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MICA folder

While cleaning up my Mac I found the following folder:

Macintosh HD->Library->Application Support->MICA

The folder contains a Plugins folder which contains Materials.bundle


Anyone know what this is? Can I ditch it or is it a part of the OS?

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on Apr 30, 2020 11:04 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 11, 2020 9:13 AM

why do some posters feel the need to be so hostile when answering?


the question was


Anyone know what this is? Can I ditch it or is it a part of the OS?


a good answer was


MICA is part of Apples CoreAnimation


Some of us who have been migrating our Mac's since the 90's invariably have a bunch of crud in the system folders that No Longer have any buisness being there and the OS has not removed over time, hence why we are having a look and wanting to remove stuff. just today i've removed a bunch of extensions from 2005.


these from 2013 & 2015 don't look like they need be their either



the BJUSB is canon bubblejet technology. No idea what CalDigitHDProDrv.kext is or if its still needed as its 7 years old.



This is one reason Apple has moved to a read only Volume in the macOS as we move forward in Catalina.
Your days of " cleaning up Macs" in the system library are limited; or simply do not upgrade beyond your Mojave.


Thats great so long as all the old unnecessary crud from the last decade plus is also excluded too.



8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 11, 2020 9:13 AM in response to leroydouglas

why do some posters feel the need to be so hostile when answering?


the question was


Anyone know what this is? Can I ditch it or is it a part of the OS?


a good answer was


MICA is part of Apples CoreAnimation


Some of us who have been migrating our Mac's since the 90's invariably have a bunch of crud in the system folders that No Longer have any buisness being there and the OS has not removed over time, hence why we are having a look and wanting to remove stuff. just today i've removed a bunch of extensions from 2005.


these from 2013 & 2015 don't look like they need be their either



the BJUSB is canon bubblejet technology. No idea what CalDigitHDProDrv.kext is or if its still needed as its 7 years old.



This is one reason Apple has moved to a read only Volume in the macOS as we move forward in Catalina.
Your days of " cleaning up Macs" in the system library are limited; or simply do not upgrade beyond your Mojave.


Thats great so long as all the old unnecessary crud from the last decade plus is also excluded too.



May 11, 2020 8:28 AM in response to jbstengel

jbstengel wrote:

While cleaning up my Mac I found the following folder:
Macintosh HD->Library->Application Support->MICA
The folder contains a Plugins folder which contains Materials.bundle

Anyone know what this is? Can I ditch it or is it a part of the OS?


Typically you have no business in the System Library — it is a good way to bork your macOS.


There are 3 Libraries the one you have free rein over is the user Library. the path is ~/Library


From your Finder >Go> Go to Folder>Library (if you do not see it hold the option key)


MICA is part of Apples CoreAnimation




You can make visible your ~/Library highlight it in the Finder Command i willopen the info pane—

here you can make changes. Drag it to your Finder Sidebar







See and organize your files in the Finder on Mac - Apple ...


Get to know the Finder on your Mac - Apple Support


macOS User Guide - Apple Support


Organize files in folders on Mac - Apple Support


May 11, 2020 8:50 AM in response to jbstengel

jbstengel wrote:

Thank you for the warning. I'm very comfortable in the system library, been cleaning up Macs since the early 90's. This is the first time I noticed this folder. Noticed that it was signed, but that can easily, sort of, faked so I figured I'd check. Thank you for explaining the purpose of this folder.


This is one reason Apple has moved to a read only Volume in the macOS as we move forward in Catalina.

Your days of " cleaning up Macs" in the system library are limited; or simply do not upgrade beyond your Mojave.


About the read-only system volume in macOS Catalina - Apple .


May 9, 2020 7:18 AM in response to jbstengel

It's code-signed by Apple, so probably best left where is 😲


$ codesign -dv --verbose=4 /Library/Application\ Support/Mica/PlugIns/Materials.bundle
Executable=/Library/Application Support/Mica/PlugIns/Materials.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Materials
Identifier=com.apple.Materials
...
Authority=Software Signing
Authority=Apple Code Signing Certification Authority
Authority=Apple Root CA
...

MICA folder

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