Why
On MDM-managed fleets, the agent's scan triggers a macOS TCC prompt ("stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard would like to access files on a network volume") the first time it walks container-runtime mounts — OrbStack/Docker/Colima virtiofs volumes classify as Network Volumes. Every developer running containers sees this prompt once, attributed to a process name they don't recognize, with no admin-side way to handle it ahead of time.
The pre-approval route is blocked by the default install layout: PPPC's SystemPolicyNetworkVolumes service could pre-grant (or pre-deny) this, but PPPC path identifiers cannot express $HOME, and the binary installs per-user at ~/.stepsecurity/bin/. So MDM admins can neither suppress the prompt nor pre-answer it — the docs' fixed-install-dir option exists but carries its own trade-offs for a fleet already deployed per-user.
To be clear about what we're not asking: skipping these volumes by default would be a loss — the same scan that triggered the prompt inventoried npm packages inside dev containers (node/mongo images), which is supply-chain surface nothing else covers. We'd rather keep that visibility than trade it for prompt-free scans.
Ask
Address the MDM-fleet experience for TCC-gated volume scanning in whatever way fits your design — some options we can see, without presupposing which is right:
- Document the prompt in the MDM deployment docs (what triggers it, what users should click, what admins can/can't pre-configure), so fleets aren't surprised.
- Make PPPC pre-approval practical for the default install (e.g., first-class support/docs for a fixed system-wide install path, or a stable stub location PPPC can target).
- A config toggle scoping which volume classes the scanner walks, so admins choose the prompt/coverage trade-off explicitly per fleet.
Happy to share the fleet-rollout details behind this report.
Why
On MDM-managed fleets, the agent's scan triggers a macOS TCC prompt ("stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard would like to access files on a network volume") the first time it walks container-runtime mounts — OrbStack/Docker/Colima virtiofs volumes classify as Network Volumes. Every developer running containers sees this prompt once, attributed to a process name they don't recognize, with no admin-side way to handle it ahead of time.
The pre-approval route is blocked by the default install layout: PPPC's
SystemPolicyNetworkVolumesservice could pre-grant (or pre-deny) this, but PPPC path identifiers cannot express$HOME, and the binary installs per-user at~/.stepsecurity/bin/. So MDM admins can neither suppress the prompt nor pre-answer it — the docs' fixed-install-dir option exists but carries its own trade-offs for a fleet already deployed per-user.To be clear about what we're not asking: skipping these volumes by default would be a loss — the same scan that triggered the prompt inventoried npm packages inside dev containers (node/mongo images), which is supply-chain surface nothing else covers. We'd rather keep that visibility than trade it for prompt-free scans.
Ask
Address the MDM-fleet experience for TCC-gated volume scanning in whatever way fits your design — some options we can see, without presupposing which is right:
Happy to share the fleet-rollout details behind this report.