Approve the helper
Almost everything in Hedroom runs as you. Two things need a small helper with admin rights: fan curves on MacBook Pro, and raising the GPU memory limit. macOS asks you to approve it once.
These steps describe Hedroom 1.0. The app is not released yet. The approval step has not yet been checked on a signed release build, so the wording of macOS's own settings pane may differ from what is written here.
Do you need it?
Only if you want one of these:
- A fan curve in Tools › Power & fans (MacBook Pro only).
- A higher GPU memory limit in Tools › Local AI headroom.
Nothing else in Hedroom needs it, and Hedroom does not ask until you turn one of these on. "Nothing else needs it" is stated in the app. The Mac keeps its fans automatic and the GPU limit unchanged without it.
Steps
- Open Tools › Power & fans and choose a fan curve, or open Tools › Local AI headroom pick a higher limit and press the Raise to button. Both need Pro (or the free trial). On a Mac with 8, 16, 18 or 24 GB, Hedroom does not offer a higher limit, so there is nothing to approve there.
- Hedroom shows a card: "Fan curves need Hedroom's small helper. Approve it in System Settings › General › Login Items. Nothing else needs it." Press Approve in Login Items in Power & fans, or Open Login Items in the card elsewhere. This registers the helper and opens System Settings.
- In System Settings › General › Login Items, find Hedroom under Allow in the Background and switch it on.
- Go back to Hedroom. The helper card says Helper approved ✓. Press Start on your fan curve, or confirm the new GPU limit.
If you decide not to, press Skip fan curves on the card. Fans stay automatic.
What the helper can and cannot do
- It can set fan speeds within each fan's own minimum and maximum, read sensors, and read or set the GPU memory limit. That is all it can be asked to do.
- It takes no file paths and runs no programs.
- Fans go back to automatic when you press Stop, when Hedroom quits or crashes, and if Hedroom stops answering for 10 seconds. A raised GPU limit goes back to what it was when Hedroom quits.
- It stays inside the Hedroom app. Nothing is installed into the system's Library folders, and the helper is removed when you uninstall Hedroom.
The full explanation, including what an attacker could not do with it, is on Security.
If something goes wrong
| Hedroom says | What to do |
|---|---|
| "The helper isn't approved yet. Fans stay automatic." | Switch Hedroom on in System Settings › General › Login Items, then try again. |
| "The helper isn't answering" | Press Try again. Fans stay automatic, and the GPU limit stays unchanged, meanwhile. |
| "Hedroom's helper is missing from the app. Reinstall Hedroom from hedroom.app." | The app on disk is damaged or incomplete. Download it again from the download page. |
| "This Mac has no fans" | You have a fanless Mac such as a MacBook Air. Nothing to approve. |
Turn it off again
- In System Settings › General › Login Items, switch Hedroom off. Fans stay on automatic.
- To remove it for good, uninstall Hedroom. Steps.