Deploy the desktop app with Jamf Pro

This guide deploys the Dew desktop app to your Macs and sets it up with Jamf Pro. When you’re done, Dew is in the Applications folder of every Mac in scope, already connected to your server.

You need:

• The Dew installer package for Mac, Dew_<version>_macos_universal.pkg, from the download page. It’s signed and notarized, so Jamf Pro can deploy it as it is.
• Permission to create packages, policies and configuration profiles in Jamf Pro.
• Your Dew server address, for example https://files.example.com.

1. Upload the Dew package

In Jamf Pro, go to Settings → Computer Management → Packages, select New and upload the Dew .pkg file.

2. Deploy Dew with a policy

1. Go to Computers → Policies and select New.
2. Under General, name the policy Deploy Dew, turn on Recurring Check-in, and set Execution Frequency to Once per computer.
3. Under Packages, add the Dew package with the action Install.
4. Set Scope to the computers or groups that use Dew, then select Save.

The package installs Dew in the Applications folder. If someone is signed in to the Mac at the time, Dew starts in their menu bar right away.

3. Choose Dew’s settings

1. Go to Computers → Configuration Profiles and select New.
2. Name the profile Dew settings and set Level to Computer Level.
3. Add the Application & Custom Settings payload, choose Upload, and set Preference Domain to dk.trinode.dew.
4. Save the text below as dew.plist, change the server address to your own, and upload it.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
  <key>ServerURL</key>
  <string>https://files.example.com</string>
  <key>VerifySSL</key>
  <true/>
  <key>AutoStartOnBoot</key>
  <true/>
</dict>
</plist>

Each <key> line and the line below it is one setting:

• ServerURL is the server address, the Server URL on Dew’s sign-in screen.
• VerifySSL is certificate checks, Verify SSL certificates in Dew. Keep it <true/>.
• AutoStartOnBoot opens Dew at sign-in, Auto-start on login in Dew. Use <false/> to stop it opening then.

To leave a setting up to each person, delete both of its lines.

5. Set Scope to the same computers or groups as the Deploy Dew policy, then select Save.

4. Check it worked

On a Mac in scope, after its next check-in, Dew starts in the menu bar once it’s installed. If its icon isn’t there, open Dew from the Applications folder. Click the Dew icon in the menu bar: the Server URL on the sign-in screen shows your server address, locked. After signing in, select Settings (the gear icon) in the Dew window: Auto-start on login and Verify SSL certificates are locked if you set them, and show Managed by your organization when you hover over them.

If something doesn’t work

What you see	What to do
Dew isn’t in the Applications folder	Check the policy’s logs for that Mac in Jamf Pro, and that the Mac is in the policy’s scope.
The sign-in screen doesn’t show your server address	Check that the settings profile is installed on the Mac, then close the Dew window and open it again.
The settings aren’t locked	Click the Dew icon in the menu bar, quit Dew, and open it again. Dew reads its settings when it starts.
Still not locked after reopening Dew	Check that the profile is installed on the Mac, in System Settings → General → Device Management (on macOS 13, System Settings → Privacy & Security → Profiles; on macOS 12, System Preferences → Profiles), and that the Mac is in the profile’s scope.
One setting is ignored and the others work	Check that it’s written as <true/> or <false/>, not <string>true</string>. A setting with the wrong kind of value is ignored.

For more detail, see the settings reference.