How can I force command-line arguments to a program shortcut in the dock?

Solution 1:

One way to do this is with AppleScript.

Open AppleScript Editor (/Applications/Utilities) and type this in:

do shell script "open '/Applications/Google Chrome.app'  --args --explicitly-allowed-ports=6666"

Save it as an Application, and add that application to the Dock.
Click on the app's icon and you Chrome will open with your custom parameters.

This way works, but it isn't exactly ideal for a couple reasons:

• Running the AppleScript will take a little longer than just opening the app
• You'll have two icons in your dock (the script and Chrome)

This will work, but I'm interested to see if someone comes up with a better answer.

Solution 2:

If you go inside the app bundle (right-click on the app in Finder and select "View Package Contents") and go to the Contents/MacOS folder, there should be a file called Google Chrome whose icon is a black square. Make a note of its name and rename it (something easy like Google Chrome orig). Make a blank text file in the folder with the same name (Google Chrome) as the original file and paste in the following script:

#!/bin/bash

/Applications/"Google Chrome.app"/Contents/MacOS/"Google Chrome orig" --args --explicitly-allowed-ports=6666

Make your script file executable (chmod +x "Google Chrome orig") and see if that starts Chrome properly!

Solution 3:

According to Mac OS X Hints article (found by Googling mac gui application command options), this can be accomplished by editing the application's bundle. I would do this on a backup copy of Chrome to test it out first.

1. Open the Google Chrome application bundle by right/ctrl-clicking on it and selecting Show Package Contents.
2. Within the package, navigate to Contents/Mac OS/Google Chrome and rename it something like Google Chrome-bin.

3. Create a text file at that same location with the name Google Chrome with the following contents:

   !/bin/sh
   
   exec '/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome-bin' --args --explicitly-allowed-ports=6666"
   

4. Use terminal to change the new file to be executable (chmod 755).

Note, I've not actually tried this, only outlining what's mentioned in the linked article.