VanDyke Software

Index

How to Install SecureCRT and SecureFX on a macOS Machine

This tip describes how to properly install SecureCRT and SecureFX from the DMG.

Download the DMG appropriate for your license and your machine's architecture

First, make sure you download the DMG that corresponds with the license type you have or plan to acquire (e.g., a standalone SecureCRT license, a standalone SecureFX license, or a SecureCRT+SecureFX Bundle license). The DMG downloads are disk images which contain the full applications and are not installers.

License Type: Standalone SecureCRT or SecureFX vs. the SecureCRT+SecureFX Bundle
A standalone SecureCRT license is only valid for registering a standalone SecureCRT application installation and cannot be used to register SecureCRT installed as a SecureCRT+SecureFX Bundle. Similarly, a standalone SecureFX license is not valid for registering the SecureFX application when installed as a SecureCRT+SecureFX Bundle.

A SecureCRT+SecureFX Bundle deployment requires a SecureCRT+SecureFX Bundle license for successful registration.

For the macOS platform, even if you install SecureCRT as a separate download from SecureFX, if they are both installed to the Applications folder on your Mac, they are considered installed as a bundle.

• If you have a standalone SecureCRT license, download the SecureCRT DMG file. For example, scrt-9.5.1-3272.macos...
• If you have a standalone SecureFX license, download the SecureFX DMG file. For example, sfx-9.5.1-3272.macos...
• If you have a SecureCRT+SecureFX bundle license, download the bundle DMG file. For example, scrt-sfx-9.5.1-3272.macos...

Machine Architecture: Apple Silicon/ARM64 (M1/M2/M3…) vs. Intel
If your machine has an Apple Silicon/ARM64 M1/M2/M3… CPU, download the "ARM64" DMG under the "Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) Installer macOS" header (…_arm64.dmg).

If your machine has an Intel CPU, download the "Intel" DMG under the "Intel Installer macOS" header (…_x64.dmg)

Installing from the DMG

Once the proper DMG file has been downloaded, open the DMG file in the Finder app (double-click the DMG file you downloaded). You'll see either the SecureCRT app, the SecureFX app, or both the SecureCRT and SecureFX apps visible within the Finder window. If you've opened the DMG for the SecureCRT or the SecureCRT+SecureFX Bundle you will also see a "command-line-tools" folder which will be discussed later in this article.

Note: Do not run the SecureCRT or SecureFX apps directly from the DMG. Instead, drag and drop each app individually to your Applications folder, as instructed below.

1. While the DMG Finder window is active, press Command+N to open a new Finder window (or choose File / New Finder Window).

2. When the new Finder window appears, navigate to the Applications folder.

3. If you are installing only SecureCRT, drag the SecureCRT app from the DMG Finder window and drop it into the Applications Finder window. If you are installing only SecureFX, drag the SecureFX app from the DMG Finder window and drop it into the Applications Finder window.
   
   If you are installing the SecureCRT+SecureFX bundle, first drag the SecureCRT app to the Applications Finder window separately; then drag the SecureFX app to the Applications Finder window.
   
   
   WARNING: If you select both SecureCRT and SecureFX and drag them at the same time to the Applications Finder window, macOS will mark both apps as quarantined and you will experience adverse behavior. Drag each application separately to the Applications Finder window to avoid this macOS behavior.

4. Close the DMG Finder window and eject the mounted "SecureCRT", "SecureFX", or "SecureCRT and SecureFX" DMG.

Running SecureCRT and SecureFX After Successful Installation

After you have successfully installed SecureCRT and SecureFX as described above and have ejected the DMG, launch the app from the Applications folder. Simply double-click on the app from the Applications folder in a Finder window, or use the Launchpad.

If you want the app be visible on your Dock, drag the app from the Applications folder in Finder to the Dock.

Command-line Tools

The "command-line-tools" folder referenced above contains the stand-alone command-line tools named vcp, vkeygen, vpka, vsftp, and vsh. These command-line tools are available with the SecureCRT app and are licensed with a SecureCRT or a SecureCRT+SecureFX bundle license. To install these command-line tools, simply drag the "command-line-tools" folder from the DMG Finder window to the Applications folder in your other Finder window. To use these command-line tools, it's best to make a modification to your ~/.zshrc (or ~/.profile if you're using bash as your shell) and add the folder to your PATH environment variable, as in:

export PATH=/Applications/command-line-tools:$PATH