WebWatcher/ Docs

Building from source

This page is for developers who want to compile WebWatcher themselves, for example to change the code or to ship a build with their own Google sign-in. Most people should use the released app instead. The source is on GitHub at https://github.com/ivg-design/web-watcher under the MIT License with an attribution requirement: any copy or derivative must credit the project name "WebWatcher" and the original author "IVGDesign", for example in its About section, documentation or README, as the LICENSE file spells out.

On this pageRequirementsBuild with Swift Package ManagerBuild with XcodeAdd a Google OAuth client for built-in sign-inIf it does not work

#Requirements

RequirementDetails
macOSmacOS 13 or later, which is the deployment target of both the Swift package and the Xcode project.
SwiftA Swift 5.9 or later toolchain, which the package declares as its tools version. Xcode 15 includes one.
XcodeNeeded for the Xcode build and for a built-in Google client. The Swift package build alone does not need the Xcode app, only the command line tools.

#Build with Swift Package Manager

The package defines one executable product, WebWatcher, and a test target, WebWatcherTests.

  1. Clone the repository and open its folder.

    Terminal
    git clone https://github.com/ivg-design/web-watcher.gitcd web-watcher

  2. Build.

    Terminal
    swift build

    You seeSwiftPM builds the WebWatcher target. The product is a command line executable under .build/, not a WebWatcher.app bundle.

  3. Optionally run the tests.

    Terminal
    swift test

Use the Xcode build when you need the app bundle.

#Build with Xcode

  1. Open WebWatcher.xcodeproj in Xcode.

    You seeone target, WebWatcher, which produces WebWatcher.app.

  2. If Xcode reports a signing problem, open the target's Signing & Capabilities tab and choose your own team. The project uses automatic signing.

  3. Choose Product then Build, or Product then Run to launch the app.

    You seeWebWatcher.app built for macOS 13 or later, with its menu bar icon on launch.

#Add a Google OAuth client for built-in sign-in

A build from a fresh clone has no Google OAuth client. In that build Add Gmail Account is dimmed, with the message "This build has no Google client configured — see Advanced below.", until you import a client under Settings then Gmail then Advanced: use your own Google OAuth client. To make sign-in work without that step, embed a client in the build.

  1. Create a Desktop app OAuth client in Google Cloud Console and download its JSON. The steps are in Sign in with Google.

  2. From the repository folder, install the file with the script.

    Terminal
    scripts/install-google-client.sh /path/to/client_secret_YOUR_CLIENT_ID.json

    You see"Installed built-in Google client at" followed by the destination path, and a reminder that the path is gitignored.

  3. Build again in Xcode.

    You seeSettings then Gmail then Advanced: use your own Google OAuth client shows "Using WebWatcher's built-in Google client" when no imported client overrides it.

The script copies the file unchanged to Sources/WebWatcher/Resources/google-oauth-client.json. That path is listed in .gitignore, so the client you install is never committed and each clone starts without one. An Xcode build phase copies the file into the app's Resources folder when it exists, which is why you rebuild in Xcode after installing it. The swift build command does not run that phase, so it does not give you a built-in client.

#If it does not work

What you seeCauseFix
"error: file not found:" from the script.The path you gave does not exist.Check the path to the downloaded JSON.
Add Gmail Account is still dimmed after installing the client.The build ran before the file existed, or it was not an Xcode build.Run the script, then build again in Xcode.
Sign-in reports "This is a Web application client. Create a Desktop app client instead."The JSON is for a Web application client.Create a Desktop app client and download it.