How to save PNG file from NSImage (retina issues)

I'm doing some operations on images and after I'm done, I want to save the image as PNG on disk. I'm doing the following:

+ (void)saveImage:(NSImage *)image atPath:(NSString *)path {

    [image lockFocus] ;
    NSBitmapImageRep *imageRepresentation = [[NSBitmapImageRep alloc] initWithFocusedViewRect:NSMakeRect(0.0, 0.0, image.size.width, image.size.height)] ;
    [image unlockFocus] ;

    NSData *data = [imageRepresentation representationUsingType:NSPNGFileType properties:nil];
    [data writeToFile:path atomically:YES];
}

This code is working, but the problem is with retina mac, if I print the NSBitmapImageRep object I get a different size and pixels rect and when my image is saved on disk, it's twice the size:

$0 = 0x0000000100413890 NSBitmapImageRep 0x100413890 Size={300, 300} ColorSpace=sRGB IEC61966-2.1 colorspace BPS=8 BPP=32 Pixels=600x600 Alpha=YES Planar=NO Format=0 CurrentBacking=<CGImageRef: 0x100414830>

I tied to force the pixel size to not take care about the retina scale, as I want to preserve the original size:

imageRepresentation.pixelsWide = image.size.width;
imageRepresentation.pixelsHigh = image.size.height;

This time I get the right size when I print the NSBitmapImageRep object, but when I save my file I still get the same issue:

$0 = 0x0000000100413890 NSBitmapImageRep 0x100413890 Size={300, 300} ColorSpace=sRGB IEC61966-2.1 colorspace BPS=8 BPP=32 Pixels=300x300 Alpha=YES Planar=NO Format=0 CurrentBacking=<CGImageRef: 0x100414830>

Any idea how to fix this, and preserve the original pixel size?

If you have an NSImage and want to save it as an image file to the filesystem, you should never use lockFocus! lockFocus creates a new image which is determined for getting shown an the screen and nothing else. Therefore lockFocus uses the properties of the screen: 72 dpi for normal screens and 144 dpi for retina screens. For what you want I propose the following code:

+ (void)saveImage:(NSImage *)image atPath:(NSString *)path {

   CGImageRef cgRef = [image CGImageForProposedRect:NULL
                                            context:nil
                                              hints:nil];
   NSBitmapImageRep *newRep = [[NSBitmapImageRep alloc] initWithCGImage:cgRef];
   [newRep setSize:[image size]];   // if you want the same resolution
   NSData *pngData = [newRep representationUsingType:NSPNGFileType properties:nil];
   [pngData writeToFile:path atomically:YES];
   [newRep autorelease];
}

NSImage is resolution aware and uses a HiDPI graphics context when you lockFocus on a system with retina screen.
The image dimensions you pass to your NSBitmapImageRep initializer are in points (not pixels). An 150.0 point-wide image therefore uses 300 horizontal pixels in a @2x context.

You could use convertRectToBacking: or backingScaleFactor: to compensate for the @2x context. (I didn't try that), or you can use the following NSImage category, that creates a drawing context with explicit pixel dimensions:

@interface NSImage (SSWPNGAdditions)

- (BOOL)writePNGToURL:(NSURL*)URL outputSizeInPixels:(NSSize)outputSizePx error:(NSError*__autoreleasing*)error;

@end

@implementation NSImage (SSWPNGAdditions)

- (BOOL)writePNGToURL:(NSURL*)URL outputSizeInPixels:(NSSize)outputSizePx error:(NSError*__autoreleasing*)error
{
    BOOL result = YES;
    NSImage* scalingImage = [NSImage imageWithSize:[self size] flipped:NO drawingHandler:^BOOL(NSRect dstRect) {
        [self drawAtPoint:NSMakePoint(0.0, 0.0) fromRect:dstRect operation:NSCompositeSourceOver fraction:1.0];
        return YES;
    }];
    NSRect proposedRect = NSMakeRect(0.0, 0.0, outputSizePx.width, outputSizePx.height);
    CGColorSpaceRef colorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateWithName(kCGColorSpaceGenericRGB);
    CGContextRef cgContext = CGBitmapContextCreate(NULL, proposedRect.size.width, proposedRect.size.height, 8, 4*proposedRect.size.width, colorSpace, kCGBitmapByteOrderDefault|kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast);
    CGColorSpaceRelease(colorSpace);
    NSGraphicsContext* context = [NSGraphicsContext graphicsContextWithGraphicsPort:cgContext flipped:NO];
    CGContextRelease(cgContext);
    CGImageRef cgImage = [scalingImage CGImageForProposedRect:&proposedRect context:context hints:nil];
    CGImageDestinationRef destination = CGImageDestinationCreateWithURL((__bridge CFURLRef)(URL), kUTTypePNG, 1, NULL);
    CGImageDestinationAddImage(destination, cgImage, nil);
    if(!CGImageDestinationFinalize(destination))
    {
        NSDictionary* details = @{NSLocalizedDescriptionKey:@"Error writing PNG image"};
        [details setValue:@"ran out of money" forKey:NSLocalizedDescriptionKey];
        *error = [NSError errorWithDomain:@"SSWPNGAdditionsErrorDomain" code:10 userInfo:details];
        result = NO;
    }
    CFRelease(destination);
    return result;
}

@end