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Configuration Files

Often on a UNIX-based system, you find system configuration files in /etc. This is still true in Mac OS X, but configuration information is also found in other places. Networking, printing, and user system configuration details are, by default, regulated by the NetInfo database. Applications usually make use of XML property lists (plists) to hold configuration information. You can view many example property lists by looking in ~/Library/Preferences.

If changing a configuration file in /etc does not have your desired effect, then that information is probably regulated by information in the NetInfo database or by an application’s property list.

For example, users and groups are not handled with files in /etc. To create a user, you instead should use the Accounts preferences pane or NetInfo Manager. NetInfo Manager can also be used to create groups.

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