Permissions

Checking and asking

The system keeps some of what an app may do for the user to give: the microphone, the camera, calendars, reminders, Bluetooth and the media library on phones and Macs, and on macOS also Accessibility, Screen Recording, Input Monitoring, Full Disk Access, App Management and Developer Tools. core.Permissions() lists them as core.Permission keys. cx.PermissionStatus answers whether the app has one without asking, and cx.RequestPermission asks with the system’s prompt where it has one and has not asked yet. Ask as the user does something that needs the permission. Face ID and Touch ID are not among them: cx.BiometricAvailability tells them and cx.AuthenticateBiometric asks with their own prompt (biometrics).

cx.RequestPermission(core.PermissionCamera, func(s core.PermissionStatus) {
	if s.Allowed() {
		startScanner()
	}
})

Status	String()	Meaning
PermissionNotAsked	prompt	Not asked yet: a request shows the system’s prompt
PermissionGranted	granted	The app has it
PermissionDenied	denied	Refused; only the system’s settings change it
PermissionUnknown	unknown	Kept, but the system or the platform does not tell it
PermissionNotGated	not-gated	Nothing keeps it from the app, as on Linux
PermissionUnavailable	unavailable	The platform has no such thing

Allowed is true for granted and not gated. macOS answers Accessibility, Screen Recording and Input Monitoring denied until the user turns them on, as asking only lists the app in their pane, and tells a Screen Recording grant once the app starts again.

Usage descriptions

On macOS and iOS, asking needs the permission’s reason in the app’s Info.plist, which nsgo.yaml’s apple.info holds; without it the request answers unavailable and logs the key, as the system would end the app.

apple:
  info:
    NSMicrophoneUsageDescription: Records your voice notes.
    NSCameraUsageDescription: Scans the codes you point it at.
    NSCalendarsFullAccessUsageDescription: Adds your bookings to your calendar.  # macOS 14 and iOS 17; NSCalendarsUsageDescription before
    NSRemindersFullAccessUsageDescription: Turns tasks into reminders.            # NSRemindersUsageDescription before
    NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription: Finds your headphones.
    NSAppleMusicUsageDescription: Plays your library.                            # iOS
windows:
  device_capabilities: [microphone, webcam]  # what a store build's MSIX declares

Under nsgo dev, macOS charges what the app does to the terminal that started it, so the terminal is the app asked and listed; build the app to test its own permissions.

Opening the settings

cx.OpenPermissionSettings opens the page that gives a permission and answers whether one opened: Privacy & Security at the permission’s pane on macOS, the app’s page in Settings on iOS, and the microphone’s or the camera’s page on Windows.

Guiding the user

desktop.GuidePermission opens that page and waits for the user to give the permission. On macOS a panel follows System Settings’ window without taking the focus and, for the panes whose list takes an app dragged into it, holds the app for the user to drag there. It ends, and its function hears the status, once the app has the permission, the user closes the panel or System Settings, stop is called or the component goes; a new guide ends the one before.

stop := desktop.GuidePermission(cx, core.PermissionAccessibility, desktop.GuideOptions{}, func(s core.PermissionStatus) {
	trusted.Set(s == core.PermissionGranted)
})

The app held out is its bundle, else its executable; GuideOptions.App names another and Name what the panel calls it. Windows opens the page and waits for Settings to close. Elsewhere the function hears the status at once.

Platforms

Platform	What it tells and asks
macOS	Every permission; App Management, Developer Tools and Media & Apple Music are unknown
iOS	The microphone, the camera, calendars, reminders, Bluetooth and the media library
Windows	The microphone and the camera, which it never asks for; the rest is not gated
Linux	Not gated; the microphone and the camera are unknown in Flatpak and Snap
Web	The microphone and the camera, unknown in Firefox
Android, Apple Watch, mini programs	Unknown for now

Testing

nsgotest answers from its model: app.Permissions holds each status, not asked at first, and a request of one not asked makes it app.PermissionAnswers’ for it, else granted. app.PermissionSettings lists the settings opened and app.Guide the guide showing, which app.GrantPermission and app.CloseGuide end.

app.PermissionAnswers[core.PermissionMicrophone] = core.PermissionDenied
app.Press("id:record")
app.Find("text:The microphone is off")

Next

• Notifications: their own permission, badges and presses.
• Building and shipping: the entitlements and capabilities a package declares.