Processes & Concurrency

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Concurrency Documentation

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app background launch unexpectedly
Our app will launch automatically in the background,Doubt is the result of background fetch ,so we cancel the background modes setting of the background fetch,but we still can see the performFetchWithCompletionHandler method called when app launch in the background。Background launch will cause some bugs in our app. We don't want the app to start in the background. We hope to get help
4
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860
Dec ’25
Called endBackgroundTask but not working
When my app enter to background, I start a background task, and when Expiration happens, I end my background task. The code likes below: backgroundTask = [[UIApplication sharedApplication] beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler:^{ dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ if (backgroundTask != UIBackgroundTaskInvalid) { [[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:backgroundTask]; backgroundTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid; [self cancel]; } }); }]; When the breakpoint is triggered at the endBackgroundTask line, I also get the following log: [BackgroundTask] Background task still not ended after expiration handlers were called: <UIBackgroundTaskInfo: 0x282d7ab40>: taskID = 36, taskName = Called by MyApp, from MyMethod, creationTime = 892832 (elapsed = 26). This app will likely be terminated by the system. Call UIApplication.endBackgroundTask(:) to avoid this. The log don't appear every time, so why is that? Is there something wrong with my code?
3
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3.1k
Jun ’25
Sensorkit - Troubleshooting SRErrorDataInaccessible in Background Fetch with SensorKit
Hello, I am currently developing an iOS application using SensorKit. I encountered an issue when attempting to fetch SensorKit data in the background using background tasks (appRefresh, processing). The following error occurs: In the delegate function func sensorReader(_ reader: SRSensorReader, fetching fetchRequest: SRFetchRequest, failedWithError error: any Error) {}, I receive the error: SRErrorDataInaccessible. In code specific manner: start and handle background fetch (appRefresh) func handleAppRefreshTask(task: BGAppRefreshTask) { logger.logWithServer(level: .default, message: "background fetch start", category: String(describing: BackgroundTaskManager.self)) scheduleBackgroundFetch() let queue = OperationQueue() queue.maxConcurrentOperationCount = 1 let fetchOperation = FetchOperation() queue.addOperation(fetchOperation) task.expirationHandler = { self.logger.logWithServer(level: .error, message: "background fetch expirated", category: String(describing: BackgroundTaskManager.self)) queue.cancelAllOperations() } fetchOperation.completionBlock = { task.setTaskCompleted(success: !fetchOperation.isCancelled) } } Background fetch operation class class FetchOperation: Operation { override func main() { guard !isCancelled else { return } Task { // this function will execute fetch request for all user allowed sensorReader, 'func fetch(_ request: SRFetchRequest)' await SensorkitManager.shared.startFetchAndUpload() } } } I have the following questions: Is it possible to fetch SensorKit data in the background? If it is possible, why does the above error occur? If it is possible, could you provide the solution code and the correct workflow to avoid this error? Thank you.
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1.2k
Feb ’26
How to correctly deploy bundled launchdaemons/launchagents?
I'm working on an enterprise product that's mainly a daemon (with Endpoint Security) without any GUI component. I'm looking into the update process for daemons/agents that was introduced with Ventura (Link), but I have to say that the entire process is just deeply unfun. Really can't stress this enough how unfun. Anyway... The product bundle now contains a dedicated Swift executable that calls SMAppService.register for both the daemon and agent. It registers the app in the system preferences login items menu, but I also get an error. Error registering daemon: Error Domain=SMAppServiceErrorDomain Code=1 "Operation not permitted" UserInfo={NSLocalizedFailureReason=Operation not permitted} What could be the reason? I wouldn't need to activate the items, I just need them to be added to the list, so that I can control them via launchctl. Which leads me to my next question, how can I control bundled daemons/agents via launchctl? I tried to use launchctl enable and bootstrap, just like I do with daemons under /Library/LaunchDaemons, but all I get is sudo launchctl enable system/com.identifier.daemon sudo launchctl bootstrap /Path/to/daemon/launchdplist/inside/bundle/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.blub.plist Bootstrap failed: 5: Input/output error (not super helpful error message) I'm really frustrated by the complexity of this process and all of its pitfalls.
7
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1.2k
Aug ’25
macOS 14 XPC vs Foundation XPC
I'm looking into a newer XPC API available starting with macOS 14. Although it's declared as a low-level API I can't figure it how to specify code signing requirement using XPCListener and XPCSession. How do I connect it with xpc_listener_set_peer_code_signing_requirement and xpc_connection_set_peer_code_signing_requirement which require xpc_listener_t and xpc_connection_t respectively? Foundation XPC is declared as a high-level API and provides easy ways to specify code signing requirements on both ends of xpc. I'm confused with all these XPC APIs and their future: Newer really high-level XPCListener and XPCSession API (in low-level framework???) Low-level xpc_listener_t & xpc_connection_t -like API. Is it being replaced by newer XPCListener and XPCSession? How is it related to High-level Foundation XPC? Are NSXPCListener and NSXPCConnection going to be deprecated and replaced by XPCListener and XPCSession??
