Installing xCode on Yosemite computers and allowing non-admins to run

[msnowdon]

Hi, I have gone through several posts about this but I know things change with different versions of OS X and Xcode.

I need to push down Xcode 7.2 to a computer science lab running Yosemite to be used by students who don't have admin rights. I plan on using Composer to capture Xcode since it asks for an admin password after install and then installs some other things. I'm capturing the receipts so the device knows it has Xcode installed.

From what Ive read, I need to add students or everyone to the developer group by running:
dseditgroup -o edit -a everyone -t group _developer

And I also should enable DevToolsSecurity by running:
DevToolsSecurity -enable

I saw these recommendations from @gregneagle and @rhysforrester .

How does all this sound? I'm open for any advice but just to let you know, I'm not good at scripting.

Thanks

Mark

[bpavlov]

https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=17443

[kerouak]

I just finished packaging and deploying Xcode and Extras.
The simple solution is to capture it in Composer.

So, Take a normal snapshot
Install The Xcode App, enter admin details and restart.
Re start Composer, and install the extras etc.
Then 'create package Source'

Bob's your Uncle!

This worked fine for me.

[msnowdon]

@kerouak That's what I was planning to do. I do try to install things as their native .pkg files as I noticed Composer picked up many folders & files that I'm not exactly sure are necessary.

@bpavlov I have used that method in the past for apps like GarageBand. I may give this a try along with the after script because it installs the app as Apple intended. If I have trouble or run out of time I may revert back to Composer.

Thanks

[bpavlov]

@kerouak I'm not saying snapshots don't have their value, but it shouldn't be recommended when there are methods of deploying software without making any modification to the original installer!
Even if you don't want to use the methods described in that thread by capturing the installer from the MAS you can still download the Xcode DMG from the Apple Dev site and deploying that app as is (even Composer works for this, not using the snapshot method) and still follow the extra steps mentioned in that other thread.

[msnowdon]

@bpavlov , In your AFTER script, are the additional components included in the Xcode download?

[bpavlov]

Yes.

[msnowdon]

@bpavlov , I captured the installer package and had a policy cache it to a computer (because of it's size). I then created a smart group that had Xcode cached. I created an install policy which is targeted to the smart group which runs the installer and then runs the script I borrowed from you.

First attempt it failed, only because it required the OS to be at 10.10.5. Once I upgraded and ran everything again, success.

Doing the happy dance!

Thank you

[bpavlov]

@msnowdon Glad it helped. No need to thank me. I literally picked apart what others were doing and just put it into one script. I'm just sharing and paying it forward! Have a good weekend.