Disable Slack Auto-Updates using PLISTBUDDY

[Mcleveland]

Just in case anyone needs this I wanted to post it for an updated resource.

#!/bin/bash

# Script Name: Disable Slack updates.sh
# Author: [Michael Cleveland]
# Created On: [Creation Date, e.g., 2023-10-31]
# Last Modified By: [Michael Cleveland]
# Last Modified On: [2023-10-31]
# Version: 1.0

# Description:
# This script modifies the Slack application's preferences for the currently logged-in user on macOS.
# It specifically sets the 'SlackNoAutoUpdates' key to 'true', which prevents the Slack app from auto-updating.

# Usage:
# Ensure that Slack is not running or is restarted after this script runs to apply the changes.

# Note:
# This script uses PlistBuddy for editing plist files, as it ensures the file's integrity.
# Be cautious when editing plist files and always ensure backups are made before script execution.

# [Here starts the actual script code]

echo "Starting the update of Slack preferences..."

# Get the current logged-in user
USER=$(stat -f %Su /dev/console)

# Path to the .plist file
plist_file="/Users/$USER/Library/Preferences/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap.plist"

# Key and value to be added/checked
key="SlackNoAutoUpdates"
expected_value="true"

# Check if the key exists and has the expected value
current_value=$(/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Print :$key" "$plist_file" 2>/dev/null)
if [[ $? -eq 0 && "$current_value" == "$expected_value" ]]; then
    echo "The key '$key' already exists with the value '$expected_value'. No changes needed."
else
    # Check if the key exists regardless of its value
    if [[ $? -eq 0 ]]; then
        echo "The key '$key' exists but with a different value. Updating it to '$expected_value'."
        /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :$key $expected_value" "$plist_file"
    else
        echo "The key '$key' does not exist. Adding it with the value '$expected_value'."
        /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Add :$key bool $expected_value" "$plist_file"
    fi
fi

echo "Script execution completed."

Source: https://slack.com/help/articles/360035635174-Deploy-Slack-for-macOS

[tkimpton]

That didnt work for me, but this did

#!/bin/bash

# https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/help/articles/360035635174-Deploy-Slack-for-macOS

echo "$(date) Disabling Slack AutoUpdates"

# GET ALL THE REAL ACCOUNTS ON THE MACHINE
userName=$(dscl . list /Users | grep -v "^_" | grep -v "^root" | grep -v "^daemon" | grep -v "^nobody" | grep -v "^Guest" | grep -v "^com.apple.calendarserver")

for GET_USERS in $userName ;do
    echo "$(date) Disabling slack autoupdates for $GET_USERS"
    su $GET_USERS -l -c 'touch ~/Library/Preferences/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap.plist' 2>/dev/null
    su $GET_USERS -l -c 'defaults write ~/Library/Preferences/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap SlackNoAutoUpdates -bool YES' 2>/dev/null
done
exit 0