Eject All Disks - Stream Deck Plugin

A Stream Deck plugin that adds a button to safely eject all external disks on macOS with a single button press. This plugin provides visual feedback during the ejection process and allows customization of the button appearance.

Features

• Fast native disk ejection - Uses macOS DiskArbitration framework (typically ~6–10x faster than diskutil)
• Pure Swift implementation - Native Stream Deck plugin with no Node.js or shell script dependencies
• Real-time disk count monitoring - Shows the number of attached external disks on the button
• Automatic updates - Disk count updates every 3 seconds as disks are mounted/unmounted
• Single button to eject all external disks in parallel
• Visual feedback for ejection status (normal, ejecting, success, error)
• Customizable button title visibility
• Comprehensive error handling with detailed logging

Requirements

• macOS 13 or later
• Stream Deck 6.4 or later
• Full Disk Access permission (see Permissions below)
• Xcode Command Line Tools (for building from source)

Installation

From Release

1. Download the latest release from the releases page
2. Double-click the downloaded .streamDeckPlugin file to install it
3. Stream Deck will prompt you to install the plugin

From Source

See Development section below.

Permissions

This plugin requires Full Disk Access permission to eject disks. Without this permission, disk ejection operations will fail silently or return permission errors.

Granting Full Disk Access

1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS)
2. Navigate to Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access
3. Click the + button to add an application
4. Navigate to the Stream Deck application:
   • /Applications/Elgato Stream Deck.app
5. Enable the toggle next to Stream Deck
6. Restart the Stream Deck application

Alternatively, if you're running the plugin binary directly for development:

1. Add the plugin binary to Full Disk Access:
   • ~/Library/Application Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck/Plugins/org.deverman.ejectalldisks.sdPlugin/org.deverman.ejectalldisks

Why Full Disk Access?

The macOS DiskArbitration framework requires elevated permissions to unmount and eject volumes. This is a security feature to prevent malicious apps from ejecting disks without user consent. By granting Full Disk Access to Stream Deck, you're authorizing it to perform disk operations on your behalf.

Usage

1. Drag the "Eject All Disks" action from the "Eject All Disks" category onto your Stream Deck
2. The button will automatically display the number of external disks currently attached
3. The count updates automatically every 3 seconds as you mount/unmount disks
4. Press the button to eject all external disks
5. The button will display the ejection status visually
6. Configure the button to show or hide the title text via Settings

Button States

State	Description
Idle (disks connected)	Shows "X Disk(s)" count
Idle (no disks)	Shows "No Disks"
Ejecting	Shows "Ejecting..." while operation runs
Success	Shows "Ejected!" after successful eject
Error	Shows error details: "In Use", "1 of 3 Failed", "Grant Access", etc.

Settings

In the Stream Deck button configuration:

• Show Title: Toggle to show/hide the disk count text on the button

Development

Prerequisites

• macOS 13 or later
• Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)
• Swift 6.2.1 or later

Project Structure

eject_all_disks_streamdeck/
├── swift-plugin/                    # Swift Stream Deck plugin
│   ├── Sources/EjectAllDisksPlugin/ # Plugin source code
│   │   ├── Actions/                 # Stream Deck actions
│   │   │   └── EjectAction.swift    # Main eject action
│   │   └── EjectAllDisksPlugin.swift # Plugin entry point
│   ├── Tests/                       # Swift Testing tests
│   ├── Package.swift                # Swift package manifest
│   └── build.sh                     # Build script
├── swift/                           # SwiftDiskArbitration library
│   └── Packages/SwiftDiskArbitration/
├── org.deverman.ejectalldisks.sdPlugin/  # Plugin bundle
│   ├── org.deverman.ejectalldisks   # Compiled binary (after build)
│   ├── ui/                          # Property Inspector HTML
│   ├── imgs/                        # Icons and images
│   └── manifest.json                # Plugin configuration
└── README.md                        # This file

Building the Plugin

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/deverman/eject_all_disks_streamdeck.git
cd eject_all_disks_streamdeck

2. Build the Swift plugin:

cd swift-plugin
./build.sh --install

This compiles the Swift plugin and copies the binary to the plugin bundle.

Running Tests

cd swift-plugin
swift test

Installing for Development

Option 1: Using Stream Deck CLI (Recommended)

streamdeck link org.deverman.ejectalldisks.sdPlugin

Note: Install the Stream Deck CLI with npm install -g @elgato/cli if not already installed.

Option 2: Manual Symlink

# Close Stream Deck first
ln -sf "$(pwd)/org.deverman.ejectalldisks.sdPlugin" \
  ~/Library/Application\ Support/com.elgato.StreamDeck/Plugins/

Then restart the Stream Deck application.

