First Aid

Disk Utility’s diagnostic and repair feature that checks and fixes file system errors, directory corruption, and permission issues.

What to Know

First Aid is the primary tool for diagnosing and repairing file system corruption that causes boot failures, application crashes, and file access errors. When macOS experiences unexpected shutdowns, disk errors, or failing storage hardware, First Aid can detect and repair directory damage before it leads to complete data loss. Running First Aid regularly as preventive maintenance can identify early signs of disk failure, giving IT time to back up data before catastrophic hardware failure occurs.

Common Scenarios

Enterprise IT: IT teams run First Aid on Macs exhibiting slow performance, unexpected crashes, or “disk full” errors that don’t correlate with actual storage usage. This helps distinguish between file system corruption and actual hardware failure, avoiding unnecessary disk replacements.

MSP: MSPs run First Aid as a standard diagnostic step when clients report Mac performance issues or strange behavior. Repairing file system errors remotely via Recovery Mode saves on-site visit costs and resolves many issues without hardware replacement.

Education: School IT runs First Aid on lab Macs at the beginning of each term to detect and repair file system damage from improper shutdowns during the previous semester. This preventive maintenance improves reliability during the school year.

In Addigy

While First Aid runs locally via Disk Utility or Recovery Mode, Addigy admins can deploy scripts that use the command-line diskutil verifyVolume and repairVolume commands to check disk health and attempt repairs remotely. Addigy can also alert admins to S.M.A.R.T. status failures, prompting First Aid runs before complete drive failure.