![]() Apps which access their own preference files normally do so via cfprefsd to avoid the problems which result from trying to go it alone. That’s why you can’t manually edit or trash preference files any more: cfprefsd can hold them in its caches when the app is no longer running, and may well overwrite any changes you think you may have made. Since OS X 10.9 (if not before), preferences have been managed by a background service, cfprefsd. They also affected app preferences, and I had several users of my apps who reported strange events including apps which crashed when trying to open, and saved preferences that kept reverting. Some were just as Apple detailed: system preferences which just wouldn’t stick. In Sierra and High Sierra, many of us experienced pernicious problems with preference files. By June 2020, Apple had removed its support note, silently erasing all trace of these procedures. In March 2020, Apple changed the procedure again, to running a new tool repairHomePermissions in Recovery mode, then reinstalling macOS. I proposed alternatives in another chart. As I noted at the time, that seemed rather drastic. Two years ago, Apple changed its support note to recommend reinstallation of macOS rather than use of the diskutil command. Repairing permissions in this way became so popular, and effective, that I introduced my own tools to help, and diagrammed it. If you want to read a full account of the original procedure, this article explains all. In Terminal still elicits usage information. Repairing these permissions required the diskutil command tool, and although it has never been mentioned in its man page, typing These largely result from broken permissions and related problems in ~/Library/Preferences.Īt the time, I noticed that one of the more popular culprits was Near Lock, a new feature allowing you to unlock your Mac using your iPhone. problems with Photos or iPhoto libraries, including inability to import into the library, or forgetting the library each time the app is opened.Safari or SafariDAVClient use large amounts of resources (memory).alerts warning that the startup disk has no more space available for app memory.Preview, TextEdit, and App Store apps (which are sandboxed) may crash when opened.when trying to save, you are told that the file is locked, or that you don’t have permission.you are asked to authenticate when trying to move or alter some folders in your Home folder.changes made to the Dock do not ‘stick’.changes to preference settings, particularly those for System Preferences, do not ‘stick’.Once Sierra had been released, Apple quietly posted a support note (long since removed, and not archived) recommending a new procedure, which could fix a long list of problems, including: The signed and sealed System volume in Big Sur and Monterey is an even better guarantee that everything on that volume must now be in perfect condition.Įl Capitan provided a short break from repairing permissions. One of the less-recognised benefits of SIP was that it effectively prevented this from happening, although improvements in system installers undoubtedly played their part as well. Disk Utility’s command took its time to fix the problems, and sometimes only a reinstallation sufficed. In those days, repairing permissions required going back and checking installation records for the correct permissions for each system folder and file, which wasn’t something the user could do. It also appeared sufficiently common a problem that it merited its own command in Disk Utility. The effects could be subtle and puzzling, or bring sudden disaster, depending on what exactly broke as a result. This article looks at what we used to do, and wonders how we cope without it now.īefore the advent of SIP (System Integrity Protection), anything that had root access to the files in the system could change their permissions. If you’ve been using macOS for even longer, you’ll remember having to repair permissions on the system (Mark 1). That in itself was repairing permissions Mark 2 anyway. When’s the last time that you repaired permissions on your Mac? Just a few years ago, it had become something of a universal panacea, which Apple recommended as a solution to a long and varied list of problems.
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