macos-capabilities

Use security-scoped bookmarks to persist access to user-selected files or folders across launches. Create bookmark data with the .withSecurityScope option, store it in UserDefaults, and resolve it later, always pairing startAccessingSecurityScopedResource with stopAccessingSecurityScopedResource.

Use SMAppService from the ServiceManagement framework to register your app as a login item. Call SMAppService.mainApp.register() to enable and unregister() to disable, and check SMAppService.mainApp.status for the current state.

MenuBarExtra is the modern SwiftUI approach for macOS 13+ and requires less code, supporting both menu and window-style popovers. Use NSStatusItem when you need finer control such as distinguishing left and right clicks or custom badge rendering.

Add com.apple.security.network.client for outbound connections and com.apple.security.network.server for inbound connections. The App Sandbox blocks all network access by default, so these entitlements are required for any networking.

Common rejection reasons include accessing files without user consent, missing network entitlements, writing outside the container, and using Apple Events without the automation entitlement. Use NSOpenPanel or security-scoped bookmarks and declare only the entitlements you need.

Use XPC to isolate crash-prone or privileged work in a separate process with its own sandbox, share functionality between an app and its extensions, or run long tasks that should not crash the main app. Communication happens through an NSXPCConnection with a defined protocol.