[GH-ISSUE #546] dust triggering macos privacy protection promp, even when filtering out the /Users folder #239

New Issue

2026-06-08T11:26:17+03:00

zhus commented

2026-06-08 11:26:17 +03:00

Originally created by @acecilia on GitHub (Dec 19, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/bootandy/dust/issues/546

Hi 👋

I am trying to use dust to get an understanding of how the disk in my CI is being used.

Context: in macos, accessing some specific folders/files leads to a UI prompt asking the user for permission - this feature is documented here.

When this happens, the read operation is stalled indefinitely until the prompt is answered by the user. This means: dust stalls.

To work around this issue, I tried excluding the /Users folder, so dust does not even try to access any privacy-sensible folder:

sudo dust \
    --min-size 5G \
    --number-of-lines 999999999 \
    --reverse \
    --bars-on-right \
    --no-progress \
    --no-colors \
    --ignore-directory "/Users" \
    /

But this did not help: even when using --ignore-directory "/Users", the prompt continues appearing.

How to reproduce:

tccutil reset SystemPolicyDesktopFolder

sudo dust \
    --min-size 5G \
    --number-of-lines 999999999 \
    --reverse \
    --bars-on-right \
    --no-progress \
    --no-colors \
    --ignore-directory "/Users" \
    /

# The privacy permission prompt will appear, stalling dust execution

Expected behaviour: when using --ignore-directory "/Users", dust does not try to access the Desktop folder, and the privacy permission prompt does not appear

Originally created by @acecilia on GitHub (Dec 19, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/bootandy/dust/issues/546 Hi 👋 I am trying to use `dust` to get an understanding of how the disk in my CI is being used. Context: in macos, accessing some specific folders/files leads to a UI prompt asking the user for permission - this feature is documented [here](https://eclecticlight.co/2025/03/12/why-all-this-privacy-protection-an-overview/). <img width="284" height="227" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/21965132-b037-4aa3-911e-c04a94b0d859" /> When this happens, **the read operation is stalled indefinitely until the prompt is answered by the user.** This means: `dust` stalls. To work around this issue, I tried excluding the `/Users` folder, so `dust` does not even try to access any privacy-sensible folder: ```shell sudo dust \ --min-size 5G \ --number-of-lines 999999999 \ --reverse \ --bars-on-right \ --no-progress \ --no-colors \ --ignore-directory "/Users" \ / ``` But this did not help: even when using `--ignore-directory "/Users"`, the prompt continues appearing. How to reproduce: ```shell tccutil reset SystemPolicyDesktopFolder sudo dust \ --min-size 5G \ --number-of-lines 999999999 \ --reverse \ --bars-on-right \ --no-progress \ --no-colors \ --ignore-directory "/Users" \ / # The privacy permission prompt will appear, stalling dust execution ``` Expected behaviour: when using `--ignore-directory "/Users"`, `dust` does not try to access the Desktop folder, and the privacy permission prompt does not appear

zhus commented

2026-06-08 11:26:18 +03:00

@bootandy commented on GitHub (Jan 8, 2026):

I'm afraid I tend not to work on a mac, so this may be hard for me to reproduce.

@bootandy commented on GitHub (Jan 8, 2026): I'm afraid I tend not to work on a mac, so this may be hard for me to reproduce.

zhus commented

2026-06-08 11:26:18 +03:00