How to Check Whether a Mac App Can Connect to the Internet

Before I open an unfamiliar Mac app, I like to look at what is inside the app bundle first. This does not prove the app is safe, and it does not replace dynamic monitoring, but it can answer a useful first question: does this app appear to contain code that can reach the network?

On macOS, a normal .app is a directory with metadata, resources, frameworks, helper tools, XPC services, extensions, and one or more Mach-O executables. The main executable is only one part of the picture. A serious check should inspect the whole bundle, not just Contents/MacOS/AppName.

Originally published at https://reverseeverything.com on June 17, 2026.

What these commands are for

The gray blocks in this post are Terminal commands. Terminal is the macOS app that lets you type text commands and ask the system to inspect files.

You can open it from Finder at Applications > Utilities > Terminal, or press Command-Space, type Terminal, and press Return.

Copy each command block into Terminal and press Return. Some blocks are meant to be pasted as a group. If a command prints an error, stop and check that the app path is correct before continuing. Some filter commands use grep. If those commands print nothing, it usually means…