SentryKit

macOS Privacy Permission Dashboard

SentryKit is a native macOS utility that gives you full visibility into the privacy permissions (TCC) that applications request on your Mac. It reads the system's TCC database, presents every permission in a clean dashboard, and lets you take action — reset permissions, open System Settings, export audit reports, and monitor changes over time.

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Features

• Central Dashboard — See every app and every permission in one place. No more digging through System Settings panes one by one.
• Menu Bar Quick Access — Always-visible menu bar icon with quick stats, recent activity, and one-click actions.
• 25+ TCC Services — Full coverage of Screen Recording, Accessibility, Full Disk Access, Input Monitoring, Microphone, Camera, Photos, Contacts, Calendar, Bluetooth, Location, Automation, and more.
• Risk Classification — Every permission is tagged Low / Medium / High risk so you can focus on what matters.
• One-Click Reset — Reset any permission for any app (or all apps for a service) using tccutil under the hood. Safety confirmations included.
• Deep Links to System Settings — Jump directly to the exact Privacy & Security pane for any service.
• Audit Log — Tracks permission changes over time. Know exactly when an app gained or lost access.
• Trust List — Mark apps as Trusted, Neutral, Suspicious, or Blocked. Visual indicators throughout the dashboard.
• Export — CSV export of all permissions, audit log export, and plain-text security reports for compliance.
• Notifications — Get notified when new permissions are granted or existing ones change.
• Plugin System — Extensible architecture for adding custom functionality via .bundle plugins.
• Onboarding — First-launch walkthrough explaining TCC and guiding Full Disk Access setup.
• Launch at Login — Uses SMAppService for clean login item registration (macOS 13+).

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Requirements

Requirement	Minimum
macOS	13.0 (Ventura) or later
Xcode	15.0 or later
Swift	5.9 or later
Architecture	Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel)

Full Disk Access is required for SentryKit to read the TCC database. The app will guide you through granting this on first launch.

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Build Instructions

1. Open in Xcode

cd SentryKit
open SentryKit.xcodeproj

2. Configure Signing

1. Select the SentryKit target in the project navigator
2. Go to Signing & Capabilities
3. Select your Team from the dropdown
4. Xcode will automatically manage provisioning

3. Build & Run

• Press ⌘R to build and run
• Or use Product → Build (⌘B) for a build-only

4. Grant Full Disk Access

After launching SentryKit for the first time:

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access
2. Click the + button
3. Navigate to SentryKit.app and add it
4. Enable the toggle
5. Restart SentryKit

Project Structure

SentryKit/
├── SentryKit.xcodeproj/
│   └── project.pbxproj
├── SentryKit/
│   ├── App/
│   │   └── SentryKitApp.swift          # App entry point, menu bar, window config
│   ├── Models/
│   │   ├── TCCService.swift            # 25+ TCC service definitions with metadata
│   │   ├── TCCPermission.swift         # Permission entry model from TCC.db
│   │   ├── AuditLogEntry.swift         # Audit log entry model and store
│   │   ├── TrustEntry.swift            # Trust list entry model and store
│   │   └── AppSettings.swift           # User preferences (UserDefaults-backed)
│   ├── Services/
│   │   ├── TCCDatabaseService.swift    # SQLite reader for user/system TCC.db
│   │   ├── TCCResetService.swift       # tccutil reset command wrapper
│   │   ├── SystemSettingsService.swift # Deep links to System Settings panes
│   │   ├── AppInfoService.swift        # Bundle ID → app name/icon resolver
│   │   ├── ExportService.swift         # CSV and text report generation
│   │   └── NotificationService.swift   # Permission change monitoring
│   ├── ViewModels/
│   │   └── DashboardViewModel.swift    # Main ViewModel driving all views
│   ├── Views/
│   │   ├── Dashboard/
│   │   │   ├── MainContentView.swift   # Root NavigationSplitView with sidebar
│   │   │   └── DashboardOverviewView.swift # Stats cards and service grid
│   │   ├── Detail/
│   │   │   ├── ServiceDetailView.swift # Per-service permission list
│   │   │   ├── AppListView.swift       # All apps with permission summaries
│   │   │   ├── AuditLogView.swift      # Filterable audit log viewer
│   │   │   └── TrustListView.swift     # Trust list management
│   │   ├── MenuBar/
│   │   │   └── MenuBarView.swift       # Menu bar extra with quick actions
│   │   ├── Onboarding/
│   │   │   └── OnboardingView.swift    # First-launch walkthrough
│   │   └── Settings/
│   │       └── SettingsView.swift      # Preferences window (5 tabs)
│   ├── Plugins/
│   │   └── PluginProtocol.swift        # Plugin protocol and manager
│   ├── Utilities/
│   │   ├── LaunchAtLogin.swift         # SMAppService wrapper
│   │   └── Formatters.swift            # Date/string/color extensions
│   ├── Assets.xcassets/                # App icon and accent color
│   ├── SentryKit.entitlements          # App entitlements
│   └── Info.plist                      # App configuration
└── README.md

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Architecture

SentryKit follows the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern:

• Models define the data structures (TCC services, permissions, audit entries, trust entries, settings)
• Services handle all system interaction (database reading, process execution, URL opening, notifications)
• ViewModels bridge models and views, managing state and business logic
• Views are pure SwiftUI, declarative, and stateless where possible

The app runs outside the App Sandbox (required to read /Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db) but uses hardened runtime for security.

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How It Works

SentryKit reads the macOS TCC database files:

Database	Path	Contains
User	~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db	Per-user permission decisions
System	/Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db	System-wide permission decisions (requires admin)

These are SQLite databases with an access table containing columns like service, client, auth_value, auth_reason, last_modified, and more. SentryKit reads these in read-only mode and never modifies them directly.

Permission resets are performed via Apple's official tccutil command-line tool, which is the only supported way to programmatically reset TCC decisions.

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Plugin Development

SentryKit supports plugins via .bundle files placed in:

~/Library/Application Support/SentryKit/Plugins/

Plugins must conform to the SentryKitPlugin protocol (defined in PluginProtocol.swift) and implement at minimum:

@objc public protocol SentryKitPlugin: NSObjectProtocol {
    var pluginIdentifier: String { get }
    var pluginName: String { get }
    var pluginVersion: String { get }
    var pluginDescription: String { get }
    func pluginDidLoad()
    func pluginWillUnload()
}

Optional hooks include didScanPermissions, permissionDidChange, customMenuItems, and generateReportSection.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
⌘R	Refresh permissions
⌘⇧E	Export permissions as CSV
⌘,	Open Settings

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Privacy & Security

• SentryKit only reads the TCC database. It never writes to it.
• Permission resets use Apple's official tccutil tool.
• No data leaves your Mac. No analytics, no telemetry, no network calls.
• All audit data is stored locally in ~/Library/Application Support/SentryKit/.
• The app uses Hardened Runtime for additional security.

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Troubleshooting

"No permissions found" → Grant Full Disk Access to SentryKit in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access.

"System database not accessible" → The system-level TCC.db requires running with admin privileges. Enable "Read system-level database" in Settings → Advanced.

Reset not working for some services → Some services (like Accessibility) may require a logout/restart to fully take effect after reset.

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License

All rights reserved.