Update past Local 6.4.3 – macOS

You may have noticed that Local’s auto-update broke for Macs when updating to the 6.4.3 release. This was caused by a change in how we sign the Local app for MacOS.

Getting back to work is easy! Instead of using the Local’s updater, download and install Local from the website — no need to uninstall first!

Redownloading Local shouldn’t impact your existing sites, but it’s always a good idea to back up your sites or export them just to be safe. Local will continue to point to the same directory you have them stored in now.

But why did it break!?

Sorry about the hassle and the scary popup. Since you’re curious and asked, under the hood, this update is the same Local app with the tools you need to work with WordPress.

The error encountered is due to a change in how we sign the Local app with our Apple Developer account. This signature is how your MacOS computer knows that the updated application is the correct one, from us, the Local team.

You’re probably thinking, “Uhh… so that janky broken error window is a feature, not a bug?”

Sort of! We didn’t fully anticipate that error window. Still, now you know: Local’s no longer signed by “Fancy Chap, LLC” and instead is signed by “WPEngine, Inc.” (Fancy Chap, in case you don’t know, was the original company that built Flywheel, acquired Local, and was acquired by WP Engine.)

The Local 6.4.3 release brought many new versions of PHP. While we worked through updating those versions, we also focused on improving the tooling used to build Local. Part of that improvement included updating who signs the Local app.

Going forward, the updater will work as expected. You’ll also have more confidence that Local is verifiably coming from the Local Team at “WP Engine, Inc.”

Manually update Local

On MacOS

1. Quit Local if running
2. Open the downloaded .dmg and drag Local.app to /Applications. If prompted to replace the existing version, go ahead and replace the existing version.