mac-ops

# mac-ops > Verified as of 2026-07 — content assumes macOS 13 (Ventura) and later (`.ips` panic format on macOS 12+, universal SSH on macOS 13+). ## Helps with Slow Mac that used to be fast — bloat accumulation across the four startup mechanisms (Login Items, `~/Library/LaunchAgents`, `/Library/LaunchAgents`, `/Library/LaunchDaemons`). The same machine still boots fast once those are inventoried and trimmed. Failing drives that nobody's spotted yet. macOS doesn't shout the way Windows does — IO errors live in `log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.iokit"'` and APFS surfaces them via `AppleAPFSContainerScheme` / `AppleNVMe*` provider messages. Healthy SSDs produce zero of these per month; dozens means active failure even when "About This Mac → Storage" still shows green. Kernel panics with no obvious cause. The `.panic` / `.ips` files in `/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/` carry the panic string, kernel call stack, and (critically) the loaded kext list. A panic mentioning a third-party kext (`com.eltima.ProductX`, `com.paragon.NTFS`, anti-virus drivers) tells a completely different story than a panic in core Apple code (`AppleIntelKBL Graphics`, `IOPlatformPluginUtil`). "My Mac is slow" diagnosed by chasing the wrong symptom. Activity Monitor shows what's running NOW; `log show` shows what failed at boot, what's been panicking, and what storage / power events preceded each freeze. Always audit before treating. Apps that "don't work right" but aren't crashing — us...