CODEWITHSUNDEEP
macoscommand-line-argumentsfinder
Mot
Mot

Reputation: 29600

OS X: strange -psn command line parameter when launched from Finder

Our OS X Java application which is launched by a shell script inside the MyApp.app bundle gets a strange command line parameter -psn_0_989382 when launched from the Finder, but not when launched directly from the Terminal. Where can I find information what this command line parameter is good for?

Upvotes: 27

Views: 5352

Answers (2)

Patrick S
Patrick S

Reputation: 1

It seems that older applications that used the Carbon API get started with this argument. If the application was already updated to a version not using Carbon any more, you can unregister the application from the LaunchServices database by:

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -u /Applications/AppName.app/

After this it can be re-launched from Finder to register the new version. Then it should not get this argument any more.

Upvotes: 0

inspector-g
inspector-g

Reputation: 4176

Mac OS X assigns a unique process serial number ("PSN") to all apps launched via GUI. It's used for identifying various processes and instances of executables.

There's nothing I can really add to the documentation, so the best thing is to read the ProcessSerialNumber section of the Carbon Process Manager Reference (original Apple link is dead; this is a mirror).

Upvotes: 31

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