"Turning It Up to 11" at MacDevOpsYVR 2025
MacDevOpsYVR 2025 blew me away – I walked away inspired, informed, and more connected with the brilliant folks in the IT community. In its eleventh year, the event continues to set a high bar for community-driven conferences. In case you missed it, or if you’ve been curious about attending, here are my takeaways and learnings. Can’t wait for MacDevOpsYVR 2026.
Excellent Conference Architecture
Organized by Mat X and his amazing team, MacDevOpsYVR creates a space where participation is truly encouraged. One of my favorite parts of the event is the “quicktalks" - short, off-the-cuff sessions open to everyone in the room. It’s a reminder that everyone has something valuable to share.
This year featured a strong mix of new voices and seasoned speakers. It was a great opportunity to hear how other admins solve problems, see people who I’ve been chatting with on Slack for the past year, and meet a few other startups trying to help in this space.
I presented a workshop, “Supercharge Homebrew with Workbrew,” which seemed to resonate by the scale of curiosity that followed. The questions were precise and use-case driven. Each conversation unearthed some real pain when trying to get the best out of Homebrew.
The sessions underscored a shift toward a more automated and security focused future for MacAdmins. Thanks to the single-track format, everyone shared the same journey through each talk, building a collective narrative throughout the event. Generous breaks fueled the hallway track, sparking spontaneous conversations and real connections between attendees.
Themes and Highlights
This year's edition featured an agenda packed with insightful talks on everything from system architecture to end-user behavior. The conference opened with a stellar keynote from Zach Wasserman, Co-Founder of Fleet and longtime supporter of MacDevOpsYVR. A veteran in this space and wealth of domain knowledge, Zach reflected on how the community has evolved alongside the tools we now rely on.
A few themes emerged consistently across the sessions:
Apple Announcements: The recent Device Management Migration and Managed App Framework announcements were top of mind for attendees, with speakers exploring how these updates will reshape tooling.
GitOps for IT: There was a strong emphasis on treating device and software management as code, with reproducibility, auditing, and automation driving best practices.
Software Installation & Management: Speakers shared a range of approaches to installing, patching, and managing software using tools like Munki, Installomator, and MDMs. Homebrew and Workbrew were mentioned in several talks, with Workbrew gaining recognition as a developer oriented solution.
AI in IT: From AI-powered patch monitoring to local agents like Goose, it's clear that large language models and automation are becoming part of the admin toolkit.
Security Everywhere: Security was an ever-present theme throughout the conference—from SIP bypasses and ACME device attestation to privilege management and zero-trust MDM enrollment. Speakers shared real-world vulnerabilities, system architectures, and practical tools for defending fleets at scale.
FOMO: The Future of IT?
One of the most unique talk topics was from Katie Due, Manager of IT Platforms at Snap. Instead of using punitive enforcement to keep devices updated, Snap leaned into gamification and FOMO. By rewarding users with exclusive, limited-edition wallpapers for patching promptly, they created a fun, positive reinforcement loop that improved compliance and morale.
MacDevOpsYVR 2025 - Session Recordings
Here's a look at all the sessions that made this year's event so memorable.
Note: YouTube recordings are still being uploaded—links will be added as they go live. You can find all the MacDevOpsYVR videos from previous years on their YouTube channel.
🧠 Automation & GitOps in IT
Focus on using Git, pipelines, and automation to scale and secure IT operations.
Exploring, Understanding and Monitoring macOS Activity with osquery - Zach Wasserman (Fleet): Reflects on open-source tooling and declares 2025 the "Year of GitOps in IT."
Munki DevOps with Git and CI/CD Pipelines - Rod Christiansen (Emily Carr): Full DevOps pipeline for Munki using Git and Azure.
Introducing GitOps into IT Operations - Carmil Thelemarque (Drata): Using Git as a source of truth for managing IT infrastructure.
Living Off the Pipeline: GitOps for Real Security - Guillaume Ross (Caffeine Security): Emphasizes verifying artifacts in GitOps workflows, not just trusting pipelines.
🛡 macOS Security & MDM
These talks explore macOS fleet security, MDM enrollment, and vulnerability mitigation.
MDM Hygiene – How Safe is Your Mac Fleet?- Mykola Grymalyuk (RIPEDA): Highlights real MDM misconfigurations and vulnerabilities.
