[Docs Feedback]: MacOS installation - Permissions

[dutchtexan25]

I confirm that:

• This issue is about the documentation website, NOT about the Navidrome server

Page URL or path

https://www.navidrome.org/docs/installation/macos/

Suggestion

Please add information on what permissions and owners each of the files needs to have

[deluan]

Thanks for the suggestion, this was definitely missing.

I've opened #424, which adds two things to the macOS install page.

File ownership and permissions: a table and a copy-paste block covering the binary, config, data folder, log and the .plist.

Access to protected folders: this turned out to be the bigger issue. macOS blocks ~/Desktop, ~/Documents, ~/Downloads, ~/Music/Music and everything under /Volumes, no matter how the file permissions are set. When that happens Navidrome doesn't report a permission error. It logs Target folder does not exist and shows an empty library, which sends you off checking your path for nothing.

One thing worth flagging: the permission is tied to the binary, not its path, so it is lost every time you update Navidrome. After an update the folder is blocked again and macOS re-prompts.

The simplest way to avoid all of it is to keep your music somewhere macOS doesn't block, like /Users/Shared/Music. The page now says that up front.

All of this was tested on macOS 26.6.1 with Navidrome running as a real LaunchAgent.

Could you take a look at #424 and let me know if it covers what you were after, or if anything is still unclear?