Configure macOS for build server duty

Out of the box, macOS systems are configured for physical, interactive use, making them unsuitable for network-driven use. This page describes a couple of steps to make macOS a reliable agent host.

Auto start after power loss

  • Open Settings (cogs icon in the dock, or Apple menu > System Settings)

  • Go to Energy Saver

  • Enable Start up automatically after a power failure

Disable sleep when idle

  • Open Settings (cogs icon in the dock, or Apple menu > System Settings)

  • Go to Displays

  • Click Advanced…​

  • Enable Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off

Turn off Spotlight

Spotlight is macOS' desktop search engine. Even on a machine that doubles as a desktop, it may try to index your Nix store, which is not worth the overhead.

Enable remote login

SSH access can be configured using System Settings.

  • Open Settings (cogs icon in the dock, or Apple menu > System Settings)

  • Go to Sharing

  • Turn on Remote Login

Keys and user accounts can be managed by nix-darwin or by following [Apple’s documentation](support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlp1066/mac).