IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Updates to Full Disk Access in macOS

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

Four prevalent themes in the discussion

  1. Permission‑prompt fatigue – Users complain that constant pop‑ups for access become overwhelming and lead to habit‑forming “just click OK” behavior.

    “Having to get constantly prompted to grant permissions they don't even necessarily understand to random programs…. And, in time, we become blind to these prompts. ‘ok, Ok, OK!! GO ALREADY! JUST WORK!!’. Exhausting.” – whartung

  2. Desire for finer‑grained, folder‑level permissions – Many argue that “Full Disk Access” is too blunt and want the ability to limit apps to specific folders (Documents, Downloads, etc.).

    “Granting terminal full disk access grants arbitrary scripts full disk access…. This should really allow the user to select a path or paths for applications, because these options are way too broad (especially external disks).” – coderbants

  3. Concern over Apple’s trajectory toward lockdown – Commenters see a continuing trend of Apple stripping user/developer rights and moving macOS toward a more closed, iOS‑like model.

    “The point is about trajectory. Apple continually removes rights from developers, and then users, but grants all those rights to themselves. This has been going on for a while. I left the Apple ecosystem in 2011 because I was concerned about the direction…” – rpdillon

  4. Risk of granting broad access to AI/terminal agents – There is worry that AI tools or scripts can inherit unrestricted disk access from a trusted terminal, creating a serious security vector.

    “The problem isn't people who intend to provide full disk access. It's the people who unthinkingly grant full disk access to, for instance, Codex, because the AI asked them to.” – swiftcoder

🚀 Project Ideas

PermitX – Granular macOS Permission Manager

Summary

  • A menu‑bar app that lists every application’s current TCC permissions (files, folders, camera, microphone, etc.) and lets users view, modify, or revoke access to specific paths with a few clicks.
  • Core value: gives power users fine‑grained control over macOS’s privacy prompts, eliminating the need to grant overly broad Full Disk Access just to access a few folders.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience macOS developers, power users, and privacy‑conscious professionals who frequently grant Full Disk Access to terminals, IDEs, or AI tools.
Core Feature Real‑time permission inspector with drag‑&‑drop folder granting, temporary access toggles, and audit logs of when each path was accessed.
Tech Stack Swift (macOS UI), EndpointSecurity.framework for monitoring file accesses, TCC API via private entitlements (or authorized helper), packaged as a signed, notarized app.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue‑ready: $4.99 one‑time purchase (or optional $0.99/mo for cloud sync of permission profiles).

Notes

  • HN users complained about “Granting terminal full disk access grants arbitrary scripts full disk access” (ashishb) and wished for “more granular permissions” and “single use permissions” (jshier). PermitX directly addresses those frustrations by letting a user give Terminal (or any app) access only to ~/Projects or /tmp instead of the whole disk.
  • Provides a tangible tool for discussion on privacy‑by‑design and could become a reference for future macOS privacy UI improvements.

ShellSandbox – Secure Terminal Wrapper

Summary

  • A lightweight terminal emulator (or wrapper around existing terminals like iTerm2/Zed) that starts each session with a minimal sandbox and only grants file‑system access when the user explicitly approves a path via an inline prompt.
  • Core value: eliminates the need to give Terminal Full Disk Access, reducing the risk that arbitrary scripts or AI agents inherit unrestricted disk rights.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Developers, DevOps engineers, and anyone who runs shells, scripts, or AI coding assistants in macOS terminals.
Core Feature Per‑session file‑access prompts (similar to iOS location “Allow Once”) that can be scoped to a directory, with automatic revocation when the session ends or after a timeout.
Tech Stack Rust core (for sandboxing via Apple’s App Sandbox/Seatbelt), Swift UI for the terminal front‑end, uses execve with sandbox-exec or ptrace‑based file‑access mediation.
Difficulty High
Monetization Hobby (open‑source) – could attract sponsorships or donations; optional premium theme pack for $2.99.

Notes

  • Commenters noted: “Your terminal shouldn't be accessing any files; you just need to be able to launch /bin/zsh” (0c3ca83) and “Granting terminal full disk access grants arbitrary scripts full disk access” (ashishb). ShellSandbox gives them exactly that: a terminal that starts with no file access and only grants what the user explicitly allows.
  • By tying into existing workflows (e.g., launching via VS Code’s integrated terminal), it offers immediate practical utility and a talking point for safer terminal usage on macOS.

AgentGuard – AI Coding Assistant Sandbox

Summary

  • A background daemon that intercepts file‑system calls from AI‑powered coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, etc.) and enforces least‑privilege access, prompting the user for per‑file or per‑directory approval before allowing the agent to read or write.
  • Core value: protects users from unintended data exfiltration or accidental modifications by AI agents while still letting them benefit from AI‑driven code generation.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Developers who use AI coding assistants on macOS and are concerned about privacy and unintended file changes.
Core Feature Real‑time file‑access mediation with pop‑up allow/deny/one‑time options, activity log, and ability to create project‑wide allowlists (e.g., allow ~/src/myproject/**).
Tech Stack macOS EndpointSecurity framework to monitor processes, a small Swift/XPC service that presents NSAlerts, and a rules engine stored in JSON config per project.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue‑ready: $2.99/mo subscription (includes cloud sync of allowlists and advanced audit dashboard).

Notes

  • HN thread highlighted fears: “If your terminal has access, your claude in the terminal has access too” (gregoriol) and “I’m afraid of the harness itself… AI‑based software that can run unsandboxed on my computer” (etatester). AgentGuard directly mitigates these by sandboxing the AI’s file access.
  • Sparks discussion on responsible AI usage and could be adopted by teams wanting to meet internal data‑protection policies while still leveraging LLMs.

TCCOneShot – One‑Time macOS Permissions

Summary

  • A preference pane and background service that augments macOS’s TCC system with “Allow Once” and time‑bounded (e.g., 5 min, 1 hr) permission grants, mirroring iOS location‑service behavior.
  • Core value: reduces permission‑prompt fatigue by letting users grant temporary access without digging into System Settings each time, while still maintaining strong security guarantees.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience All macOS users who frequently encounter TCC prompts (e.g., for screen recording, camera, microphone, or folder access) and want a faster, less intrusive workflow.
Core Feature When an app requests a TCC‑protected resource, the system shows an extra “Allow Once” button; granted access is automatically revoked after the app quits or after a user‑defined timer expires.
Tech Stack macOS System Extension (Apple‑approved) that hooks into TCC via private entitlements (requires Apple’s entitlement for system extensions that modify TCC, or a launch daemon that uses tccutil and sqlite to modify the TCC database with expiry timestamps).
Difficulty High (requires dealing with protected system APIs and ensuring compatibility with macOS updates).
Monetization Hobby – released as open source; potential donations or sponsorship from privacy‑focused organizations.

Notes

  • Users expressed frustration with repeated prompts: “I have to question everything, when I really just want to Get Stuff Done” (whartung) and “I would still like to see… single use permissions” (jshier). TCCOneShot delivers exactly that convenience.
  • Provides a concrete example of how macOS could evolve its permission model, likely to generate lively debate on HN about balancing security and usability.

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