The daily script removes old log files, “scratch” and “junk” files, backs up the NetInfo database, reports a variety of system and network statistics, and rotates the system.log file.

The maintenance tasks performed by the scripts include: The counter-assertion is that the system is very robust, designed and configured to take care of itself.įor one thing, the cron maintenance scripts are cleanup scripts intended to be run by the cron Unix utility in order to clean up unnecessary junk files, rotate log files, maintain activity logs, update databases, and throw away files that need to be cleared out and/or updated from time to time. Some folks disparage running OS X system maintenance routines “routinely”, most conveniently executed with a GUI maintenance utility like OnyX, Mac Pilot, Cocktail, MainMenu, or a raft of others, as a waste of time.

However, once in a while it does fix an obvious problem. Running system maintenance utilities is more often than not an act of faith – or at least hopeful optimism – with no really tangible evidence to indicate that it’s doing anything.

System maintenance for mac