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This guide applies to Mac computers

About Sysdiagnose

A sysdiagnose in macOS collects diagnostic data for troubleshooting system issues. It gathers logs, crash reports, and system state from the Mac. You can generate a sysdiagnose in a few ways, depending on the user’s access level.

How It Works

Sysdiagnose collects system information used to diagnose issues: performance data, logs, hardware information, and system state.

What Sysdiagnose Collects

When you run sysdiagnose, it gathers an extensive array of information, including:
  • System-wide performance profiles - Captures the state of running processes
  • Filesystem activity logs - Reports on system calls and page faults related to filesystem usage
  • Process information - Provides detailed data on running processes and memory usage
  • Kernel memory usage - Includes data on kernel zones and loaded kernel extensions
  • System and crash logs - Collects all relevant logs to help diagnose issues
  • Hardware and software configuration - Similar to the System Information app, but more detailed
  • Network and power management data - Details on current network status and power settings

Generating a Sysdiagnose Using a Keyboard Shortcut

1

Open Finder

Click the Finder icon in the Dock to ensure that Finder is in the foreground.
2

Use keyboard shortcut

All at once, press Command + Option + Shift + Control + Period (.) on the keyboard.
3

Wait for completion

After a few moments, a Finder window should appear with a tar.gz file shown.
4

Provide to support

If the sysdiagnose was requested by Iru Endpoint Support, please zip it and provide the entire bundle.

Generating a Sysdiagnose Using the Command Line

This method requires administrator privileges.
1

Launch Terminal and run command

Launch Terminal.app and enter the following command:
2

Wait for file generation

Wait a few moments for a file ending in .tar.gz to appear on the logged-in user’s Desktop. If you logged into Terminal with a different user than is logged into the Mac, the file will be on the Terminal user’s Desktop.
3

Provide to support

If the sysdiagnose was requested by Iru Endpoint Support, please zip it and provide the entire bundle.

Generating a Sysdiagnose Using Activity Monitor

This method requires administrator privileges.
1

Open Activity Monitor

Open the Activity Monitor app on your Mac.
2

Access system diagnostics

Click the ellipsis at the top of the Activity Monitor window.Select System Diagnostics…
Activity Monitor interface showing the ellipsis menu with System Diagnostics option for generating sysdiagnose reports
3

Accept privacy agreement

Read through and accept the privacy agreement.
4

Wait for completion

Wait for the progress bar to complete. Once done, a Finder window should appear with a tar.gz file shown.
5

Provide to support

If the sysdiagnose was requested by Iru Endpoint Support, please zip it and provide the entire bundle.