Solved: MAMP + Moodle on macOS Catalina

Getting Moodle to work locally with MAMP on macOS Catalina requires a few extra steps beyond a standard install.

Steps

Step 1: Download Moodle for macOS

Get the Moodle package from the official macOS download page.

Step 2: Disable Gatekeeper to allow unsigned apps

macOS Catalina’s security settings may block the MAMP app. To disable Gatekeeper:

sudo spctl --master-disable

Reference: How to disable Gatekeeper via command line

Step 3: Find and edit php.ini for your PHP version

1. Open MAMP → Preferences → PHP and note your current PHP version (e.g., 7.2.10)
2. Edit the corresponding php.ini file:

/Applications/MAMP/bin/php/php7.2.10/conf/php.ini

Increase the upload limits (important for large SCORM packages):

post_max_size = 100M
upload_max_filesize = 90M

Step 4: Restart MAMP

Stop your MAMP server, then start it again. Imports and SCORM uploads should now work without errors.

Other useful links

• SCORM suspend_data encoding
• Tracking course-specific data with SCORM
• Moodle forum: PHP settings for large uploads