Checking and Restoring Permissions From the Command Line in OS X El Capitan
The usefulness of checking and restoring file permissions in OS X is controversial , and in OS X El Capitan Apple removed this option entirely from Disk Utility, preferring automatic restoring of permissions. However, there can be some crazy circumstances where you have to do it manually, which is why OS X Daily indicates that the command line method is useful.
Most of us don’t actually need to worry about restoring and checking permissions, but while this is rarely a remedy for fixing a weak Mac, it is still an often helpful troubleshooting step. Although this option is not available in Disk Utility, running it from the command line works the same as before. Open Terminal (Applications> Utilities) and enter:
sudo / usr / libexec / repair_packages --verify --standard-pkgs /
This will check your drive. Then you can repair by typing:
sudo / usr / libexec / repair_packages --repair --standard-pkgs --volume /
It will most likely take a while for the permissions to be restored. Again, OS X El Capitan now does this automatically, so it’s only useful in rare situations, but useful nonetheless.
How to check and restore permissions in OS X El Capitan | OS X Daily