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911
Aug ’25
Some fundamental doubts about DisptachQueue and GCD
I understand that GCD and it's underlying implementations have evolved over time. And many things have not been shared explicitly in Apple documentation. The most concepts of DispatchQueue (serial and concurrent queues), DispatchQoS, target queue and system provided queues: main and globals etc. I have some doubts & questions to clarify: [Main Dispatch Queue] [Link] Because the main queue doesn't behave entirely like a regular serial queue, it may have unwanted side-effects when used in processes that are not UI apps (daemons). For such processes, the main queue should be avoided. What does it mean? Can you elaborate? [Global Concurrent Dispatch Queues] Are they global to a process or across processes on a device. I believe it is the first case but just wanted to be sure. [Global Concurrent Dispatch Queues] Does system create 4 (for each QoS) * 2 (over-commiting and non-overcommiting queues) = 8 queues in all. When does which type of queue comes into play? [Custom Queue][Target Queue concept] [swift-corelibs-libdispatch/man/dispatch_queue_create.3] QUOTE The default target queue of all dispatch objects created by the application is the default priority global concurrent queue. UNQUOTE Is this stil true? We could not find a mention of this in any latest official apple documentation (though some old forum threads (one more) and github code documentation indicate the same). The official documentation only says: [dispatch_set_target_queue] QUOTE If you want the system to provide a queue that is appropriate for the current object UNQUOTE [dispatch_queue_create_with_target] QUOTE Specify DISPATCH_TARGET_QUEUE_DEFAULT to set the target queue to the default type for the current dispatch queue.UNQUOTE [Dispatch>DispatchQueue>init] QUOTE Specify DISPATCH_TARGET_QUEUE_DEFAULT if you want the system to provide a queue that is appropriate for the current object. UNQUOTE What is the difference between passing target queue as 'nil' vs 'DISPATCH_TARGET_QUEUE_DEFAULT' to DispatchQueue init? [Custom Queue][Target Queue concept] [dispatch_set_target_queue] QUOTE The system doesn't allocate threads to the dispatch queue if it has a target queue, unless that target queue is a global concurrent queue. UNQUOTE The system does allocate threads to the custom dispatch queues that have global concurrent queue as the default target. What does that mean? Why does targetting to global concurrent queues mean in that case? [System / GCD Thread Pool] that excutes work items from DispatchQueue: Is this thread pool per queue? or across queues per process? or across processes per device?
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1.5k
Jan ’26
What DispatchQueues should i use for my app's communication subsystem?
We would be creating N NWListener objects and M NWConnection objects in our process' communication subsystem to create server sockets, accepted client sockets on server and client sockets on clients. Both NWConnection and NWListener rely on DispatchQueue to deliver state changes, incoming connections, send/recv completions etc. What DispatchQueues should I use and why? Global Concurrent Dispatch Queue (and which QoS?) for all NWConnection and NWListener One custom concurrent queue (which QoS?) for all NWConnection and NWListener? (Does that anyways get targetted to one of the global queues?) One custom concurrent queue per NWConnection and NWListener though all targetted to Global Concurrent Dispatch Queue (and which QoS?)? One custom concurrent queue per NWConnection and NWListener though all targetted to single target custom concurrent queue? For every option above, how am I impacted in terms of parallelism, concurrency, throughput &amp; latency and how is overall system impacted (with other processes also running)? Seperate questions (sorry for the digression): Are global concurrent queues specific to a process or shared across all processes on a device? Can I safely use setSpecific on global dispatch queues in our app?
13
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1.3k
Jan ’26
Background Audio Recording
I have an app that uses background audio recording. From what others say, I have enabled the audio background mode to keep the audio session active, and this worked. But when submitting the app to the app store, the app was rejected because the audio background mode is only supposed to be used for audio playback. How do I create this background mode while following Apple's guidelines?
4
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354
Jan ’26
LaunchAgent can't connect to CloudKit daemon
For this code: let status = try await container.accountStatus() Seeing this error: 2025-05-08 15:32:00.945731-0500 localhost myAgent[2661]: (myDaemon.debug.dylib) [com.myDaemon.cli:networking] Error Domain=CKErrorDomain Code=6 "Error connecting to CloudKit daemon. This could happen for many reasons, for example a daemon exit, a device reboot, a race with the connection inactivity monitor, invalid entitlements, and more. Check the logs around this time to investigate the cause of this error." UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Error connecting to CloudKit daemon. This could happen for many reasons, for example a daemon exit, a device reboot, a race with the connection inactivity monitor, invalid entitlements, and more. Check the logs around this time to investigate the cause of this error., CKRetryAfter=5, CKErrorDescription=Error connecting to CloudKit daemon. This could happen for many reasons, for example a daemon exit, a device reboot, a race with the connection inactivity monitor, invalid entitlements, and more. Check the logs around this time to investigate the cause of this error., NSUnderlyingError=0x600001bfc270 {Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 UserInfo={NSDebugDescription= I initially started the this process as System Daemon to see what would happen (which obviously does not have CloudKit features). Then moved it back to /Library/LaunchAgents/ and can't get rid of that error. I see also following message from CloudKit daemon: Ignoring failed attempt to get container proxy for &lt;private&gt;: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=&lt;private&gt;} Automatically retrying getting container proxy due to error for &lt;private&gt;: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=&lt;private&gt;} XPC connection interrupted for &lt;private&gt; And this error for xpc service: [0x130e074b0] failed to do a bootstrap look-up: xpc_error=[3: No such process] If I start the same cli process directly from XCode, then it works just fine.
3
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236
May ’25
SMAppService getting notified when status changes externally (from System Settings)
Say I want to sync a toggle in my app with SMAppService's .status property. If the status changes from my app I can track it. But if user toggles it from System Settings, I don't see a notification so then the UI in my app is out of date. The status property is not key value observable and there doesn't appear to be a SMAppServiceStatusDidChangeNotification ? I can re-read it every time my app will become active but feels kind of wrong to do it this way.
2
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190
May ’25
Getting Progress from long running process
I have been working on updating an old app that makes extensive use of Objective-C's NSTask. Now using Process in Swift, I'm trying to gather updates as the process runs, using readabilityHandler and availableData. However, my process tends to exit before all data has been read. I found this post entitled "Running a Child Process with Standard Input and Output" but it doesn't seem to address gathering output from long-running tasks. Is there a straightforward way to gather ongoing output from a long running task without it prematurely exiting?
