Know When an App Was Installed on Mac

To find out when an app was installed on your Mac, check the app’s creation date in Finder or use the Get Info window. The most reliable method is to open the Applications folder, right-click the app, and select Get Info — the Created date shown there is the installation date for most apps.

Why the Creation Date Works

When you install an app on macOS, the system copies the app bundle (the .app file) to your Applications folder. The file’s creation timestamp is set at the moment of that copy, which is effectively the installation time. This holds true for apps downloaded from the App Store, from the web, or installed via package installers like .pkg files.

There are a few exceptions where the date may not match exactly:

Apps updated in place: If an app updates itself, macOS may preserve the original creation date rather than updating it, so the date could be older than the actual install.
Apps moved from another Mac: If you migrate an app via Time Machine or Migration Assistant, the creation date is the date it was created on the original machine, not when it arrived on yours.
Apps run from a disk image: Some apps are designed to run directly from a .dmg without being copied to Applications. In that case, the creation date reflects when the disk image was mounted, not a true install.

How to Check the Installed Date

There are two simple ways to see the creation date in Finder:

Open Finder → Applications. Right-click the app and choose Get Info. Look for the Created field under General.
Switch Finder to list view (View → as List), then right-click the column header and enable Date Created. You’ll see the date next to each app without opening Get Info.

For a more precise timestamp (including time of day), open Terminal and run:

stat -f "%SB" /Applications/AppName.app

Replace AppName with the actual app name. The output shows the birth time of the file, which is the same as the creation date.

Using Spotlight and Metadata

Spotlight also stores metadata about files, including creation dates. You can query it with the mdls command in Terminal:

mdls -name kMDItemFSCreationDate /Applications/AppName.app

This returns a date like 2023-11-15 09:30:00 +0000. Both stat and mdls give the same underlying creation date, but mdls can be useful if you want to script the check or verify the date for many apps at once.

What About App Store Apps?

Apps downloaded from the App Store are installed to /Applications just like any other app, so the creation date method works the same way. However, if you want to know when you purchased or first downloaded an app from the App Store, that’s different — the creation date only tells you when the file landed on your disk, not your purchase history.

To see your App Store purchase date, open the App Store app, click your name at the bottom left, then click Purchase History. That shows the date you bought or downloaded each app, which may be earlier or later than the file creation date if you’ve deleted and reinstalled it.

Why the Date Might Be Wrong

Several scenarios can make the creation date misleading:

Copying an app from another drive: When you copy a file to a new volume, macOS sets a new creation date — the time of the copy. So if you copied an app from an external drive, the date reflects that copy, not the original install.
Using Time Machine to restore: Restoring an app from a backup may preserve the original creation date, which could be months or years before the restore.
Apps that modify their own bundle: Some apps (especially those with auto-updaters) may replace internal files, which can change the modification date but usually not the creation date.
App Translocation: On macOS Catalina and later, apps downloaded from the internet are quarantined and may run from a randomized path. The creation date you see in Finder is still the one in Applications, but the actual running copy is temporary.

If you need the install date for troubleshooting or to decide whether to remove an old app, the creation date is generally accurate enough. For a forensic-level answer, you’d need to check system logs or the app’s own preferences, which is rarely necessary.

Alternatives: System Logs and Package Receipts

For apps installed via a .pkg installer (common for Adobe, Microsoft, or developer tools), macOS keeps a receipt in /var/db/receipts. You can check the install date of a package with:

pkgutil --pkg-info com.example.app

Replace com.example.app with the package identifier. The output includes an install-time timestamp. To see all package IDs, run pkgutil --pkgs. This method is more accurate for package installers because it records the exact moment the installer ran, not just when files were copied.

For App Store apps, you can also look at the com.apple.installhistory.plist file in /Library/Receipts, but this is less user-friendly and not necessary for most people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the creation date change when I update an app?

Usually no. macOS preserves the original creation date when an app updates itself, so the date stays the same as when you first installed it. This is actually helpful — it tells you the original install date, not the last update.

Can I see the install date for an app I already deleted?

If the app is in the Trash, you can still check its creation date by right-clicking and selecting Get Info. If you’ve emptied the Trash, the information is gone unless you have a Time Machine backup of the app.

Is there a way to list all apps with their install dates at once?

Yes. Open Terminal and run:

ls -lT /Applications

This lists every app with its creation date in the Birth column. You can also use stat -f "%N %SB" /Applications/*.app for a cleaner output.

Why does the creation date show a date before I bought my Mac?

That happens when an app was included in a backup or migrated from another Mac. The file’s creation date is preserved during migration, so it reflects when the file was first created on the original machine, not when you got your current Mac.

Does the App Store show the install date?

The App Store’s Purchase History shows the date you bought or downloaded an app, but not the date it was installed on your current Mac. If you reinstall an app, the purchase date stays the same while the file creation date updates to the new install time.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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