See Zappl in action

Zappl is an application update management system for macOS that handles silent background updates for third-party applications. The system focuses on three areas: user experience, the Zappl Portal, and MDM integration. When application updates are available, Zappl silently updates apps in the background. For apps that are actively being used, the AppBar companion app provides prompts with options to defer or update. AppBar delivers native macOS notifications when updates become available and displays a red badge in the menu bar. Users can view pending updates, update individual apps, or update all apps at once. Apps that are not open at the time are silently updated by Zappl. The History tab shows update information from the last 7 days. Users can check on errors that occurred during updates. AppBar provides access to install apps from a catalog of over 1000 applications. Apps install directly from vendors. The Installs tab allows filtering by app category or searching for specific apps. Organizations can restrict which apps users can download from the catalog through customization options. For apps that cannot be silently updated because they are open, users receive customizable prompts detailing which apps need updates. Prompts can be configured with custom icons, list types, and deferral options. Update progress information can be displayed or disabled. Users can continue working in other apps while updates are carried out. The Zappl Portal is an MDM-agnostic web interface that provides application compliance metrics. The dashboard shows overall compliance statistics for devices and applications, plus alerts across the environment. Eligible Compliance excludes non-active Macs from compliance calculations. The portal displays Mac-level information including compliance percentage, app count, Zappl version installed, user deferrals remaining, and user actions when prompted to update. Device views show Zappl-supported applications on each Mac with their compliance status. The Applications view shows compliance from an app perspective, including release dates of last updates, install paths, and expected code signatures that Zappl verifies before installing updates. Install counts for apps help identify users running unauthorized applications. The portal generates PDF reports that can be scheduled or downloaded on demand. Documentation and the App Catalog are accessible directly from the portal. The App Catalog includes information on every supported app, including Bundle IDs for app installation. Zappl integrates with Jamf Pro through a Custom Schema that handles licensing, configuration, and customization in a single interface. AppBar has a separate configuration profile. Configuration options include allowing only specific apps to be installed by Zappl or excluding apps from Zappl updates. User experience preferences can be set for Do Not Disturb mode, camera usage, and screen sharing. AppBar inherits relevant configuration from Zappl settings. AppBar preferences support custom branding and tailored appearances. Categories and descriptions for organization-allowed applications can be customized. AppBar functionality can be modified, including disabling or hiding the Install tab. For non-Jamf MDMs, iMazing Profile Editor provides the same customization options for Zappl, with AppBar support available.