System Integrity Protection (SIP) is meant to protect your Mac system but there are times when it can get in your way. While it’s not advised in most cases, there is a way to disable your System Integrity Protection (also known as SIP) on your Mac.
To disable the System Integrity Protection on your Mac you will need to boot your system in Recovery mode, open a Terminal session, run the csrutil disable command, and then restart your Mac in normal mode. Just make sure to re-enable SIP when you are done with whatever you need to do.
My name is Eric and as a software engineer, I know that sometimes you need to disable security measures to develop or test some software. It’s also important to turn the security measures back on when you’re done and I can show you how to do both.
Keep reading below if you would like to learn how to disable and enable System Integrity Protection. I will also discuss what SIP is, some valid reasons for doing this, and situations where you should not do this.
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Steps to Disable System Integrity Protection
If you need to disable System Integrity Protection, it’s fairly easy to do, but use caution in doing this as it will leave your system open to viruses, malware, and other security problems that can damage your system.
Once you’re done with whatever you need to do, make sure you follow the steps in the next section to turn SIP back on to ensure your system is once again protected. Follow the steps below to disable SIP.
Step 1: Open Terminal in Recovery Mode
You will need to shut down your system and restart it in Recovery Mode. Click on the Utilities menu at the top of the screen and then select Terminal.
Step 2: Enter the csrutil disable Command
Enter the command as shown below.
csrutil disable
After typing the command, hit the return key. You will then see a warning message about turning off the security. Type y to proceed and you will then be prompted to enter your admin password. Enter the password you use to login to your computer and SIP will then be turned off.
Step 3: Restart your Mac
After entering your password and seeing the message stating that System Integrity Protection is off, you will also see a message that you need to restart your machine for the changes to take effect. Click on the Apple symbol at the top left corner of the screen and select Restart.
Once your computer restarts you will be up and running without System Integrity Protection. You can now perform whatever actions and tests you need to do while SIP is turned off. Once you have completed your tasks, you’ll want to follow the steps in the next section to turn SIP back on.
Steps to Enable System Integrity Protection
It’s important to re-enable System Integrity Protection as soon as possible. If you don’t you will be leaving your system wide open to malware, viruses, and more.
Enabling SIP is fairly easy to do and very similar to the steps you used to disable it. Follow the steps below to ensure your system is protected.
Step 1: Go into Recovery Mode
You will need to shut down your system and restart it in Recovery Mode.
Step 2: Open a Terminal Session
Once in Recovery Mode, click on the Utilities menu at the top of the screen and then select Terminal.
Step 3: Enter the csrutil enable Command
Enter the command as shown below.
csrutil enable
After typing the command, hit the return key. You will then see a message about turning on the security. Type y to proceed and you will then be prompted to enter your admin password. Enter the password you use to login to your computer and SIP will then be turned off.
Step 4: Restart your Mac
After entering your password and seeing the message stating that System Integrity Protection is on, you will also see a message that you need to restart your machine for the changes to take effect. Click on the Apple symbol at the top left corner of the screen and select Restart.
Your Mac should now be back to normal and System Integrity Protection will once again be protecting your system.
What is System Integrity Protection?
System Integrity Protection, also known as SIP is a security feature that is built into your macOS. It protects your system from malicious software by restricting root access from specific parts of your system.
By doing this, it monitors and controls the installation of applications on your system and helps to prevent software from taking malicious actions on specific directories and macOS applications. It does this by only allowing processes that are signed (or approved) by Apple to modify these restricted areas.
All applications downloaded from the App Store are signed and approved by Apple so there is no need to worry about those, but applications downloaded from the internet could cause a problem if they are not signed by Apple and these will normally be prevented by SIP.
When to Turn System Integrity Protection off?
In normal situations, it is never recommended to turn System Integrity Protection off. Doing so can allow malicious software to harm your system. With that being said, there are some rare cases where it may be required.
These cases would include situations where you are developing the software yourself or with a known group of developers and need to test something. It could also be if you have an application from a known and trusted source that is having issues being installed.
If you are developing software using Xcode, then this shouldn’t be necessary, as Xcode will let you install, run, and test any application you develop, but there may be cases when using other development tools, that disabling SIP could be necessary.
If you turn it off to install a 3rd party application that you believe you know and trust, make sure that they can ensure you that the software is safe and they are the source of it. Also, make sure that you have good backups of your entire system before installing anything with SIP turned off.
When Not to Turn System Integrity Protection off?
Now that you know how to easily turn System Integrity Protection off, it can be tempting to do so whenever you run into a problem installing a new application but don’t just use this as your go-to solution.
If you are downloading an application from the internet or given the application from an unknown source, you will definitely be risking the security of your system. Don’t just turn SIP off just so that you can get the application to install. Do some investigation first.
Make sure the application is from a legitimate developer or company. If needed contact the developer or company to find out why it may be having issues installing. A legitimate developer or company will support their software and give you answers to the problem.
Final Words
Disabling System Integrity Protection requires booting your system in recovery mode, running a simple command, and then restarting your system. It’s easy to do but make sure you enable SIP when you’re done doing whatever it is you need to do.
While it can be an easy solution to installation problems, use it wisely, as misuse of it can lead to damage and security breaches of your system.
I hope the information above has helped you to learn how to disable your System Integrity Protection. As usual, let me know if you have any questions or comments. I would love to hear from you.
