Distributing a pref pane which includes a background app on the Mac App Store

My app is a pref pane which includes a background application in its bundle. I wonder if anybody has already figured out the best practice for distributing a "pref pane only" app via the Mac App St开发者_StackOverflow中文版ore. Are there already any pref pane apps in the store?

Apple states apps containing preference panes are not "self-contained", they install code or resources in a shared location that is not allowed by the guidelines hence in violation of both 2.15 and 2.30 in https://developer.apple.com/appstore/mac/resources/approval/guidelines.html

Let me start by saying that I have not submitted any apps that contain system preference panes (in fact I have not submit any apps to the Mac App Store, only the iOS App Store). This answers is based on my reading of the guidelines and my understanding of how OS X works.

I've read the Mac App Store guidelines and I don't see that they preclude system preference panes. 2.15 says:

Apps must be self-contained, single application installation bundles, and cannot install code or resources in shared locations

Finder treats a .prefpane file like any other file - Finder launches the app which handles files of this type (i.e. System Preferences.app) and opens that app and passes the file as an argument. When a .prefpane file is opened System Preferences.app asks the user were to install it (in the System Library or the Users Library). It is System Preference.app that is 'installing' the .prefpane.

If an app were to include a .prefPane in its bundle and a mechanism for allowing the user to open file in Finder then I do not think the above guideline would have been contravened.

I find it hard to believe that Apple wants developers to cluttered up users menu bars with unnecessary icons when they have already provided a much better solution.

I'd like to know if anyone has tried to submit an app that provides an option to install a system preference pane. I'd also like to know if I've missed some documentation from Apple which discuss this (besides the guidelines quoted above).