How to handle mysterious alias folders on Mac?

3 new folders appeared - all alias that have no original and cannot be opened: should I delete them?

libswifthomekit.dylib

libsweftpencilkit.dylib

libswiftquicklook.dylib



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air (M3, 2024)

Posted on Apr 4, 2025 11:24 PM

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Posted on Apr 5, 2025 11:18 AM

Want some really good advice? Leave them alone. Curiosity killed the cat. Those aliases are also in that folder on my Mac. Each one takes up less than 100bytes, totally insignificant.


As @leroydouglas so aptly puts it, don’t go poking around in System folders that you know absolutely nothing about. You have no idea what would happen if you managed to delete those files. So don’t.

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Apr 5, 2025 11:18 AM in response to marysgirl88

Want some really good advice? Leave them alone. Curiosity killed the cat. Those aliases are also in that folder on my Mac. Each one takes up less than 100bytes, totally insignificant.


As @leroydouglas so aptly puts it, don’t go poking around in System folders that you know absolutely nothing about. You have no idea what would happen if you managed to delete those files. So don’t.

Apr 5, 2025 11:15 AM in response to marysgirl88

marysgirl88 wrote:

Where these mystery folders appear is system-iossupport-usr-lib-swift-then open to these 3 alias listed above with no original and cannot be opened. I do have the option to 'fix them' in Quick Look but I don't know about that either? Thanks for answering.


re:

libswifthomekit.dylib

libsweftpencilkit.dylib

libswiftquicklook.dylib



I don't get it — why would you be poking around in /System folder/files?


*.dylib— is a dynamic library used by Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems, specifically for applications that utilize the HomeKit framework, which allows developers to create apps that interact with HomeKit-enabled devices.



The way to present the full path in Finder>Go>Go To Folder, copy and paste:

/System/iOSSupport/usr/lib/


(verify no blank space gets inadvertently added to that copy & paste or it will not resolve correctly, seems a bug)



what I can say is you do not have r/w privileges for the /System files


is there some associated issue—if so then state the issue

Apr 5, 2025 8:28 AM in response to marysgirl88

marysgirl88 wrote:

3 new folders appeared - all alias that have no original and cannot be opened: should I delete them?
libswifthomekit.dylib
libsweftpencilkit.dylib
libswiftquicklook.dylib


[Re-Titled by Moderator]


You do not say where(?)— however I would not be willy-nilly deleting files you do not have any understanding...



you can google search the entry for more information "what is libswifthomekit.dylib"...

Apr 5, 2025 11:49 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks a lot for asking this very good question of me.


So, I went poking around because my computer which was shut down, wifi manually off, and in a faraday bag at night then when I took it out next day the wifi was on and a unknown network was listed as a known network and then moved into unknown network list - I watched this happen. So I went looking for any oddities on my computer and this looked odd as they were alias files. You are right there is another issue.


My computer works great. I have not had any other issues since this one and it is still my habit to turn off my laptop each evening and place it in a faraday bag.

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How to handle mysterious alias folders on Mac?

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