So I'm reworking couple things in my app. And I noticed I had this old code that does the following: Creates a temporary directory. Writes a file in the temporary directory. After the file is written moves the file out of the temporary location and places it in its final destination. Okay so I was not creating the temporary directory using the recommended API. I was simply doing something like this: NSURL *tempDirectory = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:[NSTemporaryDirectory() stringByAppendingPathComponent:[NSProcessInfo processInfo].globallyUniqueString]]; // Create tempDirectory and write files inside it. Now I just changed the code to use the recommended API which takes the the volume of the target destination into account: -URLForDirectory:inDomain:appropriateForURL:create:error:) and I pass in NSItemReplacementDirectory and a url to appropriateForURL so the destination volume is taken into account. Now I have external storage mounted and I use the recommended approach. I discovered NSFileManager simply writes a directory right in a user facing location titled: **(A Document Being Saved By App Name) ** and the folder is not hidden. Is this intended behavior for this API? Are temporary files supposed to be user facing? I know it is good practice to clean up temporary stuff when you are done but in crashes or just forgetting to clean up will leave these behind which isn't the behavior I expect for "temporary files." Also if the user is viewing the folder in Finder they'll see these A Document Being Saved By App Name folders appear and disappear in the window as my app does this work.

Since the introduction of the siblings / and /System/Volumes/Data architecture, some very basic, critical commands seems to have a broken behaviour ( cp, rsync, tar, cpio…). As an example, ditto which was introduced more than 10 years ago to integrate correctly all the peculiarity of HFS Apple filesystem as compared to the UFS Unix filesystem is not behaving correctly. For example, from man ditto: --rsrc Preserve resource forks and HFS meta-data. ditto will store this data in Carbon-compatible ._ AppleDouble files on filesystems that do not natively support resource forks. As of Mac OS X 10.4, --rsrc is default behavior. [...] --extattr Preserve extended attributes (requires --rsrc). As of Mac OS X 10.5, --extattr is the default. and nonetheless: # ls -@delO /private/var/db/ConfigurationProfiles/Store drwx------@ 5 root wheel datavault 160 Jan 20 2024 /private/var/db/ConfigurationProfiles/Store                            ********* com.apple.rootless 28 *************************** # mkdir tmp # ditto /private/var/db/ConfigurationProfiles tmp ditto: /Users/alice/Security/Admin/Apple/APFS/tmp/Settings: Operation not permitted ditto: /Users/alice/Security/Admin/Apple/APFS/tmp/Store: Operation not permitted # ls -@delO tmp/Store drwx------ 5 root wheel - 160 Aug 8 13:55 tmp/Store                            * # The extended attribute on copied directory Store is empty, the file flags are missing, not preserved as documented and as usual behaviour of ditto was since a long time ( macOS 10.5 ). cp, rsync, tar, cpio exhibit the same misbehaviour. But I was using ditto to be sure to avoid any incompatibility with the Apple FS propriaitary modifications. As a consequence, all backup scripts and applications are failing more or less silently, and provide corrupted copies of files or directories. ( I was here investigating why one of my security backup shell script was making corrupted backups, and only on macOS ). How to recover the standard behaviour --extattr working on modern macOS?

following the update of the system of my MBP 16" M1 to beta 26.4 none of my external drives work anymore

I see this in Tahoe Beta release notes macOS now supports the Apple Sparse Image Format (ASIF). These space-efficient images can be created with the diskutil image command-line tool or the Disk Utility application and are suitable for various uses, including as a backing store for virtual machines storage via the Virtualization framework. See VZDiskImageStorageDeviceAttachment. (152040832) I'm developing a macOS app using the Virtualization framework and need to create disk images in the ASIF (Apple Sparse Image Format) to make use of the new feature in Tahoe Is there an official way to create/resize ASIF images programmatically using Swift? I couldn’t find any public API that supports this directly. Any guidance or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi, I’m working on a macOS app that includes a file browser component. And I’m trying to match Finder’s behavior for color tags and folder icons. For local files/folders everything works fine: Tag color key returns the expected label number via NSColor * labelColor = nil; [fileURL getResourceValue:&labelColor forKey:NSURLLabelColorKey error:nil]; NSNumber * labelKey = nil; [fileURL getResourceValue:&labelKey forKey:NSURLLabelNumberKey error:nil]; QLThumbnailGenerator obtains the expected colored folder icon (including emoji/symbol overlay if set) via QLThumbnailGenerationRequest * request = [[QLThumbnailGenerationRequest alloc] initWithFileAtURL:fileURL size:iconSize scale:scaleFactor representationTypes:QLThumbnailGenerationRequestRepresentationTypeIcon]; request.iconMode = YES; [[QLThumbnailGenerator sharedGenerator] generateBestRepresentationForRequest:request completionHandler:^(QLThumbnailRepresentation * _Nullable thumbnail, NSError * _Nullable error) { if (thumbnail != nil && error == nil) { NSImage * thumbnailImage = [thumbnail NSImage]; // ... } }]; However, for items on iCloud Drive (whether currently downloaded locally or only stored in the cloud), the same code always produces gray colors, while Finder shows everything correctly: NSURLLabelNumberKey always returns 1 (gray) for items with color tags, and 0 for non-tagged. Folder icons returned via QLThumbnailGenerator are gray, no emoji/symbol overlays. Reading tag data from xattr gives values like “Green\1” (tag name matches, but numeric value is still "Gray"). Also, if I move a correctly-tagged local item into iCloud Drive, it immediately becomes gray in my app (Finder still shows the correct colors). Question: What is the supported way to retrieve Finder tag colors and the correct folder icon appearance (color + overlays) for items in iCloud Drive, so that the result matches Finder? I am on macOS Tahoe 26.2/26.3, Xcode 26.2 (17C52). If you need any additional details, please let me know. Thanks!

