Privileged helper
Why Smart Breeze asks for approval
Reading temperatures and fan speeds does not need administrator access. Changing fan ownership or target RPM does, so Smart Breeze uses a removable root helper managed by macOS SMAppService.
What the helper does
- Authenticates the signed Smart Breeze app, its Team ID, and a device-specific authorization token.
- Accepts bounded, versioned fan-control requests.
- Clamps targets and verifies AppleSMC readback.
- Watches temperature and application heartbeats independently.
- Returns fans to verified System control on failure, disconnect, or removal.
Where it lives
The executable and launch-daemon policy stay inside the signed Smart Breeze app bundle. macOS manages approval under Login Items & Extensions. Smart Breeze does not ship or load a legacy standalone installer.
The app holds one device-only Keychain token. The helper holds a separately verified root-owned copy under /Library/Application Support/Breeze with file mode 0600.
Approval and repair
If you deny or later disable the background item, Smart Breeze continues as a monitor and does not bypass your choice. If authorization copies no longer match, choose Settings → Fan Control → Repair Fan Helper. Smart Breeze verifies System control, rotates the credentials, and verifies the repaired connection.
Removal
Use Remove Fan Helper inside Smart Breeze. Do not rely on deleting the app alone: Smart Breeze first verifies that macOS controls every fan, unregisters the service, and removes both authorization-token copies.