Mac App Store Provider

Uses mas  to manage Mac App Store apps — things like Xcode, Tailscale, Keka, or Amphetamine that you can only realistically install through the App Store.

Platforms: macOS only

Usage

# Install by App ID (not app name)
hams mas install 497799835   # Xcode
 
# See what's managed
hams mas list
 
# Remove
hams mas remove 497799835

Finding an App ID

# Search — gives you candidates with their IDs
mas search "Tailscale"
# 1475387142  Tailscale  (1.66.4)
 
# Or: list the App Store apps you already have
mas list

Copy the number. That’s it.

Hamsfile example

# macOS/mas.hams.yaml
schema_version: 1
provider: mas
 
groups:
  - tag: dev-required
    items:
      - app: "497799835"
        intro: Xcode - Apple's IDE for macOS and iOS development.
      - app: "1475387142"
        intro: Tailscale - Mesh VPN.
 
  - tag: productivity
    items:
      - app: "937984704"
        intro: Amphetamine - Keep your Mac awake.
      - app: "1147396723"
        intro: WhatsApp.

App IDs are numeric, but YAML will happily drop leading zeros if you don’t quote them. (Yes, App IDs don’t have leading zeros. It’s still a good habit.)

How state is probed

mas list prints all installed App Store apps with their IDs. hams cross-references against the Hamsfile.

Bootstrap

Fresh Mac without mas? hams can install it via Homebrew. Pass --bootstrap to apply and hams runs brew install mas under your consent:

hams apply --bootstrap --from-repo=you/hams-store

On an interactive terminal without the flag, hams shows the exact command and asks [y/N/s]. See hams apply → About the bootstrap prompt for details. brew itself is consent-gated too — a fresh-Mac brew → mas chain resolves in one hams apply --bootstrap call.

Or declare mas under Homebrew in the usual way:

# Homebrew.hams.yaml
- app: mas
  intro: Mac App Store CLI.

After installing mas, you must sign in to the App Store GUI at least once. mas can’t log you in — that’s Apple’s limitation, not hams’s. Sign in once, and the automation works from there on.

Limitations

• No purchases. mas can’t buy paid apps on your behalf. Buy them once in the App Store, then hams apply downloads them on new machines
• Requires Apple ID sign-in. See above
• No older versions. The App Store serves only the latest release, and hams can’t force downgrades