I am building an app for iOS and MacCatalyst that indexes files by storing their local paths. Because the app relies on the file remaining at its original location, I only want to accept items that can be opened in place. I am struggling to determine if an item is "Open In Place" compatible early in the drag-and-drop lifecycle. Specifically: In dropInteraction(_:canHandle:) and dropInteraction(_:sessionDidUpdate:), calling itemProvider.registeredTypeIdentifiers(fileOptions: [.openInPlace]) returns an empty array. Only once the drop is actually committed in dropInteraction(_:performDrop:) does that same call return the expected type identifiers. This creates a poor user experience. I want to validate the "In Place" capability at the very start of the session so the drop target only activates for valid files. If an item is ephemeral (like a dragged photo from the Photos app or a temporary export), the drop zone should not react at all. How can I reliably detect if an NSItemProvider supports .openInPlace before the performDrop delegate method is called?

I have a file that can not be removed. When I attempt rm -f /Applications/CrashPlan.app I get "Operation not permitted"Here is the scenario, CrashPlan.app was installed on the MacBook Pro (MacBookPro14,2) running 10.14.4. I found out it was an older version of CrashPlan so I downloaded the installer for the new version and ran it. The installed failed and left behind a file of size 0K.-rw-r--r--@ 1 root admin 0 Apr 11 11:43 CrashPlan.appI then tried to remove the 0K file in terminal with sudo rm -f /Applications/CrashPlan.app and that failed with operation not permitted. I then booted into Recovery mode and ran csrutil disable from terminal and rebooted.sudo rm -f /Applications/CrashPlan.app still failed with operation not permitted.I ran csrutil status in terminal to make sure that sip was disabled and got back: System Integrity Protection status: disabled.I tried booting into single user mode and mounted the drive and tried to rm from there and got the same result. So, from single user mode I did the following:mv /Applications /ApplicationsOLDmkdir /Applicationsmv /ApplicationsOLD/* /Applications/and got an error "Operation not permitted" for CrashPlan.apprebooted and was able to install the new version of CrashPlan, but now I have a folder /ApplicationsOLD that I can not get rid of.Any ideas?

I am developing an application on macOS in SwiftUI which exchanges files with other processes on a network. Some of these processes may be on Linux and write to a network drive. The files are refreshed at 10, 15 or 60 second intervals, and keep the same name. The software is supposed to run 24/7 and have persistent paths, so that on restart it does not need setting up. And it runs in the sandbox. I have got this working with macOS-only external processes by putting the exchange files in a fixed folder on the network storage and using security-scoped bookmarks to the file and or folder. But it doesn't work so well when one of the writing processes is a Linux process writing to its own storage. I can put a symlink in my fixed folder and if i select the folder and the symlink after each app restart, it works. but how can i make such a set-up persistent so it works after app restart without manual selection?

I've written an PDF viewing app, and there seems to be a correlation between files opened by the app and files that Time Machine says couldn't be backed up. The files can still "not be backed up", even after the app has closed them. Is there anything I specifically need to do to sever the link between the file and the app?

FB21772424 On any iPhone or iPad running 26.3 beta 3 with UIFileSharingEnabled enabled via Xcode, a file cannot be manually copied to/from macOS or manually deleted from Finder but 26.3 beta 2 works fine running on any iPhone or iPad. The version of macOS is irrelevant as both macOS 26.2.1 and macOS 26.3 beta 3 are unable to affect file changes via macOS Finder on iPhone or iPad running 26.3 beta 3 but can affect file changes via macOS Finder on iPhone or iPad running 26.2.1 Thank you.

