Safety & system access

Liwu needs one user-approved root helper because a normal menu bar process cannot write the Mac's charging controls. Its approval is visible and reversible in System Settings.

Facts verified against Liwu 1.0.6 on July 27, 2026

Why privileged access is required

Charging control is a system operation. The signed Liwu app asks macOS to register one signed helper; macOS shows that background item in System Settings and keeps the approval under your control.

What the helper can do

The helper has a narrow local role:

Read battery and power-adapter state.
Apply SMC charging and discharging actions requested by Liwu.
Apply active sleep rules and scheduled tasks while Liwu is running.
Accept XPC requests only from the correctly signed Liwu app.

What leaves your Mac

The privileged helper makes no network requests. The app itself uses only these product services:

The Liwu appcast to check for updates.
GitHub Releases when you choose to download an update.
Liwu's signed revoked-license list.
A one-time license claim after a completed Pro purchase.

Battery readings, charging configuration, schedules, and app usage data do not leave your Mac. The app contains no usage telemetry.

Running, sleeping, and quitting

Close a window	Liwu remains in the menu bar and charging control continues.
Sleep	The active helper applies the configured sleep behavior; no settings window needs to stay open.
Choose Quit	Liwu restores normal macOS charging control and stops its helper.
Restart or sign in	Open Liwu again, or enable Launch at Login, to resume the saved limit.

Stop and uninstall Liwu

Quit Liwu to return charging control to macOS. Before moving the app to Trash, run the command below once to unregister both the helper and the main app's background registration.

LIWU_UNREGISTER=1 LIWU_UNREGISTER_MAIN_APP=1 /Applications/Liwu.app/Contents/MacOS/Liwu