Mackup Safety Fix 🛡️

Prevent macOS system preference resets and keyboard shortcut issues caused by dangerous Mackup symlinks

🚨 The Problem

Mackup is an excellent tool for backing up application settings, but it can create dangerous symlinks that cause serious macOS issues:

• Keyboard shortcuts reset after every restart (Reddit Discussion)
• System preferences don't persist
• Spotlight search breaks
• Dock configuration resets
• Mission Control spaces disappear

Root Cause

Mackup symlinks critical macOS system files like:

• com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist (keyboard shortcuts)
• com.apple.dock.plist (Dock settings)
• com.apple.Spotlight.plist (Spotlight preferences)
• And 400+ other system files

macOS expects these to be regular files, not symlinks.

✅ The Solution

This repository provides a comprehensive fix that:

1. Removes dangerous symlinks safely
2. Prevents future dangerous symlinks with proper configuration
3. Monitors your setup for safety
4. Keeps all the benefits of Mackup for safe files

🚀 Quick Install

# Download and run the fix
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vuvuvu/mackup-check/main/install.sh | bash

Or manual installation:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/vuvuvu/mackup-check.git
cd mackup-check

# Run the fix
./fix-mackup.sh

# Check your setup
./check-mackup-safety.sh

📁 What's Included

• fix-mackup.sh - Automated fix script that safely resolves dangerous symlinks
• check-mackup-safety.sh - Safety monitoring script
• safe-mackup.cfg - Comprehensive configuration with 400+ exclusions
• install.sh - One-command installer
• Documentation - Detailed explanation and troubleshooting

🔧 How It Works

1. Identifies Dangerous Symlinks

The fix script scans for problematic Apple system preference symlinks that cause issues.

2. Safely Converts to Regular Files

• Backs up symlink targets
• Removes dangerous symlinks
• Creates regular files with same content
• Preserves all your settings

3. Installs Safe Configuration

Adds comprehensive .mackup.cfg that excludes:

• All Apple system preferences
• Keyboard shortcut files
• Spotlight databases
• Security settings
• And 400+ other dangerous files

4. Ongoing Monitoring

Safety checker script detects:

• New dangerous symlinks
• Configuration drift
• Backup health status

🎯 What Gets Fixed vs. Protected

✅ Still Safely Backed Up (172+ files)

• Third-party app preferences (VSCode, iTerm, etc.)
• Development tool configs (Git, SSH, shell configs)
• User dotfiles (.zshrc, .gitconfig, .vimrc)
• Terminal applications
• Text editor settings

❌ Now Protected as Regular Files

• Keyboard shortcuts (com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist)
• System preferences (com.apple.systempreferences.plist)
• Dock settings (com.apple.dock.plist)
• Spotlight preferences (com.apple.Spotlight.plist)
• Mission Control (com.apple.spaces.plist)
• All other Apple system files

🖥️ Usage

Run Safety Check

# Quick check
./check-mackup-safety.sh

# Or if you installed the alias
mackup-check

Normal Mackup Usage Continues

# Backup (now safe)
mackup backup

# Restore on new machine (now safe)
mackup restore

# List supported apps
mackup list

Sample Output

🔍 Checking for dangerous symlinks...

✅ No dangerous Apple system symlinks found

🔍 Checking specific problematic files...
   ✅ SAFE: Library/Preferences/com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist (regular file)
   ✅ SAFE: Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist (regular file)
   ✅ SAFE: Library/Preferences/com.apple.Spotlight.plist (regular file)

📁 Mackup backup directory: 172 files backed up
✅ Backup appears recent (files modified within last day)

🎉 ALL CLEAR! Your Mackup setup is safe.

🛠️ Manual Configuration

If you prefer to configure manually, copy the safe-mackup.cfg to ~/.mackup.cfg:

cp safe-mackup.cfg ~/.mackup.cfg

🔍 Troubleshooting

Problem: Keyboard shortcuts still resetting

Solution:

# Check if symlink still exists
ls -la ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist

# If it's a symlink (shows ->), run the fix again
./fix-mackup.sh

Problem: System preferences not saving

Solution:

# Restart the preferences daemon
killall cfprefsd

# Run safety check
./check-mackup-safety.sh

Problem: Mackup says "file already exists"

Solution: This is normal and safe. The fix converts symlinks to regular files, so Mackup will ask about conflicts. Choose "No" to keep the regular files.

📊 Before vs. After

Issue	Before Fix	After Fix
Keyboard shortcuts	Reset on restart ❌	Persist reliably ✅
System preferences	Don't save ❌	Save normally ✅
Spotlight search	Breaks randomly ❌	Works consistently ✅
Dock configuration	Resets unexpectedly ❌	Stays configured ✅
App preferences	Backed up ✅	Still backed up ✅
Dotfiles sync	Works ✅	Still works ✅

🤝 Contributing

Found an issue or have a suggestion? Please:

1. Check existing issues first
2. Open a new issue with details
3. Submit a pull request if you have a fix

Common Contributions

• Additional dangerous files to exclude
• Compatibility with newer macOS versions
• Improved detection logic
• Better documentation

⚠️ Important Notes

• Backup first: Always backup your system before running fixes
• Test thoroughly: Check that your shortcuts work after applying
• Run regularly: Use the safety checker weekly
• macOS updates: Re-run after major macOS updates

📚 Background Research

This fix is based on extensive research including:

• Reddit: Spotlight keyboard shortcuts reset
• Mackup GitHub issues
• Apple Developer Documentation
• Community reports and testing

🔗 Related Projects

• Mackup - The original backup tool
• Dotfiles managers - Alternative approaches
• macOS defaults - System preference management

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Laurent Raufaste for creating Mackup
• Reddit community for identifying the issues
• macOS power users for testing and feedback

⭐ Support

If this fixed your Mackup issues, please:

• ⭐ Star this repository
• 🐦 Share on social media
• 📝 Write about your experience
• 🤝 Contribute improvements

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Made with ❤️ by developers who got tired of resetting keyboard shortcuts every day.