AppImage for macOS switchers

This page compares the AppImage terms to its macOS equivalents. It should help macOS to Linux switchers to “get” AppImage concepts quickly.

AppImage concept	Rough macOS equivalent
.AppImage file	.app inside a .dmg file that mounts itself automatically when executed
.AppDir directory	.app directory
.desktop file	Info.plist file
*.metainfo.xml file and package.json file (for Electron apps)	Info.plist file (more elaborate version thereof)
usr/ inside the AppDir	Resources/ inside the .app
AppImageUpdate	Sparkle Framework
No direct equivalent, but update information in ELF section .upd_info	Sparkle appcast
Optional appimaged daemon	Launch Services to register applications in the system (e.g., MIME types, icons, etc.)
No direct equivalent, but AppImageHub central directory of available AppImages	Mac App Store
Optional signature in ELF section	Signatures in /Contents/_MASReceipt/
No direct equivalent (yet?), but use linuxdeployqt (for Qt, C++, C) or electron-builder for Electron apps in the build chain	Xcode IDE generates .app when you click “compile”
appimagetool my.AppDir my.AppImage	hdiutil create -volname myApp -srcfolder my.app/../ -ov -format UDZO myApp.dmg