System requirements

The Hilt macOS Collector is a notarized macOS app — Hilt EDR (bundle EDRApp.app, Team MVMB6LCP2A / Cybe Corporation) — that embeds two Apple System Extensions:

• ESensor — an Endpoint Security (ES) system extension (Hilt.EDRApp.ESensor). This is the telemetry sensor: process, file, persistence, and device events.
• NetFilter — a NetworkExtension content-filter system extension (Hilt.EDRApp.NetFilter) for per-flow network attribution.

There is no kernel extension (kext). Both extensions run in user space on Apple’s modern frameworks. Unlike the Linux Collector, which loads an eBPF program into the kernel, the macOS Collector relies entirely on Apple-sanctioned System Extensions — which is what makes a SIP-enabled install possible.

Summary

macOS version

macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later. The floor comes from the build, not from the event APIs. The shipped Collector binaries are compiled with MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET = 15.0, so on macOS 14 or earlier the package payload lands but the system extension never launches — the result is an agent that looks installed and reports nothing. To make that impossible, the installer, the pkg preinstall script, and the update manifests (min_macos: "15.0") all enforce 15.0: an install attempt on an older Mac fails loudly, and an older Mac is never offered an update. Individual Endpoint Security events have their own, older availability windows — Background Task Management (btm_add) is macOS 13+, NEFilterDataProvider is 10.15+ — but those are subscription-time facts about the OS API, not support claims. All of them are present on macOS 15, so the full event set described in Event coverage is available on every supported host.

Architecture

Universal. The app and both System Extensions ship as a single universal binary covering:

• Apple Silicon (arm64) — M-series Macs
• Intel (x86_64)

A single notarized .pkg installs on either architecture; there is no per-architecture artifact to choose. This differs from the Linux Collector, which ships a separate tarball per architecture.

System Integrity Protection (SIP)

SIP stays enabled. This is the headline of the macOS Collector: it runs on a normal, hardened Mac with no csrutil disable, no developer mode, and no kext. SIP-on operation is the whole point of the migration to a System Extension. This works because the restricted Endpoint Security entitlement (com.apple.developer.endpoint-security.client) is authorized, not merely requested: With SIP on, the kernel’s trusted-execution (AMFI) layer only honors the ES entitlement when an Apple-issued provisioning profile that allowlists it is embedded in a properly signed, notarized bundle. The Collector satisfies all of those conditions, so it is a fully trusted Endpoint Security client on a stock, locked-down Mac. For the full entitlement and signing story, see Networking and trust model.

Full Disk Access

Full Disk Access is required. Every Apple Endpoint Security client must have Full Disk Access (TCC SystemPolicyAllFiles); without it, es_new_client() fails with ES_NEW_CLIENT_RESULT_ERR_NOT_PERMITTED even when the entitlement is correctly authorized. Entitlement authorization and Full Disk Access are two independent runtime gates — both must pass. The grant applies to the ESensor extension, not the parent app:

• In System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access, the entry appears as ESensor / “Hilt EDR Sensor” — not “EDRApp”.
• The entry appears automatically once the System Extension is approved.

This is the same consent that CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and every other third-party Endpoint Security product require; it is an Apple security requirement, not a Hilt-specific one. It cannot be click-suppressed without MDM. See Install for the end-user steps.

MDM

MDM is optional. The Collector installs and runs fully without any MDM. MDM is only needed to make the install zero-click (silent) across a fleet by pre-approving the two consents the user would otherwise grant by hand. For the silent path, push two configuration-profile payloads keyed to Team MVMB6LCP2A: Deliver the System Extensions payload before the app first launches. The Collector only needs Full Disk Access — never Camera, Microphone, or Screen Recording, which PPPC cannot pre-grant — so MDM install is fully silent. See Install for both paths in detail.

Network

Outbound HTTPS only. ESensor emits events as JSON lines; a local forwarder LaunchDaemon ships them over outbound HTTPS to the Hilt edr-collector, which routes them to MSK Kafka topics for enrichment. Firewall rule: allow the host to reach your configured Hilt ingest endpoint over HTTPS. There are no inbound rules to open. For the full path from sensor to ClickHouse, see Data flow.

What it does not require

In contrast to the Linux Collector’s kernel and privilege requirements, the macOS Collector does not need any of the following:

• No csrutil disable — SIP stays enabled.
• No systemextensionsctl developer on — developer mode is a dev-only workaround, never used on a real install.
• No kernel extension (kext) — pure user-space System Extensions.
• No App Sandbox on the ES extension — sandboxing breaks es_new_client.
• No MDM for the standalone install — MDM is only for zero-click fleet deployment.
• No inbound network access — outbound HTTPS only.

What it does not do

Consistent with the Linux Collector, the macOS Collector observes at the metadata level only:

• Does not read file contents — only path, operation type, and metadata.
• Does not capture packet payloads — only flow metadata (destination, ports, bytes, owning bundle id).
• Does not log keystrokes or capture screen content — it does not request Screen Recording. Paste detection uses a listen-only Cmd+V event tap and records no key content; it does request Input Monitoring, which the user approves.
• Does capture the clipboard, by default including copied content — the one exception to metadata-only. See Clipboard and data movement.
• Does not block or quarantine arbitrary activity — telemetry is overwhelmingly NOTIFY. A small AUTH self-protection set (signal, file_unlink, file_rename) denies unauthorized tampering with the agent in-kernel; see Event coverage. Console-driven on-device quarantine response is not yet available on macOS.

Status

The macOS Collector is in early access. The notarized .pkg with SIP enabled described on this page is the target shipping model. Auto-update and on-device quarantine response are not yet available on macOS; upgrades are delivered by re-installing the signed .pkg (direct download) or by package push (MDM).