Hello, I have an asset pack that I'm use to periodically distribute a sqlite database thats being used to an NSPersistentStore. Because the database is over a few GBs, and the files in an AssetPack are not mutable, I have to stream the database into a temporary file, then replace my NSPersistentStore. This requires that the user has 3x the storage available of the database, and permanently uses twice to storage needed. I'd like: To be able to mark a URL/File to be accessible for read/write access To be able to mark a file / URL as consumed when it's no needed. So that it can be cleared from the user storage while still maintaining an active subscription to the asset pack for updates. Thank you

General: Forums subtopic: App & System Services > Core OS Forums tags: Files and Storage, Foundation, FSKit, File Provider, Finder Sync, Disk Arbitration, APFS Foundation > Files and Data Persistence documentation Low-level file system APIs are documented in UNIX manual pages File System Programming Guide archived documentation About Apple File System documentation Apple File System Guide archived documentation File system changes introduced in iOS 17 forums post On File System Permissions forums post Extended Attributes and Zip Archives forums post Unpacking Apple Archives forums post Creating new file systems: FSKit framework documentation Building a passthrough file system sample code File Provider framework documentation Finder Sync framework documentation App Extension Programming Guide > App Extension Types > Finder Sync archived documentation Managing storage: Disk Arbitration framework documentation Disk Arbitration Programming Guide archived documentation Mass Storage Device Driver Programming Guide archived documentation Device File Access Guide for Storage Devices archived documentation BlockStorageDeviceDriverKit framework documentation Volume format references: Apple File System Reference TN1150 HFS Plus Volume Format Share and Enjoy — Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

It's quite common for app bundles to be distributed in .zip files, and to be stored on-disk as filesystem-compressed files. However, having them both appears to be an edge case that's broken for at least two major releases! (FB19048357, FB19329524) I'd expect a simple ditto -x -k appbundle.zip ~/Applications (-x: extract, -k: work on a zip file) to work. Instead it spits out countless errors and leaves 0 Byte files in the aftermath 😭 Please fix.

We are using a java program as an installer for a software suite. This program is bundled inside a signed and notarized Mac app, but it uses the system installed Java (from env). For installing software, it requires the App Management permission (currently under System Settings › Privacy & Security › App Management). Since the program runs via the system provided Java executable, that one is the executable, that needs said permission. In the past, it was possible to add java to said permissions list. With macOS 26.2 it is no longer possible. I think, this change happened with 26.2. It was definitely still working with macOS 15 (I can reproduce it there), and I am confident, that it also still worked under 26.1. In Console.app I can see errors like this one /AppleInternal/Library/BuildRoots/4~CCKzugBjdyGA3WHu9ip90KmiFMk4I5oJfOTbSBk/Library/Caches/com.apple.xbs/Sources/SecurityPref/Extension/Privacy/TCC+PrivacyServicesProvider.swift:227 add(record:to:) No bundle or no bundle ID found for record TCCRecord(identifier: "/opt/homebrew/Cellar/sdkman-cli/5.19.0/libexec/candidates/java/11.0.29-tem/bin/rmic", identifierType: SecurityPrivacyExtension.TCCIdentifierType.path, access: SecurityPrivacyExtension.TCCAccess.full, managed: false, allowStandardUserToSetSystemService: false, subjectIdentityBundleIdentifier: nil, indirectObjectIdentityBundleIdentifier: nil, indirectObjectIdentityFileProviderIdentifier: nil, tccAuthorization: <OS_tcc_authorization_record: 0xa97d0ba80>) This is reproducible for various different Java installations. I can also not add Java to the other permissions that I tried. Since Java is not installed in a bundled app but instead as a UNIX executable in a bin-folder, the error No bundle or no bundle ID found for record makes sense. I expect this to also affect other use cases where programs are provided as UNIX executables such as Python or C-Compilers like g++. While it is possible to bundle an entire JRE inside each app, we intentionally chose not to as this massively increases app size. If this issue is not resolved or a workaround can be found, this is the only option that remains for us. I am however worried that there are other use cases where this is not an option.

Our app attempts to install a PDF workflow in ~/Library/PDF Services but on a clean install of newer macOS versions, that directory no longer exists. Attempting to create the folder requires prompting for user permission to access the ~/Library directory and then prompting the user to access the newly created ~/Library/PDF Services directory. This is annoying and awkward. Creating the PDF Service in the sandbox Library directory does nothing useful since the PDF workflow does not show up in the PDF workflow list in the print dialog. We would like to create both directories in one step, or have the OS create the folder like it used to. Is there an entitlement that will allow our app access to the ~/Library directory without requiring Full Disk Access? Is there a way to have the OS create a symlink in ~/Library for the PDF Services directory that works with macOS 14 and later?

