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https://github.com/jacobsalmela/tccutil

♿️ Command line tool to modify OS X's accessibility database (TCC.db)
https://github.com/jacobsalmela/tccutil

accessibility-database apple entire-database hacktoberfest homebrew tccutil

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♿️ Command line tool to modify OS X's accessibility database (TCC.db)

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        tccutil

    

    


    tccutil.py


    Modify macOS' TCC.db from the command line




## Modify macOS' Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) Framework from the Command Line



Apple has a utility in `/usr/bin` named `tccutil`, but it only supports one command, which is to `reset` the entire database.  It has been like this for many versions of macOS.   I wanted a command-line utility that would be able to add, remove, list, and take other actions.



## SIP Notice



This tool needs SIP disabled in order to function.  The risk of doing so is up to you.



Discussions on this topic can be found here: https://github.com/jacobsalmela/tccutil/discussions/44



## How is `tccutil.py` Different from other solutions?



- `tccutil.py` can be installed without any additional software.

- it has an easy to use syntax

- it supports both system wide and user scope TCC manipulation

- it wraps the native `/usr/bin/tccutil` tool

- there are other solutions out there, but there were some things I did not like about them:



  + [Privacy Manager Services](https://github.com/univ-of-utah-marriott-library-apple/privacy_services_manager) has other dependencies that need to be installed (it has also gone over five years without any updates)



  + [tccmanager.py](https://github.com/timsutton/scripts/blob/master/tccmanager/tccmanager.py) uses a `.plist` to add items, which is inconvenient.



- these are also some other projects I found that do similar things



  + [go-tccutil](https://github.com/JesusTinoco/go-tccutil) I actually only recently found this



  + [tccplus](https://github.com/jslegendre/tccplus)



  + [DocSystem/tccutil](https://github.com/DocSystem/tccutil)



# Installation



## Homebrew



Install using Homebrew.



```

brew install tccutil

```



Depending how you have your `$PATH` variable setup, you can simply type `tccutil` (instead of the full path) and it will run this utility _instead_ of Apple's.



## Alternative Install



Clone this repo and manually copy `tccutil.py` to `/usr/local/bin` or run from any directory with `python /path/to/tccutil.py`.



## Usage



**This utility needs super-user priveleges for most operations.** It is important that you either run this as root or use `sudo`, otherwise it won't work and you will end up with “permission denied” errors.



```

usage: tccutil.py [-h] [--service SERVICE] [--list] [--digest] [--insert INSERT] [-v]

                  [-r REMOVE] [-e ENABLE] [-d DISABLE] [--user [USER]] [--version]

                  [ACTION]



Modify Accesibility Preferences



positional arguments:

  ACTION                This option is only used to perform a reset, using "/usr/bin/tccutil". See

                        `man tccutil` for additional syntax



optional arguments:

  -h, --help            show this help message and exit

  --service SERVICE, -s SERVICE

                        Set TCC service

  --list, -l            List all entries in the accessibility database

  --digest              Print the digest hash of the accessibility database

  --insert INSERT, -i INSERT

                        Adds the given bundle ID or path to the accessibility database

  -v, --verbose         Outputs additional info for some commands

  -r REMOVE, --remove REMOVE

                        Removes a given Bundle ID or Path from the Accessibility Database

  -e ENABLE, --enable ENABLE

                        Enables Accessibility Access for the given Bundle ID or Path

  -d DISABLE, --disable DISABLE

                        Disables Accessibility Access for the given Bundle ID or Path

  --user [USER], -u [USER]

                        Modify accessibility database for a given user (defaults to current,

                        if no additional parameter is provided)

  --version             Show the version of this script

```



### Examples



List existing Entries in the Accessibility Database



```bash

sudo tccutil.py --list

```



List existing Entries in the Accessibility Database specific to the current user



```bash

sudo tccutil.py --list -u

```



Add `/usr/bin/osascript` to the Accessibility Database (using UNIX-Style Option)



```bash

sudo tccutil.py -i /usr/bin/osascript

````



Add `/usr/bin/osascript` to the Accessibility Database specific to user 'myuser' (using UNIX-Style Option)



```bash

sudo tccutil.py -i /usr/bin/osascript -u myuser

````



Add *Script Editor* to the Accessibility Database (using Long Option)



```bash

sudo tccutil.py --insert com.apple.ScriptEditor2

```



Remove *Terminal* from the Accessibility Database



```bash

sudo tccutil.py --remove com.apple.Terminal

```



Enable *Terminal* (must already exist in the Database)



```bash

sudo tccutil.py --enable com.apple.Terminal

```



Disable `/usr/bin/osascript` (must already exist in the Database)



```bash

sudo tccutil.py -d /usr/bin/osascript

```



Reset system wide accessibility database



```bash

sudo tccutil.py reset ALL

```



## Contributing



Many people have contributed already, so feel free to make a PR and we'll get it merged in.