10
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263
May ’25
XPC activity doesn’t fire while main app is closed
Hi, I have a sandboxed app with a bundled sandboxed XPC service. When it’s launched, the XPC service registers a repeating XPC activity with the system. The activity’s handler block does get called regularly like I’d expect, but it stops being called once the main app terminates. What’s the recommended way to fix this issue? Could I have a bundled XPC service double as a launch agent, or would that cause other problems?
4
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241
May ’25
Cross process URL bookmark
I am developing a background application that acts as a metadata server under MacOS written in Swift. Sandboxed clients prompt the user to select URLs which are passed to the server as security scoped bookmarks via an App Group and the metadata will be passed back. I don't want the I/O overhead of passing the complete image file data to the server. All the variations I have tried of creating security scoped bookmarks in the client and reading them from the server fail with error messages such as "The file couldn’t be opened because it isn’t in the correct format." Can anyone guide me in the right direction or is this just not possible?
10
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294
Jun ’25
How to prevent the main app from being terminated by the system during long - term system - level recording
After logging in to the main App, turn on screen recording, then switch to the interface of another App to perform operations. After about ten-odd minutes, when returning to the main App, it was found that the app was forcefully quit by the system, and subsequent operations could not be carried out.
1
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164
May ’25
Background App Refresh
Hi, I have a couple questions about background app refresh. First, is the function RefreshAppContentsOperation() where to implement code that needs to be run in the background? Second, despite importing BackgroundTasks, I am getting the error "cannot find operationQueue in scope". What can I do to resolve that? Thank you. func scheduleAppRefresh() { let request = BGAppRefreshTaskRequest(identifier: "peaceofmindmentalhealth.RoutineRefresh") // Fetch no earlier than 15 minutes from now. request.earliestBeginDate = Date(timeIntervalSinceNow: 15 * 60) do { try BGTaskScheduler.shared.submit(request) } catch { print("Could not schedule app refresh: \(error)") } } func handleAppRefresh(task: BGAppRefreshTask) { // Schedule a new refresh task. scheduleAppRefresh() // Create an operation that performs the main part of the background task. let operation = RefreshAppContentsOperation() // Provide the background task with an expiration handler that cancels the operation. task.expirationHandler = { operation.cancel() } // Inform the system that the background task is complete // when the operation completes. operation.completionBlock = { task.setTaskCompleted(success: !operation.isCancelled) } // Start the operation. operationQueue.addOperation(operation) } func RefreshAppContentsOperation() -> Operation { }
27
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920
Jan ’26
Bundled app error with Electron app on Mac App Store
Hi, I built an Electron app that uses puppeteer-cluster to open a bundled version of Chrome. Everything works before packaging/signing with electron builder. Transporter does not report any issues and the app opens in TestFlight. the Chrome.app is signed separately before running builder hardenedRuntime = false However, a permission error occurs when cluster attempts to launch Chrome: Error: Unable to launch browser, error message: Failed to launch the browser process! [0601/152740.225314:ERROR:bootstrap.cc(65)] bootstrap_check_in org.chromium.crashpad.child_port_handshake.9915.63117.BUEXLMXFWPLCEONM: Permission denied (1100) [0601/152740.226091:ERROR:file_io.cc(94)] ReadExactly: expected 4, observed 0 [0601/152740.229808:ERROR:bootstrap.cc(65)] bootstrap_check_in org.chromium.crashpad.child_port_handshake.9913.63115.VVKELOQUCWUYPFMQ: Permission denied (1100) [0601/152740.230244:ERROR:file_io.cc(94)] ReadExactly: expected 4, observed 0 [9911:45571:0601/152740.506968:ERROR:named_platform_channel_mac.cc(44)] bootstrap_check_in com.google.chrome.for.testing.apps.52995c87946bbcc94fc9a27df1478a13: Permission denied (1100) [9911:62467:0601/152740.507564:FATAL:mach_port_rendezvous.cc(281)] Check failed: kr == KERN_SUCCESS. bootstrap_check_in com.google.chrome.for.testing.MachPortRendezvousServer.9911: Permission denied (1100) at Cluster.<anonymous> (/Applications/MyApp.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/node_modules/puppeteer-cluster/dist/Cluster.js:119:23) at Generator.throw (<anonymous>) at rejected (/Applications/MyApp.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/node_modules/puppeteer-cluster/dist/Cluster.js:6:65) at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5) I'm wondering if it's an issue with entitlements, or something more. The entitlements.mas.plist (aside from identifiers): com.apple.security.app-sandbox com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit com.apple.security.cs.allow-unsigned-executable-memory com.apple.security.cs.allow-dyld-environment-variables com.apple.security.network.client com.apple.security.network.server com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-write com.apple.security.cs.disable-executable-page-protection com.apple.security.files.user-selected.executable I've spent many hours searching for a solution. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.
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188
Jun ’25
How can I bundle resources along with my launch agent?
I have an app which contains a bundled launch agent that I register using SMAppService.agent(plistName:). I’ve packaged the launch agent executable in the typical Mac app bundle structure so I can embed a framework in it. So, the launch agent lives in Contents/SharedSupport/MyLaunchAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/MyLaunchAgent. However, I suspect this approach might be falling afoul of the scheduler, since the taskinfo tool reports my launch agent has a requested & effective role of TASK_DEFAULT_APPLICATION (PRIO_DARWIN_ROLE_UI), rather than the TASK_UNSPECIFIED (PRIO_DARWIN_ROLE_DEFAULT) value I see with system daemons. I tried setting the LSUIElement Info.plist key of my launch agent to YES, but this seems to have had no effect. What’s the recommended approach here?
