TW Blog :: Archives for September 2007

Reviewing OS X Package Receipts with lsbom

Relates to Software and OSX

In my previous post I slightly over-simplified the ease with which installed applications can be removed from OS X. Not all software comes packaged in a single application file and in these circumstances the Installer will be used to add the programme. This blind process is somewhat reminiscent of Windows installation which left me so paranoid of infection I was taking system snapshots prior to and post every install!

But the good news is there is a very simple command line tool (lsbom that provides access to the package receipt giving full details of what was installed where and your very nice clean system. Every Installer installation will place a Bill of Materials file (Archive.bom) in the package receipt for the installed software. The receipt itself placed in the Receipts folder on the drive. So just open up the Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app) and enter the following command to see what files were installed where:

lsbom /Library/Receipts/{Application Name}.pkg/Contents/Archive.bom

If you are a Terminal novice you can hit tab as you enter any directory names to get a list of possible options (or auto-complete if only a single matching directory). This is useful for entering the application name if there are several alternatives or you are not entirely sure of spelling.

Posted on Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 at 10:15:27.