Mac Error 1 — Operation Not Permitted

Overview

Mac error code 1 'Operation not permitted' occurs when a process lacks the required permissions, often due to Full Disk Access restrictions.

Key Details

• EPERM (error 1) is a POSIX permission denied error
• macOS Mojave+ introduced privacy protections requiring explicit permission grants
• Terminal and scripts need Full Disk Access to access protected directories
• Affects ~/Desktop, ~/Documents, ~/Downloads, Mail, Safari data, and more
• Different from error 13 (EACCES) which is traditional Unix permission

Common Causes

• Application or Terminal not granted Full Disk Access in Security preferences
• SIP preventing modification of system-protected files
• TCC (Transparency, Consent, and Control) database denying access
• Running a script that accesses privacy-protected user data
• Cron job or LaunchDaemon lacking necessary entitlements

Steps

1. 1Grant Full Disk Access: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Full Disk Access > add Terminal or the app
2. 2For automation tools, also grant Automation permissions in the Privacy tab
3. 3Check SIP status: csrutil status in Terminal
4. 4For scripts, ensure the parent process (Terminal, iTerm) has Full Disk Access
5. 5Reset TCC database if corrupted: tccutil reset All (caution: resets all privacy permissions)

Tags

More in System Errors

Frequently Asked Questions