System Integrity Protection (SIP) is a security technology in macOS designed to help prevent potentially malicious software from modifying protected files and folders on your Mac. The csrutil command-line utility is used to manage SIP settings. This article will guide you through the process of using csrutil to check, enable, and disable SIP on macOS.

Understanding SIP and csrutil

SIP restricts the root user account and limits the actions that the root user can perform on protected parts of the Mac operating system. csrutil is the command-line utility used to manage SIP settings. It is essential to understand that disabling SIP can expose your system to security risks, so it should only be done when absolutely necessary and for troubleshooting purposes.

Examples:

1. Checking SIP Status:

   To check the current status of SIP, you need to use the csrutil status command. This command can be run from the Terminal in macOS Recovery mode.

   Steps:

   • Restart your Mac and hold down Command (⌘) + R immediately after you see the Apple logo. This will boot your Mac into Recovery mode.

   • Once in Recovery mode, click on "Utilities" in the menu bar and select "Terminal."

   • In the Terminal window, type the following command and press Enter:

     csrutil status

   • The Terminal will display whether SIP is enabled or disabled.

2. Disabling SIP:

   Disabling SIP should be done with caution. Follow these steps to disable SIP:

   Steps:

   • Boot your Mac into Recovery mode by restarting and holding Command (⌘) + R.

   • Open Terminal from the Utilities menu.

   • Enter the following command:

     csrutil disable

   • After running the command, restart your Mac for the changes to take effect.

3. Enabling SIP:

   To enable SIP, which is recommended for most users to maintain system security, follow these steps:

   Steps:

   • Boot into Recovery mode using Command (⌘) + R during startup.

   • Open Terminal from the Utilities menu.

   • Enter the following command:

     csrutil enable

   • Restart your Mac to apply the changes.

Important Considerations:

• Always ensure you have a backup of your data before making changes to SIP settings.
• Disabling SIP can allow third-party applications to modify system files, which may be necessary for certain troubleshooting tasks but can also make your system vulnerable to malware.