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NinjaOne Device Backup: Mac OS Requirements

  • Last Updated March 9, 2026

Topic

This article covers the process for enabling full permissions for Apple macOS, for use with NinjaOne Device Backup.

Environment

  • NinjaOne Device Backup
  • Apple macOS

Description

You can back up your Apple macOS files and folders with NinjaOne Device Backup. Review the following sections for detailed instructions on setting up your macOS device for use with NinjaOne Device Backup.

MacOS Permissions

Enabling Full Disk Access on your macOS device

Full Disk Access permission is a privacy feature that was introduced in macOS 10.14 (Mojave), which prevents some applications from accessing important data. While NinjaOne Device Backup supports macOS 12 (Monterey) and newer, you'll need to grant permission manually for some applications for them to be able to access these protected areas. Previous versions of macOS allowed permission to be granted automatically.

To grant the required permissions, follow these steps:

  1. On your macOS device, navigate to System Preferences → Security & Privacy; then, select the Privacy tab. 

    mac1.png
    Figure 1: System Preferences (cliick to enlarge)

  2. From the Privacy tab, select Full Disk Access from the navigation pane and then click the lock icon at the bottom of the screen. 

    mac2.png
    Figure 2: Security & Privacy (click to enlarge)

  3. Enter system administrator credentials and then click Unlock. 

    mac_unlock_security_and_privacy_preferences.png
    Figure 3: Credentials (cliick to enlarge)

  4. Click the plus sign.

    mac4.png
    Figure 4: Full Disk Access (click to enlarge)

  5. Click Applications, and then select the Lockhart application from the list and click Open. 

    mac5.png
    Figure 5: lockhart (click to enlarge)
  6. If prompted, click Quit Now. You have now enabled full disk access.
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 macOS device, your device will display a 309 error when attempting to run a backup. If this error occurs, review the above steps to verify that you have enabled full disk access correctly.

mac_error__no_full_disk_access.png
Figure 6: Error 309 (click to enlarge)

MacOS Default Exclusions

The following items will be excluded from NinjaOne Device Backup jobs on macOS devices by default. You can modify some of these exclusions in the Advanced tab when configuring your backup plans. For more information, refer to NinjaOne Backup: File/Folder Backup Plans.

We've listed each item by its ID, then type, pattern, and 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 (FAQ)

Which versions of macOS does NinjaOne Device Backup support?

NinjaOne Backup supports macOS 12 (Monterey) and newer versions.

Why does NinjaOne Data Protection need Full Disk Access?

To complete a successful backup, NinjaOne Backup needs full access to your files. Full access 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 I need to add?

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

What is Lockhart?

Lockhart is the name for the NinjaOne Backup service.

Can I back up macOS devices to a network-attached storage or other local storage device?

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

FAQ

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