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Ask HN: Why does macOS assume apps can reliably maintain settings files?

2 points amichail | 2 comments | 27 Aug 25 18:04 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

I don’t trust apps to keep settings intact over long periods through multiple updates.

I think macOS should offer a feature to reset to a fresh install while preserving the home directory name and moving its contents to an "old" subdirectory.

Would you use such a feature occasionally (e.g., yearly)?

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systemswizard ◴[27 Aug 25 22:06 UTC] No.45045923[source]▶
So Apple should reinvent the wheel because you have a lack in trust your third party vendor app working or not through upgrades?

Create a new user and delete the old one. This functionality already exists and doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Likewise Apple shouldn’t be trying to help fix these issues in any sort of way as it will make troubleshooting issues with macOS and app updates harder to diagnose.

replies(1): >>45045990 #
1. amichail ◴[27 Aug 25 22:13 UTC] No.45045990[source]▶
You shouldn't trust any app's ability to maintain the integrity of its settings files over multiple updates.
replies(1): >>45046049 #
2. systemswizard ◴[27 Aug 25 22:19 UTC] No.45046049[source]▶
Honestly have never had an issue

There’s always going to be a possibility of an issue but if you’re blindly upgrading your OS without checking for support on your third party apps it’s always going to be a problem but you can run into this with any OS…