Question :

My children would like to play Minecraft on their Macs, but they have managed OSX user accounts with Parental Controls turned on. After downloading Minecraft from the Mojang website, I can do the usual install by drag&drop, but when double-clicking the Minecraft-app, I get an error message saying that if I am trying to run Minecraft from the .dmg, I should first move it to the Applications folder. I am trying to run it from within the Applications folder however…

Is there any way to fix this ?

Answer :

Yes there is, but since OSX 10.11 El_Capitan is keeping Java out of view (and away from use and install), the solution is different from the one that used to work before. [see previous post on this subject]

Here’s how to install Minecraft 1.9 (and newer ?) on a managed user account in OSX 10.11 El_Capitan :

• login to OSX using the restricted user account
• go to Mojang.com
• login using your eMail-address (not your username) and your password
• download the MacOSX-version there
• after downloading, open the .dmg file by double-clicking on it
• as instructed, drag the Minecraft-icon onto the Applications-folder-icon next to it to install
• then, open the System Preferences and click on Parental Controls
• when asked, login with your administrator’s name & password
• in the window that opens, select the restricted user’s name from the list at the left
• then click the “Apps”-tab and make sure there’s a checkmark at “Limit Applications on this Mac” and type “minecraft” in the Search field
• then put a checkmark in front of all Minecraft-apps that are listed ; which might be “minecraft” and/or “Minecraft Launcher” (if no Minecraft apps are listed, skip this step)
• then click the “Web”-tab and make sure there’s a checkmark at “try to limit access to adult websites” and click the “Customize…”-button
• in the window that opens, at “always allow access to these websites:”, click the PlusSign-button and enter these websites :
  • https://launcher.mojang.com
  • https://launchermeta.mojang.com
  • https://::ffff:54.230.128.94
  • https://::ffff:54.192.130.117
• then click OK
• now, open the Applications folder and double-click the Minecraft-app
• when the Minecraft-app opens, left-click [CMD-click] it’s icon in the Dock and select “Keep in Dock” from the popup-list
• if confronted with an error message saying access to one or more websites is needed, but not allowed, type your administrator’s name & password to allow access and proceed
• now, Minecraft should launch without a problem
• if Minecraft still won’t launch, just redo this procedure from start (since, for some reason one of the settings needed did not jet stick…) and you should be alright

Enjoy !