Generate a Full Diagnostic with sysdiagnose

Produce Apple's complete troubleshooting archive — logs, spindumps, network state — from one Terminal command.

macOSsysdiagnosesupportDiagnosticsMedium risk

Run `sudo sysdiagnose -f ~/Desktop` to write a full diagnostic archive to your Desktop.

01Command

Command

$ sudo sysdiagnose -f ~/Desktop

02What it does

sysdiagnose bundles dozens of diagnostics in one gzipped archive: unified logs, spindump and ps output, network configuration and packet captures, storage details, and system_profiler inventories. Apple Support and app vendors request it when a problem needs deep triage, and the `-f` flag chooses the output directory. On keyboards without an interactive prompt, the shortcut Shift-Ctrl-Option-Cmd-Period triggers the same capture.

03Risk

RiskMedium risk

!Warning: Archives contain MAC addresses, SSIDs, and process details — treat them as sensitive.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

System Information User Guide for Mac - Apple Support
Apple Support · vendor-doc · 2026-09-17
Evidence: Apple's guide to system diagnostics and reports on macOS.
SYSTEM_PROFILER Command: Report macOS system hardware and software configuration
SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
Evidence: Documents system_profiler, the report engine sysdiagnose wraps for hardware/software inventory sections.

Last verified: 2026-09-17 · Category: System & Settings

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