swiftDialog 3.0: Modern Notifications for macOS Admins

The admin tool swiftDialog has been released in version 3.0 and now requires macOS 15 or newer. Among the most important innovations is the Inspect mode, which monitors the file system in real-time via the Apple FSEvents API and is suitable for compliance checks, software deployments, or device enrollment. The entire documentation has been moved to a central website at swiftdialog.app.

swiftDialog is a SwiftUI-based open-source tool for macOS that allows Mac administrators to create custom dialogs, forms, and informative messages for users. The tool is primarily used in scripts and MDM workflows and can be combined with systems like Jamf Pro, Munki, or SimpleMDM.

Breaking Changes and New Requirements

With version 3.0, swiftDialog is dropping support for macOS 14 and earlier. Users of older systems must stick with version 2.6.5. Due to the new minimum requirement, developers can use more modern APIs and remove deprecated methods from the SDK. Additionally, /usr/local/bin/dialog has been rebuilt into a symlink to the compiled Swift binary "dialogcli", making the app relocatable. Direct use of the dialog binary is now considered deprecated.

The new version brings visual adjustments for macOS 26: The software relies on the Liquid Glass design here. This includes a new Squircle icon. The default icon now uses the AppIcon resource instead of an SF symbol. Furthermore, the developers removed old boilerplate texts for Title and Message – empty fields now actually create an empty display.

Extensive New Features

Furthermore, the Builder mode has been updated with fixes and new layouts. Buttons can now be equipped with icons whose position, size, style, and color are customizable. The command-line option --position x,y allows for exact screen positioning. Multiple icons or images can be passed as a comma-separated list. Dropdown menus are searchable, and text fields of type "fileselect" accept initial paths.

Further additions include support for animated GIFs, sound playback from files or URLs, inline text color control, and a customizable linear progress bar that bypasses a macOS 26 bug. With --showdockicon, --dockicon, and --dockbadge, the Dock display can be controlled. The option --hideotherapps hides other applications.

The complete Release Notes for swiftDialog 3.0 list all changes and new command-line options. Users of older macOS versions will also find information on compatible previous versions there.

(fo)