7
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321
Jun ’25
How to capture stderr from a macOS GUI app (UIKit/AppKit) when launched via open or Finder?
For a macOS GUI application (with a UIKit or AppKit entry point), I want to reliably capture diagnostic logs sent to stderr — especially useful when the app is launched from a terminal script or runs in the background, and traditional GUI elements (like alert dialogs) may not be viable. This is to log startup failures or even success messages for later inspection. However, when the app is launched via open MyApp.app, stderr redirection like open MyApp.app 2> log.txt does not capture any output — the file is created, but remains empty. The only way I can capture stderr reliably is by bypassing the bundle and directly launching the binary inside with ./MyApp.app/Contents/MacOS/MyApp 2> ~/log.txt This logs as expected, but is not the user-friendly or typical way to launch apps on macOS. Double-clicking the app in Finder also does not show any stderr output. Is there any recommended or supported way to redirect or access stderr output when launching a .app bundle via open, or any best practice for logging critical failures from a GUI app when terminal output isn't visible?
5
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261
Jun ’25
Incorrect behaviour of task_info() syscall after an unrelated dlclose() call
For some reason, after invoking an unrelated dlclose() call to unload any .dylib that had previously been loaded via dlopen(..., RTLD_NOW), the subsequent call to task_info(mach_task_self(), TASK_DYLD_INFO, ...) syscall returns unexpected structure in dyld_uuid_info image_infos-&gt;uuidArray, that, while it seems to represent an array of struct dyld_uuid_info elements, there is only 1 such element (dyld_all_image_infos *infos-&gt;uuidArrayCount == 1) and the app crashes when trying to access dyld_uuid_info image-&gt;imageLoadAddress-&gt;magic, as image-&gt;imageLoadAddress doesn't seem to represent a valid struct mach_header structure address (although it looks like a normal pointer within the process address space. What does it point to?). This reproduces on macOS 15.4.1 (24E263) Could you please confirm that this is a bug in the specified OS build, or point to incorrect usage of the task_info() API? Attaching the C++ file that reproduces the issue to this email message It needs to be built on macOS 15.4.1 (24E263) via Xcode or just a command line clang++ compiler. It may crash or return garbage, depending on memory layout, but on this macOS build it doesn’t return a correct feedfacf magic number for the struct mach_header structure. Thank you Feedback Assistant reference: FB18431345 //On `macOS 15.4.1 (24E263)` create a C++ application (for example, in Xcode), with the following contents. Note, that this application should crash on this macOS build. It will not crash, however, if you either: //1. Comment out `dlclose()` call //2. Change the order of the `performDlOpenDlClose()` and `performTaskInfoSyscall()` functions calls (first performTaskInfoSyscall() then performDlOpenDlClose()). #include &lt;iostream&gt; #include &lt;dlfcn.h&gt; #include &lt;mach/mach.h&gt; #include &lt;mach-o/dyld_images.h&gt; #include &lt;mach-o/loader.h&gt; void performDlOpenDlClose() { printf("dlopen/dlclose function\n"); printf("Note: please adjust the path below to any real dylib on your system, if the path below doesn't exist!\n"); std::string path = "/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/lib/libswiftDemangle.dylib"; printf("Dylib to open: %s\n", path.c_str()); void* handle = ::dlopen(path.c_str(), RTLD_NOW); if(handle) { ::dlclose(handle); } else { printf("Error: %s\n", dlerror()); } } void performTaskInfoSyscall() { printf("Making a task_info() syscall\n"); printf("\033[34mSource File: %s\033[0m\n", __FILE__); task_t task = mach_task_self(); struct task_dyld_info dyld_info; mach_msg_type_number_t size = TASK_DYLD_INFO_COUNT; kern_return_t kr = task_info(task, TASK_DYLD_INFO, (task_info_t)&amp;dyld_info, &amp;size); if (kr != KERN_SUCCESS) { fprintf(stderr, "task_info failed: %s\n", mach_error_string(kr)); } const struct dyld_all_image_infos* infos = (const struct dyld_all_image_infos*)dyld_info.all_image_info_addr; printf("version: %d, infos-&gt;infoArrayCount: %d\n", infos-&gt;version, infos-&gt;infoArrayCount); for(uint32_t i=0; i&lt;infos-&gt;infoArrayCount; i++) { dyld_image_info image = infos-&gt;infoArray[i]; const struct mach_header* header = image.imageLoadAddress; printf("%d ", i); printf("%p ", (void*)image.imageLoadAddress); printf("(%x) ", header-&gt;magic); printf("%s\n", image.imageFilePath); fflush(stdout); } printf("\n\n"); printf("infos-&gt;uuidArrayCount: %lu\n", infos-&gt;uuidArrayCount); for(uint32_t i=0; i&lt;infos-&gt;uuidArrayCount; i++) { dyld_uuid_info image = infos-&gt;uuidArray[i]; const struct mach_header* header = image.imageLoadAddress; printf("%d ", i); printf("%p ", (void*)image.imageLoadAddress); printf("(%x)\n", header-&gt;magic); fflush(stdout); } printf("task_info() syscall result processing is completed\n\n"); } int main(int argc, const char * argv[]) { performDlOpenDlClose(); performTaskInfoSyscall(); return 0; }
4
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186
Jun ’25
app background launch unexpectedly
Our app will launch automatically in the background,Doubt is the result of background fetch ,so we cancel the background modes setting of the background fetch,but we still can see the performFetchWithCompletionHandler method called when app launch in the background。Background launch will cause some bugs in our app. We don't want the app to start in the background. We hope to get help
Replies
4
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0
Views
860
Activity
Dec ’25
Called endBackgroundTask but not working
When my app enter to background, I start a background task, and when Expiration happens, I end my background task. The code likes below: backgroundTask = [[UIApplication sharedApplication] beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler:^{ dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ if (backgroundTask != UIBackgroundTaskInvalid) { [[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:backgroundTask]; backgroundTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid; [self cancel]; } }); }]; When the breakpoint is triggered at the endBackgroundTask line, I also get the following log: [BackgroundTask] Background task still not ended after expiration handlers were called: <UIBackgroundTaskInfo: 0x282d7ab40>: taskID = 36, taskName = Called by MyApp, from MyMethod, creationTime = 892832 (elapsed = 26). This app will likely be terminated by the system. Call UIApplication.endBackgroundTask(:) to avoid this. The log don't appear every time, so why is that? Is there something wrong with my code?
