The Zappl agent sends log output to Apple’s Unified Log. This offers a simple way of collecting and filtering through logs with a set category or from a set timeframe.
Alternatively, you can stream the current Zappl logs using the Console app. To do so, launch Console, then in the filter field select SUBSYSTEM and enter com.dare.zappl as the subsystem name.
Display only logs relating to the scheduled update category from the last $timeframe (see the table below for a full list of available categories)
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log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.dare.zappl" AND category == "ScheduledUpdates"' --info --debug --last 1d
Category Name
Description
Initialising
Contains log information related to the Zappl agent’s initialisation tasks such as the validation of license keys and connecting to the Zappl server.
AppInstalls
Contains log information about app installations. Please note this is not related to app updates.
BackgroundUpdates
Contains log information relating to silent updates which occur in the background for apps that are not in use.
ForcedUpdates
Contains log information relating to the forced update mechanism.
Reporting
Contains log information relating to the reporting mechanism responsible for collecting app and computer data and submitting data to the Zappl reporting portal.
ScheduledUpdates
Contains log information relating to the recurring scheduled updates mechanism responsible for prompting users to quit any apps which need to quit in order to update.
This log stores all historical information outputted by the Zappl agent, from informational output to any errors and warnings encountered.
Filtering through the log using Error: as the search term will display any historical errors outputted by Zappl.
The excerpt below demonstrates log output displayed during a typical app installation.
Text
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Thu Oct 03 16:02:20 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Initialising the Application install mechanism...Thu Oct 03 16:02:20 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Show progress flag specifiedThu Oct 03 16:02:23 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: The Zappl server is reachableThu Oct 03 16:02:23 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: This installation of Zappl is licensed to Acme LTDThu Oct 03 16:02:30 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Firefox found in the Zappl App catalog.Thu Oct 03 16:02:30 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Initialising Firefox install...Thu Oct 03 16:02:30 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Preventing idle sleep...Thu Oct 03 16:02:30 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Checking for sufficient disk space for the Firefox install...Thu Oct 03 16:02:30 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Sufficient free disk space for the Firefox installThu Oct 03 16:02:30 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Checking macOS version requirements...Thu Oct 03 16:02:30 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: 15.0.0 is the same or greater than the minimum required macOS version (10.15)Thu Oct 03 16:02:30 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Downloading universal Firefox installer...Thu Oct 03 16:02:37 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Download completeThu Oct 03 16:02:37 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Mounting disk image...Thu Oct 03 16:02:47 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Successfully mounted the Disk ImageThu Oct 03 16:02:47 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Extracting Firefox-v131.0.dmg...Thu Oct 03 16:02:47 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Downloaded installer hash: cd243b44746f56ee2042572cccab2736c0c6d419f85f90ad163a4ba04979ccb2Thu Oct 03 16:02:47 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: The installer hash matches the expected sha256 hash. Continuing...Thu Oct 03 16:02:47 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Verifying signing information...Thu Oct 03 16:02:48 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Found signature: Mozilla Corporation (43AQ936H96)Thu Oct 03 16:02:48 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Signing verification complete. The App matches the expected code signing. Continuing...Thu Oct 03 16:02:48 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Writing Firefox.app to /Applications/Firefox.app...Thu Oct 03 16:02:57 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Setting permissions - Mode: 755, Owner: root, Group: adminThu Oct 03 16:02:57 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Detaching disk image...Thu Oct 03 16:02:57 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: "disk18" ejected.Thu Oct 03 16:02:57 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Removing downloads...Thu Oct 03 16:02:57 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Allowing idle sleep...Thu Oct 03 16:02:57 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Running post install tasks...Thu Oct 03 16:02:58 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Firefox found at path: /Applications/Firefox.appThu Oct 03 16:02:58 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: The Firefox install was successful.Thu Oct 03 16:03:00 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Displaying install success message to the user. Asking if Firefox should be launched...Thu Oct 03 16:03:07 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: User clicked Yes. Launching Firefox...Thu Oct 03 16:03:08 XG17QVWYLX zappl[17950]: Exiting...
The Zappl agent sends any errors or warnings it generates to the device records in the Online Portal . These records are stored for 30 days, providing an easy way to view issues without sifting through the main Zappl logs. For more information, see Logs.
Using an MDM tool like Jamf Pro (which will be used as an example below), we can capture Zappl logs remotely from a Mac, and upload to the relevant Inventory Record for download and further investigation.
In Jamf Pro, navigate to Settings > System > API Roles and Clients > API Roles
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Create a new API Role, giving it a relevant name.
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The only privileges needed for this workflow are Read Computers and Create Computers.
We can then create an API Client which utilises this role.
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Navigate to Settings > System > API Roles and Clients > API Clients.
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Create a new API Client, giving it a relevant name.
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Choose the API Role you created in the prior step.
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Under the Enable/disable API Client option, click on Enable API Client. Upon clicking Save, this provides you with an option to Generate a Client Secret.
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Clicking on this option presents a popup. Click on Create Secret and you will be provided with a Client ID and Client Secret.
Be sure to copy these details to your clipboard, as the Secret cannot be viewed again without rotating it. We will be using these details with our Collect Logs script in the next steps.
We’re now ready to utilise this API Client in a Jamf Pro Policy
In Jamf Pro, navigate to Computers > Policies, and click on Create New.
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Give your Policy a relevant name, and choose how you want the Policy to trigger.
We’d generally recommend a trigger of Recurring Check-In, with a frequency of Once Per Computer. This allows the script to trigger silently when the Mac next checks in with Jamf Pro, and requires no user-input.
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Click on the Scripts payload and select the Collect Logs script you should have uploaded earlier.
