45

In OS X 10.8, for system updates that were installed without being signed into an Apple ID, how can I view the update history?

I looked in Library/Logs for an update log, and also in the Software Update for an Installed Software pane, but I don't have either.

Where can I see the updates?

smci
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Louis Waweru
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  • You only want to see (Apple) system updates, not third-party software or AppStore, right? – smci Jul 10 '22 at 21:03
  • @smci I think either would be interesting still. Tough I do not have this question anymore others might – Louis Waweru Jul 10 '22 at 21:05
  • no, but you explicitly said '[Apple] system updates' and 'Software Update', which means only Apple software; not not third-party apps, not AppStore, not things installed otherwise (e.g. brew, macports). To widen your question now 9 years later, would invalidate the answers below. Anyway there are other Q&A on this site that cover that. – smci Jul 10 '22 at 22:49
  • @smci I’m not even sure if Apple allows the OSes from that long ago to be installed anymore, so whatever is useful is fine with me. Why do you bring it up though? If it’s something about my edit to one of the answers, those are still system-like drivers and files. – Louis Waweru Jul 10 '22 at 23:19
  • LouisWaweru: you're misunderstanding me. I'm simply confirming that this question is only asking about '[Apple] system updates' and 'Software Update', which means only Apple software; not third-party apps, not AppStore, not things installed otherwise (e.g. brew, macports). Ok? (As to the "9 years later" comment, I was simply saying "on SO, shouldn't broaden a question after it has received answers, esp. if that would invalidate existing answers, esp. highly upvoted ones". I wasn't asking about 9-year-old versions of any software.) – smci Jul 12 '22 at 18:45
  • @smci I see. Well, I do agree with you, but no one did anything like that. Or I must have missed it. I thought you were planning to post something that might have been out of scope for the question, which would be fine, being one among a number of other answers. – Louis Waweru Jul 12 '22 at 19:18
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    Done. Edit my title edit to be clearer, if you want – smci Jul 12 '22 at 19:27

4 Answers4

45

It can be found in an easy to read format using the system information app:

System Information.app > Software > Installations

System information can be found in /Applications/Utilities/System Information.app or via Spotlight.

Deesbek
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  • /Library/Receipts/InstallHistory.plist is it, it is just an xml file which is very easy to read if you have vim or an xml editor installed. – Deesbek Oct 11 '13 at 17:18
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    System Information.app > Software > Installations only shows downloaded apps that have been dragged into applications folder? – Pacerier Oct 27 '17 at 09:56
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    You might be able to see more, if you can't already, by making an XML report that can be read by System Information, which also handles the file extension when doing: system_profiler -detailLevel full -xml > ~/MySystem.spx – Louis Waweru Jun 29 '22 at 21:16
18

It is not easy to read, but it appears to be up to date on my machine. You can find the Install history in: /Library/Receipts/InstallHistory.plist

Wouldn't it be nice it this were listed in the Update tab of the Mac App Store?

Ɱark Ƭ
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  • Well done - I've been looking for that file and you saved me from trolling spotlight to find it. Now I might need to write a little app to parse that XML file if someone hasn't done that already. – bmike Oct 11 '13 at 18:23
  • @bmike, the answer that Deesbek gave looks like it is just reading that file, although the answer could be a bit clearer. – Ɱark Ƭ Oct 11 '13 at 18:25
  • Yes - that appears to be a decent enough app to present the data. Wohoo! – bmike Oct 11 '13 at 18:37
  • most decent text editors like vim will parse the xml for you @bmike, then it is just a matter of collapsing and expanding what you need. – Deesbek Oct 11 '13 at 18:44
  • @Deesbek, AFAIK vim doesn't parse XML, it just displays it raw. I wouldn't be surprised it EMACS has a mode to parse the XML. – Ɱark Ƭ Oct 11 '13 at 18:52
  • @Mark AFAIK, VIM does everything! Maybe parse is not the correct word. You have to install a couple of plugins and then fold and unfold with zr and zm – Deesbek Oct 11 '13 at 18:57
  • @Deesbek In that case parse is probably the right word. It sounds like what EMACS does. It's been about 20 years since I had to use vi on a daily basis, so I'm not surprised that it is still being updated. – Ɱark Ƭ Oct 11 '13 at 19:19
  • @Mark, How can I see all modifications/updates to the OS only? – Pacerier Oct 27 '17 at 10:40
  • @bmike, "trolling" spotlight meaning? – Pacerier Oct 27 '17 at 10:40
10
/private/var/log/install.log

/Library/Receipts/InstallHistory.plist
grg
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1.61803
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5

Try:

/usr/sbin/system_profiler SPInstallHistoryDataType

Also, try refining search terms using extended-grep's (grep -E) fuzzy-like search with the or/any operator.:

system_profiler SPInstallHistoryDataType | egrep -A 5 "(macOS|ConfigData|Configuration Data|Device|Xcode|XProtect|XQuartz|BootCamp|Core Services|Technology Preview)"

And see other SP datatypes, such as SPFrameworks. Learn more with the --help flag.

Louis Waweru
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lhf
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