Replies
3
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0
Views
3.1k
Activity
Jun ’25
Sensorkit - Troubleshooting SRErrorDataInaccessible in Background Fetch with SensorKit
Hello, I am currently developing an iOS application using SensorKit. I encountered an issue when attempting to fetch SensorKit data in the background using background tasks (appRefresh, processing). The following error occurs: In the delegate function func sensorReader(_ reader: SRSensorReader, fetching fetchRequest: SRFetchRequest, failedWithError error: any Error) {}, I receive the error: SRErrorDataInaccessible. In code specific manner: start and handle background fetch (appRefresh) func handleAppRefreshTask(task: BGAppRefreshTask) { logger.logWithServer(level: .default, message: "background fetch start", category: String(describing: BackgroundTaskManager.self)) scheduleBackgroundFetch() let queue = OperationQueue() queue.maxConcurrentOperationCount = 1 let fetchOperation = FetchOperation() queue.addOperation(fetchOperation) task.expirationHandler = { self.logger.logWithServer(level: .error, message: "background fetch expirated", category: String(describing: BackgroundTaskManager.self)) queue.cancelAllOperations() } fetchOperation.completionBlock = { task.setTaskCompleted(success: !fetchOperation.isCancelled) } } Background fetch operation class class FetchOperation: Operation { override func main() { guard !isCancelled else { return } Task { // this function will execute fetch request for all user allowed sensorReader, 'func fetch(_ request: SRFetchRequest)' await SensorkitManager.shared.startFetchAndUpload() } } } I have the following questions: Is it possible to fetch SensorKit data in the background? If it is possible, why does the above error occur? If it is possible, could you provide the solution code and the correct workflow to avoid this error? Thank you.
Replies
3
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0
Views
1.2k
Activity
Feb ’26
How to correctly deploy bundled launchdaemons/launchagents?
I'm working on an enterprise product that's mainly a daemon (with Endpoint Security) without any GUI component. I'm looking into the update process for daemons/agents that was introduced with Ventura (Link), but I have to say that the entire process is just deeply unfun. Really can't stress this enough how unfun. Anyway... The product bundle now contains a dedicated Swift executable that calls SMAppService.register for both the daemon and agent. It registers the app in the system preferences login items menu, but I also get an error. Error registering daemon: Error Domain=SMAppServiceErrorDomain Code=1 "Operation not permitted" UserInfo={NSLocalizedFailureReason=Operation not permitted} What could be the reason? I wouldn't need to activate the items, I just need them to be added to the list, so that I can control them via launchctl. Which leads me to my next question, how can I control bundled daemons/agents via launchctl? I tried to use launchctl enable and bootstrap, just like I do with daemons under /Library/LaunchDaemons, but all I get is sudo launchctl enable system/com.identifier.daemon sudo launchctl bootstrap /Path/to/daemon/launchdplist/inside/bundle/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.blub.plist Bootstrap failed: 5: Input/output error (not super helpful error message) I'm really frustrated by the complexity of this process and all of its pitfalls.
Replies
7
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0
Views
1.2k
Activity
Aug ’25
macOS 14 XPC vs Foundation XPC
I'm looking into a newer XPC API available starting with macOS 14. Although it's declared as a low-level API I can't figure it how to specify code signing requirement using XPCListener and XPCSession. How do I connect it with xpc_listener_set_peer_code_signing_requirement and xpc_connection_set_peer_code_signing_requirement which require xpc_listener_t and xpc_connection_t respectively? Foundation XPC is declared as a high-level API and provides easy ways to specify code signing requirements on both ends of xpc. I'm confused with all these XPC APIs and their future: Newer really high-level XPCListener and XPCSession API (in low-level framework???) Low-level xpc_listener_t & xpc_connection_t -like API. Is it being replaced by newer XPCListener and XPCSession? How is it related to High-level Foundation XPC? Are NSXPCListener and NSXPCConnection going to be deprecated and replaced by XPCListener and XPCSession??
