Running defaults command as root vs regular user

defaultsroot

I've used the defaults command to tweak my settings to some sane defaults, but I have been unsure if I should run them as root or as my regular user. Seems to work either way. It is possible to do both, so my question is: is there a difference?

Scripts like these that use defaults usually needs root, but I don't see why. Sometimes I have to reboot in order to see the change in effect.

Best Answer

Yes , it's different if you run as root or regular user. In the first case you have all permissions, the second you have the permission of the domain of the application. Not every time the permissions are the same.

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If you are not forced to use defaults write you can use the following command. It interacts with the OS the same as if you were to utilize System Preferences.

TESTED ON:

10.5.x
10.6.x
10.7.x
10.8.x
10.9.x

sudo osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to set require password to wake of security preferences to false'

NOTE: If the command is being run inside of a script that has been given root privileges you would not need the sudo.

osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to set require password to wake of security preferences to false'

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tell application "System Preferences"
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Best Answer

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MacOS – Disable screensaver password requirement from command line

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