defaults delete is not working

Question

I've made a bit of a mess with my Mac (macOS Ventura 13.5) whose shell is zsh. The problems started when I used python syntax to run commands, as it's a requirement apart of the project I'm doing to implement CIS benchmarks on my computer.

• I never had AutomaticCheckEnabled on this Mac, so I was trying to make that change first with:

command = f"sudo defaults write {self.path} \"^{self.key}\" -int {target}"

Which in the terminal is:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate "^AutomaticCheckEnabled" -int 1

That incorrect formatting made the field exactly as "^AutomaticCheckEnabled", because I thought I had to do it similar to bash with python.

I tried to use delete the field I accidentally made, with the command

defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate "^AutomaticCheckEnabled"

It didn't work and in which errors to:

Domain (/Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate) not found. Defaults have not been changed.

So, I'm trying to figure out the best way to resolve this.

I eventually added the field with the right format, as you can see below here in the output of defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate. The old, incorrectly formatted field is at the bottom that I accidentally added, needing to be removed.

{
    AutomaticCheckEnabled = 1;
    LastAttemptBuildVersion = "13.4.1 (22F82)";
    LastAttemptSystemVersion = "13.4.1 (22F82)";
    LastBackgroundSuccessfulDate = "2023-07-24 13:19:33 +0000";
    LastFullSuccessfulDate = "2023-07-24 13:39:11 +0000";
    LastRecommendedMajorOSBundleIdentifier = "";
    LastRecommendedUpdatesAvailable = 1;
    LastResultCode = 2;
    LastSessionSuccessful = 1;
    LastSuccessfulDate = "2023-07-24 13:39:11 +0000";
    LastUpdatesAvailable = 1;
    PrimaryLanguages =     (
        "en-US",
        en
    );
    RecommendedUpdates =     (
                {
            "Display Name" = "macOS Security Response 13.4.1 (c)";
            "Display Version" = "13.4.1 (c)";
            Identifier = "MSU_UPDATE_22F770820d_patch_13.4.1_rsr";
            MobileSoftwareUpdate = 1;
            "Product Key" = "MSU_UPDATE_22F770820d_patch_13.4.1_rsr";
        }
    );
    SplatProductVersion = "macOS Security Response 13.4.1 (c) 13.4.1";
    TimeOfSemiSplatCompletion = "2023-07-24 13:22:41 +0000";
    "^AutomaticCheckEnabled" = 1;
}

I'm looking for guidance on how to fix the

Domain (/Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate) not found. Defaults have not been changed.

error from running the command

defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate "^AutomaticCheckEnabled"

Answer 1

I can't currently test this on anything with a sealed system volume, however, even prior to that there are a couple of things missing/wrong.

Firstly, you need sudo to change that parameter.
Secondly, I don't think it's wise to delete it as it's an 'always there' parameter, just set it the way you'd prefer it.
Thirdly, your 'command' is wrong. No quotes "" & no spurious ^ symbol. You set it with a boolean.

To disable, you need
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate AutomaticCheckEnabled -bool false
& to enable, set the boolean the other way
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate AutomaticCheckEnabled -bool true

Confirmed this works on Mojave, as noted I can't test on anything newer right now.

The key, as it should appear in the file, is simply

<key>AutomaticCheckEnabled</key>
<true/>

Answer 2

The simplest fix is to delete all the preferences set for this one key by issuing this command:

defaults delete com.apple.SoftwareUpdate

Then restart the Mac. The reason is we can't guess what random garbage was written by your attempts. Deleting the update preferences are very safe as Apple will establish the default ones when it restarts. You can then view the System Settings to make sure you like the updates. Then you can be more methodical with the following:

defaults read com.apple.SoftwareUpdate

You want to use the new key and not the old /Library notation IMO. Once you have a dump of the exact default (or current if you change from the GUI) you can take the knowledge you've learned in this very worthwhile experiment and try with pure shell syntax to script your CIS changes. Those are very very tricky to do correctly so many people work together to share scripts open source style.

• https://github.com/jamf?q=CIS&type=all&language=&sort=

Each release has different syntax and you can browse the Jamf scripts for guidance or to use them within the license granted.