Deferred Reboot for macOS

What the deferred macOS reboot Worklet does today

This Automox Worklet™ is deprecated. The evaluation and remediation scripts shipped in the public worklet repository contain only a deprecation header and exit cleanly without inspecting power management settings or writing any reboot schedule. Running this Worklet against a macOS endpoint will produce no configuration change and no compliance signal.

The Worklet remains in the catalog so that customers with existing policies pointing at this UUID see an accurate record of what the script does in its current form. The deprecation note in the script header instructs administrators to contact Automox support for current guidance on deferred reboot scheduling for macOS, because Apple has changed how the operating system coordinates software updates with restarts and the original pmset-driven approach is no longer the recommended path.

Historically, the Worklet was designed to apply a recurring restart schedule on each Mac so that patch-driven reboots would land inside a defined maintenance window rather than during the workday. That goal still matters for managed Mac fleets; the implementation path has moved off this Worklet.

Why this Worklet was deprecated

Recent macOS releases changed how the operating system handles software updates and the restarts that follow them. Apple Silicon endpoints in particular route many update-driven restarts through softwareupdate, MDM declarative device management, and SoftwareUpdate background tasks rather than through pmset alone. A static pmset repeat restart entry no longer reliably captures every restart path the operating system takes after a patch.

Because the original script worked around the older behavior, Automox retired the active script body and replaced it with a deprecation header. There is no automatic in-place successor inside this Worklet, and the script header explicitly states that no updated Worklet ships this functionality at this time. Customers running the Worklet today should expect a no-op.

How this deprecated Worklet behaves at runtime

1. Evaluation phase: The evaluation.sh script contains only a header block describing the deprecation. It performs no checks against pmset, softwareupdate, MDM state, or any other macOS subsystem, and returns control to the Automox agent without flagging the endpoint as non-compliant.

2. Remediation phase: The remediation.sh script mirrors the evaluation script. It contains only the deprecation header, makes no calls to pmset or any other utility, and exits without changing power management settings, restart schedules, or any other state on the endpoint.

Operational requirements and migration guidance

• Do not rely on this Worklet to enforce a restart schedule. Both scripts are no-ops in their current published form.

• Remove this Worklet from any active Automox policy that targets macOS endpoints, since the run will produce no compliance value.

• Contact Automox support for the current recommended approach to deferred reboot scheduling on macOS. The script header explicitly directs administrators to support rather than to a successor Worklet.

• For Apple Silicon endpoints on macOS 14 and later, evaluate MDM declarative device management restart configurations alongside any Automox guidance, because pmset alone no longer governs every Apple-managed update restart path.

• If you previously cloned this Worklet into a custom script for your tenant, review that copy against current macOS update behavior before relying on the schedule it writes.

Expected runtime outcome on macOS endpoints

Running this Worklet against a macOS endpoint produces no change. The evaluation script returns without raising a remediation request, and if the remediation script is invoked directly, it returns without touching pmset, softwareupdate, or any other macOS configuration. No reboot schedule is written, no existing schedule is cancelled, and no end-user notification is generated.

Validate the no-op behavior by inspecting the Automox activity log for the policy run: the script exits successfully with no remediation work performed. To confirm no schedule was written, run pmset -g sched on the endpoint; any output reflects schedules configured by other tooling, not by this Worklet. Treat this listing as historical reference and follow the current Automox support guidance for any active deferred-reboot requirement.