyone who regularly installs software outside the Mac App Store, the trade-off is straightforward: one extra setup step now, in exchange for skipping the mount-drag-unmount-delete routine on every DMG after that.