Useful macOS defaults: Feedback Assistant

com.apple.feedback-assistant controls Feedback Assistant, the app Apple provides for reporting bugs and requesting features. It is mainly used by developers and beta testers.

What is Feedback Assistant?

Feedback Assistant is how you send bug reports to Apple. It comes installed on every Mac but most people never open it. If you run macOS beta versions or develop apps, you will use it to report problems.

You can open it from /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/Feedback Assistant.app or by searching for it in Spotlight.

Auto-gather system diagnostics

Feedback Assistant collects system information when you file a report. You can control whether it gathers a full sysdiagnose automatically:

defaults write com.apple.feedback-assistant autoGatherEnabled -bool true

Set to false to stop it from gathering diagnostics on its own. You can still attach them by hand.

Read current settings

defaults read com.apple.feedback-assistant

Notes

Feedback Assistant has very few hidden settings. Most of its behaviour is controlled by Apple's servers. The app uploads your reports to Apple and tracks their status online at feedbackassistant.apple.com.

If you are a developer, filing detailed bug reports through Feedback Assistant is the main way to get Apple to fix problems. Include steps to reproduce the issue, what you expected to happen, and what happened instead. Attach screenshots, screen recordings, or sysdiagnose files when they help.

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