System Requirements

  • macOS: 14 (Sonoma) or later.
  • Processor: Apple silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel.
  • Disk space: Approximately 20 MB.

Installation

See the Download page for step-by-step installation instructions and how to verify your download.

Understanding permissions

macOS uses several distinct permission mechanisms. Here is what FindDiskKiller may ask for and why.

Admin privileges

FindDiskKiller does not request administrator privileges for basic monitoring. CPU, disk I/O, network, and volume data are available through standard APIs without elevation.

Background component approval

When you start file or directory access tracing for the first time, macOS may prompt you to approve a signed background component. This component enables per-process I/O tracing at the file level. It runs only while tracing is active and stops when tracing ends.

Full Disk Access

If you want to trace files in protected locations (other users’ home folders, certain system directories), macOS may require Full Disk Access to be granted in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access.

How to tell the difference

  • Admin prompt: asks for your macOS user password.
  • Background component approval: appears as a system notification that a background item was added.
  • Full Disk Access: requires you to manually add the app in System Settings.

Common questions

Why do some processes, paths, or health fields show as unavailable?

  • Processes: Only processes running under your own user account are visible without admin privileges.
  • Paths: Some system paths are restricted regardless of permissions; file tracing only works on paths you have read access to.
  • Health fields: SMART and NVMe attribute support varies by drive, enclosure, and connection type. Many external USB enclosures do not pass through SMART data.

Why does file access tracing increase CPU usage?

Tracing intercepts read and write system calls for the targeted files. This adds a small per-I/O overhead. The CPU cost is proportional to the I/O rate of the traced files. Tracing a high-throughput database file will cost more CPU than tracing a rarely-accessed configuration file.

When does tracing end?

Tracing ends when you:

  • Click “Stop” in the tracing panel.
  • Close the tracing window.
  • Quit FindDiskKiller.

Tracing does not continue in the background after the app exits.

How do I remove the background component?

  1. Open FindDiskKiller.
  2. Go to FindDiskKiller > Settings in the menu bar.
  3. Click Remove Background Component.
  4. Confirm the removal.

Alternatively, see the Uninstall page for complete removal instructions.

Reporting issues

When reporting a problem, please include:

  1. FindDiskKiller version (from the About window or DMG filename).
  2. macOS version (Apple menu > About This Mac).
  3. Mac model (Apple menu > About This Mac).
  4. Steps to reproduce the issue.
  5. What you expected to happen and what actually happened.

Before submitting screenshots or logs, please remove or redact: your home folder path, your username, disk serial numbers, and any file paths you consider sensitive.

Public issues

GitHub Issues for bugs, feature requests, and general questions.

Complete uninstall

See the Uninstall page for step-by-step removal instructions.