Development Workflow

1. Make changes to Swift files in swift-plugin/Sources/
2. Build and install: cd swift-plugin && ./build.sh --install
3. Restart plugin: streamdeck restart org.deverman.ejectalldisks
4. Or restart Stream Deck application completely

Viewing Logs

Plugin logs via system log:

log stream --predicate 'subsystem == "org.deverman.ejectalldisks"' --level debug

Stream Deck application logs:

tail -f ~/Library/Logs/com.elgato.StreamDeck/StreamDeck0.log

Common Development Issues

Plugin doesn't appear in Stream Deck:

• Ensure the binary exists: ls org.deverman.ejectalldisks.sdPlugin/org.deverman.ejectalldisks
• Run ./build.sh --install to build and install the plugin
• Restart Stream Deck application completely
• Check that manifest.json has correct paths

Build errors:

• Ensure Xcode Command Line Tools are installed: xcode-select --install
• Check Swift version: swift --version (requires 6.2.1+)
• Clean build: cd swift-plugin && swift package clean && ./build.sh

Disk count not updating:

• Check logs for errors: log stream --predicate 'subsystem == "org.deverman.ejectalldisks"'
• Verify you have external disks mounted (not internal)
• Make sure the action is visible on your Stream Deck

Packaging for Distribution

# Build the plugin first
cd swift-plugin
./build.sh --install

# Package using Stream Deck CLI (recommended)
cd ..
streamdeck pack org.deverman.ejectalldisks.sdPlugin

# Or manually create a .streamDeckPlugin file
# zip -r org.deverman.ejectalldisks.streamDeckPlugin \
#   org.deverman.ejectalldisks.sdPlugin \
#   -x "*.DS_Store" -x "*/logs/*" -x "*.log"

The streamdeck pack command creates a properly formatted .streamDeckPlugin file ready for distribution.

Architecture

Swift Plugin Structure

The plugin uses the StreamDeckPlugin Swift library:

• EjectAllDisksPlugin - Main plugin class that handles initialization and disk monitoring
• EjectAction - KeyAction that responds to button presses and manages the eject operation
• SwiftDiskArbitration - Local library providing async/await wrapper around macOS DiskArbitration framework

Disk Ejection

The plugin uses the macOS DiskArbitration framework directly:

1. Enumerates all mounted volumes using DADiskCreateFromVolumePath
2. Filters to external, ejectable volumes only
3. Unmounts each volume using DADiskUnmount
4. Ejects the physical device using DADiskEject
5. Runs all operations in parallel using Swift concurrency

This approach is typically ~6–10x faster than calling diskutil eject as a subprocess (machine and disk dependent).

Security

This plugin is designed with security as a priority:

System Volume Protection

• Uses macOS system APIs (not volume names) to detect protected volumes
• Checks .volumeIsRootFileSystemKey to identify the boot drive regardless of its name
• Checks .volumeIsBrowsableKey to skip system-only volumes (Recovery, Preboot, etc.)
• Additional DiskArbitration property checks for edge cases
• Never relies on hardcoded volume names - safe even if you renamed "Macintosh HD"

Privacy

• Does not log volume names - avoids exposing sensitive information like "ConfidentialProject"
• Only logs BSD device names (e.g., "disk2s1") when debug logging is enabled
• Logs are written using OSLog with appropriate privacy levels

Permissions

• Uses macOS's native DiskArbitration framework for safe unmount and eject
• Requires Full Disk Access permission (user must explicitly grant)
• Runs entirely in user space - no root/sudo required
• Cannot access files on disks, only mount/unmount operations

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Button shows error state:

   • Check logs for which process is blocking ejection
   • Common blockers: Spotlight (mds), backup apps, file sync apps
   • Try pressing the button again - temporary locks often release quickly

2. Disk won't eject but Finder can eject it:

   • Finder sends a "please close files" notification to apps before ejecting
   • The native API doesn't send this notification
   • Pause or quit the blocking application, then try again

3. Disk count shows 0 but disks are connected:

   • Only external, ejectable volumes are counted
   • Network drives and internal volumes are excluded
   • Check that disks appear in Finder sidebar

4. Plugin not loading:

   • Verify binary exists and is executable
   • Check Stream Deck logs for error messages
   • Try reinstalling the plugin

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Support

If you encounter any issues:

1. Check the Issues page
2. File a new issue with:
   • macOS version
   • Stream Deck software version
   • Steps to reproduce
   • Log output if available

Credits

Created by Brent Deverman