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macOS Specifications and Requirements for Backup

  • Last Updated January 27, 2026

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Environment

 

Topic

This article covers the process for enabling full permissions for MacOS 10.14 for use with NinjaOne Backup.

 

Mac Permissions 

Enabling Full Disk Access in your MacOS device

Full Disk Access permission is a privacy feature introduced in MacOS 10.14 which prevents some applications from accessing important data. This requires granting permission manually for certain applications in order for them to be able to access these protected areas. Previous versions of MacOS allowed permission to be granted automatically. 

  1. On your Mac device, navigate to System Preferences > Security & Privacy; then, select the Privacy tab. 
    mac_system_preferences_security_and_privacy.png
  2. From the Privacy tab, select Full Disk Access on the left navigation pane and then click the lock icon at the bottom of the screen. 
    mac_system_preferences_security_and_privacy_lock_icon.png
  3. Enter system administrator credentials and then click Unlock.
    mac_unlock_security_and_privacy_preferences.png
  4. Click the plus sign "+" button. 
    mac_security_and_privacy_full_disk_access_plus_sign.png
  5. Click Applications, and then select the "Lockhart" application from the list. Click Open. 
    mac_security_and_privacy_full_disk_access_lockhart_app.png
  6. If prompted, click Quit Now.
    You have now enabled Full Disk Access.
Important note: If you are having trouble locating the lockhart application, you can use the search bar to filter for it. The default path is Applications > NinjaRMMAgent > programfiles > lockhart > bin > lockhart.

If you have not successfully enabled Full Disk Access to a Mac device, the following error will occur when attempting to run a backup:

mac_error__no_full_disk_access.png

 

Mac Default Exclusions

The following items will be excluded from NinjaOne Backup jobs on Mac devices by default. Some of these exclusions can be modified under the Advanced tab when configuring backup plans. For more information, please see NinjaOne Backup: File/Folder Backup Plans.

"id","type","pattern","description"
"1","extension","ithmb","OSX Thumbnails"
"2","extension","vmdk","OSX vm disks"
"3","extension","vmem","OSX vm memory"
"4","extension","vmsd","OSX vm sd size"
"5","extension","vmsn","OSX vmware snapshot"
"6","extension","vmx","OSX vm disk"
"7","extension","vmxf","OSX vm config file"
"8","extension","menudata","OSX menu file"
"9","extension","appicon","OSX app icon files"
"10","extension","appinfo","OSX app info files"
"11","extension","pva","OSX pva video file"
"12","extension","pvs","OSX parallels file"
"13","extension","pvi","OSX sample packs"
"14","extension","pvm","OSX parallels vm"
"15","extension","fdd","OSX parallels disk"
"16","extension","hds","OSX parallels disk"
"17","extension","drk","OSX race studio 2"
"18","extension","mem","OSX parallelsl mem dump"
"19","extension","nvram","OSX vmware ram"
"20","extension","hdd","OSX parallels disk"
"21","extension","wab~","OSX outlook scratch file"
"22","extension","sys","OSX ms-dos system file"
"23","extension","cab","OSX cab archive file"
"24","extension","exe","OSX windows executable"
"25","extension","msi","OSX windows installer"
"26","extension","dll","OSX windows dynamic link library"
"27","extension","dl_",""
"28","extension","wim","OSX wim"
"29","extension","ost","OSX ost"
"30","extension","o","OSX compile output files"
"31","extension","qtch","OSX qtch"
"32","extension","log","OSX log files"
"33","extension","vmc","OSX vmc"
"34","extension","vhd","OSX vhd"
"35","extension","vo1","OSX vo1"
"36","extension","vo2","OSX vo2"
"37","extension","vsv","OSX vsv"
"38","extension","vud","OSX vud"
"39","extension","iso","OSX disk image"
"40","extension","dmg","OSX installer"
"41","extension","pkg","OSX package installer"
"42","extension","sparseimage","sparse image"
"43","folder","/Applications","OSX Applications"
"44","folder","/Desktop DB","OSX binaries"
"45","folder","/Desktop DF","OSX binaries"
"46","folder","/Home","OSX binaries"
"47","folder","/Library","OSX Library files"
"48","folder","/Network","OSX binaries"
"49","folder","/Private","OSX private files"
"50","folder","/System","OSX System files"
"51","folder","/Volumes","OSX binaries"
"52","folder","/automount","OSX binaries"
"53","folder","/bin","OSX binaries"
"54","folder","/cores","OSX binaries"
"55","folder","/dev","OSX dev files"
"56","folder","/etc","OSX posix files"
"57","folder","/mach","OSX binaries"
"58","folder","/mach_kernel","OSX binaries"
"59","folder","/mach.sym","OSX binaries"
"60","folder","/net","OSX posix network files"
"61","folder","/opt","OSX binaries"
"62","folder","/sbin","OSX binaries"
"63","folder","/sw","OSX binaries"
"64","folder","/tmp","OSX temp files"
"65","folder","/usr","OSX usr files"
"66","folder","//.app","OSX binaries"
"67","folder","//.DS_Store","OSX binaries"
"68","folder","/.fserventsd","OSX binaries"
"69","folder","/.hotfiles.btree","OSX binaries"
"70","folder","/.Spotlight","OSX binaries"
"71","folder","/.Trashes","OSX binaries"
"72","folder","/.vol","OSX binaries"
"73","folder","/Users/[^/]+/Library","Users Library folder"
"74","folder","/Users/[^/]+/Applications","Users Applications"
"75","folder","/Users/[^/]+/Parallels","Parallels binaries"
"76","folder","/Users/[^/]+/Virtual Machines.+","Virtual machines binaries"
"77","folder","/Users/[^/]+/.config/Carbonite","OSX Carbonite"
"78","folder","/Users/[^/]+/.Trash","OSX user trash"
"79","folder","/Library/Application Support/com.apple..+","OSX preinstalled app data"
"80","common",".DS_Store","OSX Desktop Services Store"
"81","filename",".localized","OSX Desktop localized"

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which versions of Mac does NinjaOne Backup support?

NinjaOne Backup supports macOS Monterey.

 

Why does NinjaOne Data Protection need Full Disk Access?

In order to complete a successful backup, NinjaOne Backup needs full access to your files. This allows the backup service to perform all backup related tasks including traversing folders and reading files to be able to back them up.

 

Why isn’t this access granted automatically?

As of MacOS 10.14 and higher, Apple requires the user to approve access to anything privacy related—including disk access for backups.

 

What is the name of the App that needs to be added?

The NinjaOne Backup service is named "Lockhart" and runs as a MacOS daemon.

 

What is Lockhart?

"Lockhart" is the codename for the NinjaOne Backup service. It is named that way for future allow-labeling purposes.

 

Are we able to back up Mac devices to a network-attached storage/local storage device?

No, at this time Mac file/folder can only back up to Cloud.

FAQ

Next Steps