Having problems with preference files? Here’s a step by step guide to solving them, including a new version of PermissionScanner.
permissions
A classic scripting task: iterate through a folder and its entire contents, testing to see if each file is readable or writable. It’s straightforward in Swift too.
Repairing permissions on your Home folder is a blunt tool which could cause more problems. This tool looks through for potential problems, letting you fix them one file at a time.
Why we can’t repair system permissions, and some pitfalls and promise in the new technique of repairing permissions on the Home folder.
Apple has started recommending users to repair permissions – not generally, but in the Home folder. Here’s my experience, and a tool to make this easier.
We stopped repairing permissions, because of SIP. Now Apple recommends it for a wide range of problems – only this repairs them on your Home folder.
It’s tempting just to put the folder in the Trash. But this could be a quick way to acquire a more complex problem.
To OS X’s Unix heart, you are not a name but a user ID. The first admin user account is 501, and something rather special.
SIP protects your Mac from rogue KEXTs too, and prevents tools from attaching to protected processes.
So which files and folders does SIP protect, and how can you work around it?
The Eclectic Light Company 