Replies
2
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0
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911
Activity
Aug ’25
Some fundamental doubts about DisptachQueue and GCD
I understand that GCD and it's underlying implementations have evolved over time. And many things have not been shared explicitly in Apple documentation. The most concepts of DispatchQueue (serial and concurrent queues), DispatchQoS, target queue and system provided queues: main and globals etc. I have some doubts & questions to clarify: [Main Dispatch Queue] [Link] Because the main queue doesn't behave entirely like a regular serial queue, it may have unwanted side-effects when used in processes that are not UI apps (daemons). For such processes, the main queue should be avoided. What does it mean? Can you elaborate? [Global Concurrent Dispatch Queues] Are they global to a process or across processes on a device. I believe it is the first case but just wanted to be sure. [Global Concurrent Dispatch Queues] Does system create 4 (for each QoS) * 2 (over-commiting and non-overcommiting queues) = 8 queues in all. When does which type of queue comes into play? [Custom Queue][Target Queue concept] [swift-corelibs-libdispatch/man/dispatch_queue_create.3] QUOTE The default target queue of all dispatch objects created by the application is the default priority global concurrent queue. UNQUOTE Is this stil true? We could not find a mention of this in any latest official apple documentation (though some old forum threads (one more) and github code documentation indicate the same). The official documentation only says: [dispatch_set_target_queue] QUOTE If you want the system to provide a queue that is appropriate for the current object UNQUOTE [dispatch_queue_create_with_target] QUOTE Specify DISPATCH_TARGET_QUEUE_DEFAULT to set the target queue to the default type for the current dispatch queue.UNQUOTE [Dispatch>DispatchQueue>init] QUOTE Specify DISPATCH_TARGET_QUEUE_DEFAULT if you want the system to provide a queue that is appropriate for the current object. UNQUOTE What is the difference between passing target queue as 'nil' vs 'DISPATCH_TARGET_QUEUE_DEFAULT' to DispatchQueue init? [Custom Queue][Target Queue concept] [dispatch_set_target_queue] QUOTE The system doesn't allocate threads to the dispatch queue if it has a target queue, unless that target queue is a global concurrent queue. UNQUOTE The system does allocate threads to the custom dispatch queues that have global concurrent queue as the default target. What does that mean? Why does targetting to global concurrent queues mean in that case? [System / GCD Thread Pool] that excutes work items from DispatchQueue: Is this thread pool per queue? or across queues per process? or across processes per device?
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Jan ’26
What DispatchQueues should i use for my app's communication subsystem?
We would be creating N NWListener objects and M NWConnection objects in our process' communication subsystem to create server sockets, accepted client sockets on server and client sockets on clients. Both NWConnection and NWListener rely on DispatchQueue to deliver state changes, incoming connections, send/recv completions etc. What DispatchQueues should I use and why? Global Concurrent Dispatch Queue (and which QoS?) for all NWConnection and NWListener One custom concurrent queue (which QoS?) for all NWConnection and NWListener? (Does that anyways get targetted to one of the global queues?) One custom concurrent queue per NWConnection and NWListener though all targetted to Global Concurrent Dispatch Queue (and which QoS?)? One custom concurrent queue per NWConnection and NWListener though all targetted to single target custom concurrent queue? For every option above, how am I impacted in terms of parallelism, concurrency, throughput &amp; latency and how is overall system impacted (with other processes also running)? Seperate questions (sorry for the digression): Are global concurrent queues specific to a process or shared across all processes on a device? Can I safely use setSpecific on global dispatch queues in our app?
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Jan ’26
Background terminations increase
We've seen a recent increase in background terminations: blue - System Pressure orange - Task Timeout I'm trying to understand the increase in system-pressure terminations, since there's no corresponding increase in memory at suspension. Are there other system resources for which iOS will terminate an app?
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364
Activity
Jun ’25
Background Audio Recording
I have an app that uses background audio recording. From what others say, I have enabled the audio background mode to keep the audio session active, and this worked. But when submitting the app to the app store, the app was rejected because the audio background mode is only supposed to be used for audio playback. How do I create this background mode while following Apple's guidelines?
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354
Activity
Jan ’26
LaunchAgent can't connect to CloudKit daemon
For this code: let status = try await container.accountStatus() Seeing this error: 2025-05-08 15:32:00.945731-0500 localhost myAgent[2661]: (myDaemon.debug.dylib) [com.myDaemon.cli:networking] Error Domain=CKErrorDomain Code=6 "Error connecting to CloudKit daemon. This could happen for many reasons, for example a daemon exit, a device reboot, a race with the connection inactivity monitor, invalid entitlements, and more. Check the logs around this time to investigate the cause of this error." UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Error connecting to CloudKit daemon. This could happen for many reasons, for example a daemon exit, a device reboot, a race with the connection inactivity monitor, invalid entitlements, and more. Check the logs around this time to investigate the cause of this error., CKRetryAfter=5, CKErrorDescription=Error connecting to CloudKit daemon. This could happen for many reasons, for example a daemon exit, a device reboot, a race with the connection inactivity monitor, invalid entitlements, and more. Check the logs around this time to investigate the cause of this error., NSUnderlyingError=0x600001bfc270 {Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 UserInfo={NSDebugDescription= I initially started the this process as System Daemon to see what would happen (which obviously does not have CloudKit features). Then moved it back to /Library/LaunchAgents/ and can't get rid of that error. I see also following message from CloudKit daemon: Ignoring failed attempt to get container proxy for &lt;private&gt;: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=&lt;private&gt;} Automatically retrying getting container proxy due to error for &lt;private&gt;: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=&lt;private&gt;} XPC connection interrupted for &lt;private&gt; And this error for xpc service: [0x130e074b0] failed to do a bootstrap look-up: xpc_error=[3: No such process] If I start the same cli process directly from XCode, then it works just fine.
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236
Activity
May ’25
SMAppService getting notified when status changes externally (from System Settings)
Say I want to sync a toggle in my app with SMAppService's .status property. If the status changes from my app I can track it. But if user toggles it from System Settings, I don't see a notification so then the UI in my app is out of date. The status property is not key value observable and there doesn't appear to be a SMAppServiceStatusDidChangeNotification ? I can re-read it every time my app will become active but feels kind of wrong to do it this way.
