MACE STIG Hub

Launch STIG Viewer 2 and 3 on macOS — no Java install, no recompiling, no hassle.

Contents

• About
• Why MACE STIG Hub?
• Quick Start
• Screenshots
• What's Bundled
• Features
• For Developers — Building from Source
• Requirements
• Disclaimer
• Community & Feedback
• Credits

About

MACE STIG Hub is a native macOS app that bundles everything you need to run STIG Viewer 2 (Java) and STIG Viewer 3 (Electron) — with zero setup. No Java installs, no Homebrew, no recompiling Electron from source. Just open the app and click launch.

The problem: Running STIG Viewer on macOS has always been a pain. SV2 requires a Java runtime that Apple no longer ships. SV3 is an Electron app that DISA distributes for Windows and Linux but doesn't officially support on macOS. Getting either one running means hunting down the right JRE, fixing permissions, or extracting and repackaging Electron binaries.

The solution: MACE STIG Hub packages both viewers with their dependencies into a single signed and notarized macOS app. It automatically detects your Mac's architecture (Apple Silicon or Intel) and launches the correct version. One download, two viewers, zero configuration.

Built for:

• Security Engineers & STIG Assessors
• macOS Administrators
• Government & DoD IT Teams
• Anyone who needs STIG Viewer on a Mac

Why MACE STIG Hub?

Zero setup	No Java install, no Homebrew, no terminal commands
Both viewers in one app	STIG Viewer 2 (Java) and STIG Viewer 3 (Electron) side by side
Universal binary	Runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs
Architecture-aware	Automatically selects the right JRE and Electron build for your chip
Signed & notarized	Passes Gatekeeper — no need to bypass security warnings
Native macOS app	Built with SwiftUI for a clean, lightweight experience
Free & open source	Community-driven, no licensing fees

Quick Start

Just want to run STIG Viewer on your Mac? Download the app — everything is included. No Java, no setup, no terminal.

Want to build it yourself or contribute? See For Developers — Building from Source below.

1. Download the latest release
2. Open MACE STIG Hub
3. Click STIG Viewer 2 or STIG Viewer 3
4. That's it — no configuration needed

Screenshots

Light mode

Dark mode

What's Bundled

Component	Version	Notes
STIG Viewer 2	v2.18	Bundled Java runtime included — no install needed
STIG Viewer 3	v3.7	Bundled runtime included — no install needed

Features

One-Click Launch

• Launch STIG Viewer 2 or 3 with a single click
• Architecture detection automatically selects the correct binaries
• Toast notifications confirm successful launch or report errors

Fully Self-Contained

• Bundled JRE — no system Java required for STIG Viewer 2
• Bundled Electron app — no recompiling or extracting for STIG Viewer 3
• All dependencies live inside the app bundle

Native macOS Experience

• Built with SwiftUI for macOS 14+
• Light and dark mode support with adaptive app icon
• Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple
• Hardened Runtime enabled for all binaries

Quick Access Links

• Direct link to DISA STIG/SRG resources
• Link to the project GitHub page

System Info

• View app version, build info, and system details
• Copy diagnostics to clipboard for troubleshooting

For Developers — Building from Source

Just want to run STIG Viewer? Download the latest release — this section is only for contributors.

BundledResources/ is not in the repo (too large for git). Xcode copies it into the .app bundle at build time.

1. Download BundledResources.zip from the latest release and unzip it into the project root
2. Open MACESTIGHub.xcodeproj in Xcode and build

Expected folder structure:

BundledResources/
├── jre-arm64/
├── jre-x64/
├── STIGViewer-2.18.jar
├── stigviewer2.icns
├── sv3-arm64/
│   └── STIG Viewer 3.app/
└── sv3-x64/
    └── STIG Viewer 3.app/

Updating components

Component	Source
JRE	BellSoft Liberica JRE 21 — download Full JRE for both aarch64 and x86_64
STIG Viewer 2	DISA STIG/SRG Tools — extract the JAR from the zip
STIG Viewer 3	See below

Updating STIG Viewer 3

DISA only ships SV3 for Windows/Linux. The macOS build is assembled by extracting the app code from the Linux release and placing it into a macOS Electron shell. Requires Node.js.

1. Download the Linux x64 zip from DISA STIG/SRG Tools and locate resources/app.asar

2. Inject the missing ARM64 database driver — DISA's app.asar only includes the macOS Intel sqlite3 binary. Without the ARM64 version, SV3 hangs silently on Apple Silicon at "Initializing App State":

   npx @electron/asar extract app.asar app-extracted
   
   mkdir -p app-extracted/node_modules/sqlite3-offline-next/binaries/sqlite3-darwin/napi-v3-darwin-arm64
   cp BundledResources/sv3-arm64/"STIG Viewer 3.app"/Contents/Resources/app.asar.unpacked/node_modules/sqlite3-offline-next/binaries/sqlite3-darwin/napi-v3-darwin-arm64/node_sqlite3.node \
      app-extracted/node_modules/sqlite3-offline-next/binaries/sqlite3-darwin/napi-v3-darwin-arm64/
   
   npx @electron/asar pack app-extracted app.asar

3. Download Electron v35.0.0 (darwin-arm64 and darwin-x64) from Electron releases. Use v35.0.0 — newer versions break compatibility with SV3's native modules

4. For each architecture, assemble the bundle:

   • Rename Electron.app → STIG Viewer 3.app
   • Copy the repacked app.asar into Contents/Resources/
   • Copy app.asar.unpacked/ from BundledResources/sv3-arm64/ into Contents/Resources/ (contains macOS-compiled native drivers)
   • In Contents/Info.plist set CFBundleName, CFBundleExecutable, and CFBundleIdentifier to STIG Viewer 3, STIG Viewer 3, and com.disa.stigviewer3
   • Rename Contents/MacOS/Electron → Contents/MacOS/STIG Viewer 3

5. Place finished builds in BundledResources/sv3-arm64/ and BundledResources/sv3-x64/

Code signing

Sign both SV3 bundles with your Developer ID cert, Hardened Runtime, and MACESTIGHub/Electron.entitlements. Sign inside-out: dylibs and .node files first, then chrome_crashpad_handler (must be signed before the framework or it'll fail), then Electron Framework, then the helper apps, then the main .app last.

Archive in Xcode and notarize — Gatekeeper will accept the whole bundle.

Requirements

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel Mac
• No additional software required

Disclaimer

STIG Viewer is developed and published by DISA for the Department of Defense. MACE STIG Hub is an independent, community project that simplifies launching the viewers on macOS. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by DISA or the DoD.

Community & Feedback

MACE STIG Hub is a community-driven project. If you run into issues, have feature ideas, or just want to share how you're using it:

• Open an issue for bugs or feature requests
• Start a discussion for questions or ideas

Credits

Created by Cody Keats — a Mac admin building tools for the macOS admin community.

Part of the M.A.C.E. project family.

Download Latest Release • Report an Issue • Discussions