Environment macOS Tahoe 26.2 (Build 25C56) Also tested with macOS 26.3 Developer Beta - same issue Windows Server 2022 DFS namespace Connection via Tailscale VPN (but also tested with direct network connection) Problem Description When connecting to a Windows Server 2022 DFS namespace from macOS Tahoe, the root namespace connects successfully, but all subfolders appear empty and return either: "No route to host" "Authentication error" (alternates inconsistently) Steps to Reproduce Set up a Windows Server 2022 DFS namespace (e.g., \\domain.com\fs) Add DFS folder targets pointing to file servers (e.g., \\fs02\share, \\fs03\share) From macOS Tahoe, connect via Finder: smb://domain.com/fs Root namespace mounts successfully Issue: Subfolders show as empty or return "No route to host" when accessed What Works Direct SMB connections to individual file servers work perfectly: smb://10.118.0.26/sharename ✓ smb://fs02.domain.com/sharename ✓ Same DFS namespace works from Windows clients Same DFS namespace worked from macOS Sonoma 14.4+ What Doesn't Work DFS referrals from macOS Tahoe 26.x to any DFS folder target The issue persists regardless of: Kerberos vs NTLM authentication SMB signing enabled/disabled on servers Various /etc/nsmb.conf configurations DNS resolution (tested with IPs and FQDNs) Historical Context A similar DFS referral bug existed in macOS Sonoma 14.0 and was fixed in 14.1. This appears to be a regression in macOS Tahoe 26. Request Please investigate the DFS referral handling in macOS Tahoe. The fact that direct SMB connections work while DFS referrals fail suggests an issue specifically in the DFS referral processing code. Feedback Assistant report will be filed separately.

I got this error despite documentation saying it exits: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/urlresourcevalues/tagnames I'm building for iPadOS 26.2

I have an app that has been using the following code to down load audio files: if let url = URL(string: episode.fetchPath()) { var request = URLRequest(url: url) request.httpMethod = "get" let task = session.downloadTask(with: request) And then the following completionHandler code: func urlSession(_ session: URLSession, downloadTask: URLSessionDownloadTask, didFinishDownloadingTo location: URL) { try FileManager.default.moveItem(at: location, to: localUrl) In the spirit of modernization, I'm trying to update this code to use async await: var request = URLRequest(url: url) request.httpMethod = "get" let (data, response) = try await URLSession.shared.data(for: request) try data.write(to: localUrl, options: [.atomicWrite, .completeFileProtection]) Both these code paths use the same url value. Both return the same Data blobs (they return the same hash value) Unfortunately the second code path (using await) introduces a problem. When the audio is playing and the iPhone goes to sleep, after 15 seconds, the audio stops. This problem does not occur when running the first code (using the didFinish completion handler) Same data, stored in the same URL, but using different URLSession calls. I would like to use async/await and not have to experience the audio ending after just 15 seconds of the device screen being asleep. any guidance greatly appreciated.

Is there a way to enumerate all files within a folder of an asset pack or just all files in general? My application is using the Apple demo code to load a file from an Apple hosted asset pack: let descriptor = try AssetPackManager.shared.descriptor(for: "NAV/NavData.db3") defer { try descriptor.close() } if let path = path(for: descriptor) { self.database = try Database(path: path) } As my "Navigation Data" is updated each month with an updated asset pack I would like to have the name of the .db3 file reflect the current data cycle (e.g. NAV2601.db3, NAV2602.db3, ...) Ideally I would like to iterate over all files within the NAV folder of the current asset pack and pick the most recent one. Unfortunately, neither the AssetPackManager nor the AssetPack object seem to include an API for this. It would be cool to have something like: let files = try AssetPackManager.shared.files(for: "NAV/") for file in files { //Check and load }

I’m currently facing a disk space limitation on my Mac. I’ve already freed up some storage by following the suggestions shared in a previous post, which helped partially, but the issue is not fully resolved and space is still a bottleneck for my workflow. To move forward, I’d like to ask a very concrete question: Is it safe and supported to move Xcode to an external hard drive (SSD), use it from there, and simply connect the drive whenever I need to work with Xcode? Specifically: Are there known issues with performance, stability, or updates? Are there components that must remain on the internal disk to avoid unexpected behavior? Is this a reasonable long-term setup, or just a temporary workaround? I want to make sure I’m not setting myself up for hidden problems down the road. Thanks in advance for any clarification or best practices you can share.