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2
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190
Activity
May ’25
Getting Progress from long running process
I have been working on updating an old app that makes extensive use of Objective-C's NSTask. Now using Process in Swift, I'm trying to gather updates as the process runs, using readabilityHandler and availableData. However, my process tends to exit before all data has been read. I found this post entitled "Running a Child Process with Standard Input and Output" but it doesn't seem to address gathering output from long-running tasks. Is there a straightforward way to gather ongoing output from a long running task without it prematurely exiting?
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10
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263
Activity
May ’25
XPC activity doesn’t fire while main app is closed
Hi, I have a sandboxed app with a bundled sandboxed XPC service. When it’s launched, the XPC service registers a repeating XPC activity with the system. The activity’s handler block does get called regularly like I’d expect, but it stops being called once the main app terminates. What’s the recommended way to fix this issue? Could I have a bundled XPC service double as a launch agent, or would that cause other problems?
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241
Activity
May ’25
Cross process URL bookmark
I am developing a background application that acts as a metadata server under MacOS written in Swift. Sandboxed clients prompt the user to select URLs which are passed to the server as security scoped bookmarks via an App Group and the metadata will be passed back. I don't want the I/O overhead of passing the complete image file data to the server. All the variations I have tried of creating security scoped bookmarks in the client and reading them from the server fail with error messages such as "The file couldn’t be opened because it isn’t in the correct format." Can anyone guide me in the right direction or is this just not possible?
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Jun ’25
How to prevent the main app from being terminated by the system during long - term system - level recording
After logging in to the main App, turn on screen recording, then switch to the interface of another App to perform operations. After about ten-odd minutes, when returning to the main App, it was found that the app was forcefully quit by the system, and subsequent operations could not be carried out.
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May ’25
Background App Refresh
Hi, I have a couple questions about background app refresh. First, is the function RefreshAppContentsOperation() where to implement code that needs to be run in the background? Second, despite importing BackgroundTasks, I am getting the error "cannot find operationQueue in scope". What can I do to resolve that? Thank you. func scheduleAppRefresh() { let request = BGAppRefreshTaskRequest(identifier: "peaceofmindmentalhealth.RoutineRefresh") // Fetch no earlier than 15 minutes from now. request.earliestBeginDate = Date(timeIntervalSinceNow: 15 * 60) do { try BGTaskScheduler.shared.submit(request) } catch { print("Could not schedule app refresh: \(error)") } } func handleAppRefresh(task: BGAppRefreshTask) { // Schedule a new refresh task. scheduleAppRefresh() // Create an operation that performs the main part of the background task. let operation = RefreshAppContentsOperation() // Provide the background task with an expiration handler that cancels the operation. task.expirationHandler = { operation.cancel() } // Inform the system that the background task is complete // when the operation completes. operation.completionBlock = { task.setTaskCompleted(success: !operation.isCancelled) } // Start the operation. operationQueue.addOperation(operation) } func RefreshAppContentsOperation() -> Operation { }
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920
Activity
Jan ’26
Bundled app error with Electron app on Mac App Store
Hi, I built an Electron app that uses puppeteer-cluster to open a bundled version of Chrome. Everything works before packaging/signing with electron builder. Transporter does not report any issues and the app opens in TestFlight. the Chrome.app is signed separately before running builder hardenedRuntime = false However, a permission error occurs when cluster attempts to launch Chrome: Error: Unable to launch browser, error message: Failed to launch the browser process! [0601/152740.225314:ERROR:bootstrap.cc(65)] bootstrap_check_in org.chromium.crashpad.child_port_handshake.9915.63117.BUEXLMXFWPLCEONM: Permission denied (1100) [0601/152740.226091:ERROR:file_io.cc(94)] ReadExactly: expected 4, observed 0 [0601/152740.229808:ERROR:bootstrap.cc(65)] bootstrap_check_in org.chromium.crashpad.child_port_handshake.9913.63115.VVKELOQUCWUYPFMQ: Permission denied (1100) [0601/152740.230244:ERROR:file_io.cc(94)] ReadExactly: expected 4, observed 0 [9911:45571:0601/152740.506968:ERROR:named_platform_channel_mac.cc(44)] bootstrap_check_in com.google.chrome.for.testing.apps.52995c87946bbcc94fc9a27df1478a13: Permission denied (1100) [9911:62467:0601/152740.507564:FATAL:mach_port_rendezvous.cc(281)] Check failed: kr == KERN_SUCCESS. bootstrap_check_in com.google.chrome.for.testing.MachPortRendezvousServer.9911: Permission denied (1100) at Cluster.<anonymous> (/Applications/MyApp.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/node_modules/puppeteer-cluster/dist/Cluster.js:119:23) at Generator.throw (<anonymous>) at rejected (/Applications/MyApp.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/node_modules/puppeteer-cluster/dist/Cluster.js:6:65) at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5) I'm wondering if it's an issue with entitlements, or something more. The entitlements.mas.plist (aside from identifiers): com.apple.security.app-sandbox com.apple.security.cs.allow-jit com.apple.security.cs.allow-unsigned-executable-memory com.apple.security.cs.allow-dyld-environment-variables com.apple.security.network.client com.apple.security.network.server com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-write com.apple.security.cs.disable-executable-page-protection com.apple.security.files.user-selected.executable I've spent many hours searching for a solution. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.
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188
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Jun ’25
How can I bundle resources along with my launch agent?
