How Floodtide works
How updates are found
Floodtide scans /Applications and ~/Applications, reads each app's version from its own Info.plist, and classifies it into one of five channels, checked in order:
- App Store managed: detected by receipt, shown as managed, never touched.
- Sparkle: the app's own update feed, read directly from its bundle.
- Homebrew catalog: matched against the community index of Mac software.
- Floodtide chart: a small curated feed for apps the others miss.
- Self-updating: apps with their own updater are updated directly when Floodtide holds the download, and handed back to their updater when it does not.
What happens during an install
Download, checksum or signature verification, then an atomic swap: the old version is kept zipped for seven days and Undo Last Update restores it in one click. After every install Floodtide compares code signatures. A new build signed worse than the old one, or by a different developer, is rolled back and you decide.
The password prompt
Apps in folders macOS protects need administrator rights to replace, exactly like dragging a new copy in yourself. Floodtide batches every such app in a run behind one standard macOS authorization prompt, announced before it appears. Floodtide never sees, transmits, or stores the password; macOS performs the swap.
Privacy
The complete list of network traffic Floodtide produces:
- Update checks against each app's own feed and the Homebrew catalog.
- License activation: your key and an anonymous device identifier, nothing else.
- Coverage sharing, only if you opt in: app name, bundle ID, version, covered or not. The exact payload is shown in Settings before the switch turns on. No device identifiers ride along.
There is no analytics SDK, no crash reporter phoning home, no account system. The trial is tracked on your Mac.
Licensing
One license covers three Macs. Deactivate a Mac from within the app (or just wipe it; stale activations can be cleared by emailing support). After the 14-day trial, scanning stays free forever; installing needs a license.
Support
Email hello@bhopstudio.com. You are talking to the person who wrote the code.