Automate Package Creation for JAMF

READER BEWARE: THE FOLLOWING WRITTEN ENTIRELY BY AI WITHOUT HUMAN EDITING.

This guide shows how to package the Colima CLI with macOS pkgbuild for distribution via Jamf. It produces a simple, versioned installer that:

• Installs the colima binary to /usr/local/bin
• Optionally creates a symlink in /opt/homebrew/bin (useful on Apple Silicon)
• Is architecture-aware (arm64 and x86_64)

Notes:

• Colima itself does not bundle Lima/QEMU. If your workloads need them, deploy those separately (e.g., via Jamf or a second pkg).
• Tested on macOS 12+.

Prerequisites

• A Mac build machine (CI or local).
• curl, tar, pkgbuild (Xcode Command Line Tools).
• The Colima release version you want to deploy (see https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases).

Directory layout We’ll create a minimal payload and scripts directory that pkgbuild expects:

colima-pkg/
  payload/
    usr/
      local/
        bin/
          colima        # binary (installed by pkg)
  scripts/
    preinstall          # optional cleanup
    postinstall         # fix perms and create symlink for Homebrew path

Build script (one-command build) Create and run the following script to download, stage, and build the pkg for the local architecture:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

VERSION="${VERSION:-0.6.14}"  # set desired Colima version or export VERSION
IDENTIFIER="com.example.colima"
PKG_NAME="colima-${VERSION}.pkg"
WORKDIR="$(pwd)/colima-pkg"
PAYLOAD="${WORKDIR}/payload"
SCRIPTS="${WORKDIR}/scripts"

# Detect architecture and map to release asset names
case "$(uname -m)" in
  arm64)  ARCH="arm64" ;;
  x86_64) ARCH="x86_64" ;;
  *) echo "Unsupported architecture: $(uname -m)"; exit 1 ;;
esac

URL="https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/download/v${VERSION}/colima-Darwin-${ARCH}.tar.gz"

echo "Building Colima pkg v${VERSION} for ${ARCH}"
rm -rf "${WORKDIR}" "${PKG_NAME}"
mkdir -p "${PAYLOAD}/usr/local/bin" "${SCRIPTS}"

# Fetch and extract the binary
TMPDIR="$(mktemp -d)"
trap 'rm -rf "${TMPDIR}"' EXIT
curl -fsSL -o "${TMPDIR}/colima.tgz" "${URL}"
tar -xzf "${TMPDIR}/colima.tgz" -C "${TMPDIR}"

# Stage binary into payload
install -m 0755 "${TMPDIR}/colima" "${PAYLOAD}/usr/local/bin/colima"

# Write preinstall (cleanup old paths/symlinks)
cat > "${SCRIPTS}/preinstall" <<'EOS'
#!/bin/sh
set -e
# Remove a stale Homebrew symlink if it points to an unexpected target
if [ -L "/opt/homebrew/bin/colima" ] && [ ! -e "/opt/homebrew/bin/colima" ]; then
  rm -f "/opt/homebrew/bin/colima"
fi
# Ensure target directories exist
mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
EOS
chmod 755 "${SCRIPTS}/preinstall"

# Write postinstall (fix perms, optional Homebrew symlink)
cat > "${SCRIPTS}/postinstall" <<'EOS'
#!/bin/sh
set -e
BIN="/usr/local/bin/colima"
if [ -f "$BIN" ]; then
  chown root:wheel "$BIN" || true
  chmod 0755 "$BIN" || true
fi

# If Homebrew is in /opt/homebrew (Apple Silicon default), provide a convenience symlink
if [ -d "/opt/homebrew/bin" ]; then
  ln -fnsv "$BIN" "/opt/homebrew/bin/colima" || true
fi

# Basic smoke test (non-fatal)
if command -v "$BIN" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  "$BIN" version >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
fi
EOS
chmod 755 "${SCRIPTS}/postinstall"

# Build the pkg
pkgbuild \
  --root "${PAYLOAD}" \
  --scripts "${SCRIPTS}" \
  --install-location "/" \
  --identifier "${IDENTIFIER}" \
  --version "${VERSION}" \
  "${PKG_NAME}"

echo "Built ${PKG_NAME}"

Usage:

• Save as build-colima-pkg.sh.
• Run: chmod +x build-colima-pkg.sh && ./build-colima-pkg.sh
• Optionally override the version: VERSION=0.6.15 ./build-colima-pkg.sh

Testing locally

• Install: sudo installer -pkg colima-<version>.pkg -target /
• Verify:
  • /usr/local/bin/colima version
  • On Apple Silicon (if Homebrew is present): /opt/homebrew/bin/colima version

Jamf distribution

• Upload the generated .pkg to Jamf (Packages).
• Create a Policy:
  • Payload: “Packages” → add your colima-<version>.pkg.
  • Scope to your target Smart/Static Groups.
  • (Optional) Add a “Files and Processes” command to pre-create config/state or to run a one-time colima version check.
• Trigger via Self Service or Recurring Check-in as desired.

Updates and rollback

• Rebuild with a newer VERSION and upload as a new package. Jamf will replace the binary.
• To remove Colima via a Jamf script: rm -f /usr/local/bin/colima /opt/homebrew/bin/colima

Troubleshooting

• Ensure PATH on managed devices includes either /usr/local/bin or /opt/homebrew/bin.
• If users need Lima/QEMU for specific VM backends, deploy them as separate pkgs or via a Jamf script (e.g., using your org’s curated binaries).