I have an app which contains a bundled launch agent that I register using SMAppService.agent(plistName:). I’ve packaged the launch agent executable in the typical Mac app bundle structure so I can embed a framework in it. So, the launch agent lives in Contents/SharedSupport/MyLaunchAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/MyLaunchAgent. However, I suspect this approach might be falling afoul of the scheduler, since the taskinfo tool reports my launch agent has a requested & effective role of TASK_DEFAULT_APPLICATION (PRIO_DARWIN_ROLE_UI), rather than the TASK_UNSPECIFIED (PRIO_DARWIN_ROLE_DEFAULT) value I see with system daemons. I tried setting the LSUIElement Info.plist key of my launch agent to YES, but this seems to have had no effect. What’s the recommended approach here?
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321
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Jun ’25
How to capture stderr from a macOS GUI app (UIKit/AppKit) when launched via open or Finder?
For a macOS GUI application (with a UIKit or AppKit entry point), I want to reliably capture diagnostic logs sent to stderr — especially useful when the app is launched from a terminal script or runs in the background, and traditional GUI elements (like alert dialogs) may not be viable. This is to log startup failures or even success messages for later inspection. However, when the app is launched via open MyApp.app, stderr redirection like open MyApp.app 2> log.txt does not capture any output — the file is created, but remains empty. The only way I can capture stderr reliably is by bypassing the bundle and directly launching the binary inside with ./MyApp.app/Contents/MacOS/MyApp 2> ~/log.txt This logs as expected, but is not the user-friendly or typical way to launch apps on macOS. Double-clicking the app in Finder also does not show any stderr output. Is there any recommended or supported way to redirect or access stderr output when launching a .app bundle via open, or any best practice for logging critical failures from a GUI app when terminal output isn't visible?
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261
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Jun ’25
Incorrect behaviour of task_info() syscall after an unrelated dlclose() call
For some reason, after invoking an unrelated dlclose() call to unload any .dylib that had previously been loaded via dlopen(..., RTLD_NOW), the subsequent call to task_info(mach_task_self(), TASK_DYLD_INFO, ...) syscall returns unexpected structure in dyld_uuid_info image_infos-&gt;uuidArray, that, while it seems to represent an array of struct dyld_uuid_info elements, there is only 1 such element (dyld_all_image_infos *infos-&gt;uuidArrayCount == 1) and the app crashes when trying to access dyld_uuid_info image-&gt;imageLoadAddress-&gt;magic, as image-&gt;imageLoadAddress doesn't seem to represent a valid struct mach_header structure address (although it looks like a normal pointer within the process address space. What does it point to?). This reproduces on macOS 15.4.1 (24E263) Could you please confirm that this is a bug in the specified OS build, or point to incorrect usage of the task_info() API? Attaching the C++ file that reproduces the issue to this email message It needs to be built on macOS 15.4.1 (24E263) via Xcode or just a command line clang++ compiler. It may crash or return garbage, depending on memory layout, but on this macOS build it doesn’t return a correct feedfacf magic number for the struct mach_header structure. Thank you Feedback Assistant reference: FB18431345 //On `macOS 15.4.1 (24E263)` create a C++ application (for example, in Xcode), with the following contents. Note, that this application should crash on this macOS build. It will not crash, however, if you either: //1. Comment out `dlclose()` call //2. Change the order of the `performDlOpenDlClose()` and `performTaskInfoSyscall()` functions calls (first performTaskInfoSyscall() then performDlOpenDlClose()). #include &lt;iostream&gt; #include &lt;dlfcn.h&gt; #include &lt;mach/mach.h&gt; #include &lt;mach-o/dyld_images.h&gt; #include &lt;mach-o/loader.h&gt; void performDlOpenDlClose() { printf("dlopen/dlclose function\n"); printf("Note: please adjust the path below to any real dylib on your system, if the path below doesn't exist!\n"); std::string path = "/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/lib/libswiftDemangle.dylib"; printf("Dylib to open: %s\n", path.c_str()); void* handle = ::dlopen(path.c_str(), RTLD_NOW); if(handle) { ::dlclose(handle); } else { printf("Error: %s\n", dlerror()); } } void performTaskInfoSyscall() { printf("Making a task_info() syscall\n"); printf("\033[34mSource File: %s\033[0m\n", __FILE__); task_t task = mach_task_self(); struct task_dyld_info dyld_info; mach_msg_type_number_t size = TASK_DYLD_INFO_COUNT; kern_return_t kr = task_info(task, TASK_DYLD_INFO, (task_info_t)&amp;dyld_info, &amp;size); if (kr != KERN_SUCCESS) { fprintf(stderr, "task_info failed: %s\n", mach_error_string(kr)); } const struct dyld_all_image_infos* infos = (const struct dyld_all_image_infos*)dyld_info.all_image_info_addr; printf("version: %d, infos-&gt;infoArrayCount: %d\n", infos-&gt;version, infos-&gt;infoArrayCount); for(uint32_t i=0; i&lt;infos-&gt;infoArrayCount; i++) { dyld_image_info image = infos-&gt;infoArray[i]; const struct mach_header* header = image.imageLoadAddress; printf("%d ", i); printf("%p ", (void*)image.imageLoadAddress); printf("(%x) ", header-&gt;magic); printf("%s\n", image.imageFilePath); fflush(stdout); } printf("\n\n"); printf("infos-&gt;uuidArrayCount: %lu\n", infos-&gt;uuidArrayCount); for(uint32_t i=0; i&lt;infos-&gt;uuidArrayCount; i++) { dyld_uuid_info image = infos-&gt;uuidArray[i]; const struct mach_header* header = image.imageLoadAddress; printf("%d ", i); printf("%p ", (void*)image.imageLoadAddress); printf("(%x)\n", header-&gt;magic); fflush(stdout); } printf("task_info() syscall result processing is completed\n\n"); } int main(int argc, const char * argv[]) { performDlOpenDlClose(); performTaskInfoSyscall(); return 0; }
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Jun ’25