maintaining-macos-health

# Maintaining macOS Health Recovery and prevention playbook for macOS disk and memory crises. Validated against a real watchdog-timeout kernel panic on Apple Silicon caused by `vm_compressor` segments saturated to 100 % with the disk over 90 % full. The same playbook works for routine cleanup or first-time setup on a new machine. ## Table of contents - [When to use](#when-to-use) - [Skill layout](#skill-layout) - [Core mental model](#core-mental-model) - [Standard workflows](#standard-workflows) - [A. "Free space NOW" (incident response)](#a-free-space-now-incident-response) - [B. "Set up alerting" (new machine or first time)](#b-set-up-alerting-new-machine-or-first-time) - [C. Alerter stopped working / making noise](#c-already-have-alerter-but-it-stopped-working--making-noise) - [D. "Uninstall an app cleanly"](#d-uninstall-an-app-cleanly) - [Safety rules (non-negotiable)](#safety-rules-non-negotiable) - [Domain quirks captured](#domain-quirks-captured) - [Outcomes scale](#outcomes-scale) ## When to use Trigger on any of: - Disk free < 20 % or user complains about being out of space - Watchdog-timeout / kernel panic / "no checkins from watchdogd" - New `JetsamEvent-*.ips` with `vm-compressor-space-shortage` - "Mac is slow", swap > 6 GB, sustained Critical memory pressure - A process persistently consumes a core, or the whole machine stays CPU-saturated - User wants to set up monitoring/alerting from scratch - Migration to a new Mac → restore the same alerter - G...