Securing macOS MDM Enrollments - Kory Prince & Victor De Souza (Airbnb): Uses attestation and contextual signals for secure onboarding.
AI-Powered Monitoring for Fleet Enrollments - Mike Meyer (Foursquare): Uses AI to monitor real-time enrollment status in Fleet.
Finding Vulnerabilities in Apple Packages at Scale - Csaba Fitzl (Kandji): AI + automation to find new SIP bypasses in 10,000+ packages.
M365 Conditional Access for macOS - Teg Bains (TBITS): Combines Addigy and Microsoft 365 to enforce security compliance.
💻 Device Management & User Empowerment
Talks that help IT teams manage endpoints while empowering or nudging users.
Cyprus – The Friendly macOS Self-Remediation Tool - Nindi Gill (Block) - Menu bar tool for users to fix their own Mac issues.
Reining in Applications - Nayt Brookes (Ro Health): – Combats software sprawl by guiding users through app removal.
Tips for Avoiding Munki Install Loops - Alan Siu (Snap): Practical fixes for common Munki issues.
Encouraging Patch Behavior with Exclusive Wallpapers - Katie Due (Snap): Turns compliance into a reward system with collectible wallpapers.
🧰 Open Source Tools & Infrastructure Evolution
Discussions around evolving or scaling key open-source tools in the Apple admin ecosystem.
Santa in the Summer - Russell Hancox (North Pole Security): Shares Santa’s open-source roadmap and SaaS evolution.
Modernizing Munki with Go - Brandon Friess (Stripe): A secure, scalable infrastructure using mTLS and CloudFront.
Santa’s Little Helper: Manage Mac Security w/ osquery - Harrison Ravazzolo (Fleet): Uses osquery to manage Santa without a sync server.
🤖 AI & the Future of IT
Insights into how AI and LLMs are already reshaping workflows and support for IT teams.
Wasting Some Time with LLMs in 2025 - Sam Keeley (DoorDash): A playful, practical look at LLMs solving (and creating) IT challenges.
A Not So Secret Agent - Wesley Whetstone (Stripe): Introduces Goose, an autonomous AI support agent powered by models like Cursor.
See You Next Time
MacDevOpsYVR 2025 truly “turned it up to 11.” I’m already looking forward to next year’s event. If you're a MacAdmin, DevSecOps engineer, or just someone who cares about managing Apple devices at scale, put this conference on your radar.
Code Block
#!/bin/bash
# Check for Homebrew in supported installation paths.
if [[ -x "/opt/homebrew/bin/brew" ]] ||
[[ -x "/usr/local/bin/brew" ]] ||
[[ -x "/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew" ]]
then
echo "Homebrew is installed."
exit 0
else
echo "Homebrew is not installed."
exit 1
fiMacDevOpsYVR 2025 blew me away – I walked away inspired, informed, and more connected with the brilliant folks in the IT community. In its eleventh year, the event continues to set a high bar for community-driven conferences. In case you missed it, or if you’ve been curious about attending, here are my takeaways and learnings. Can’t wait for MacDevOpsYVR 2026.
Excellent Conference Architecture
Organized by Mat X and his amazing team, MacDevOpsYVR creates a space where participation is truly encouraged. One of my favorite parts of the event is the “quicktalks" - short, off-the-cuff sessions open to everyone in the room. It’s a reminder that everyone has something valuable to share.
This year featured a strong mix of new voices and seasoned speakers. It was a great opportunity to hear how other admins solve problems, see people who I’ve been chatting with on Slack for the past year, and meet a few other startups trying to help in this space.
I presented a workshop, “Supercharge Homebrew with Workbrew,” which seemed to resonate by the scale of curiosity that followed. The questions were precise and use-case driven. Each conversation unearthed some real pain when trying to get the best out of Homebrew.
The sessions underscored a shift toward a more automated and security focused future for MacAdmins. Thanks to the single-track format, everyone shared the same journey through each talk, building a collective narrative throughout the event. Generous breaks fueled the hallway track, sparking spontaneous conversations and real connections between attendees.
Themes and Highlights
This year's edition featured an agenda packed with insightful talks on everything from system architecture to end-user behavior. The conference opened with a stellar keynote from Zach Wasserman, Co-Founder of Fleet and longtime supporter of MacDevOpsYVR. A veteran in this space and wealth of domain knowledge, Zach reflected on how the community has evolved alongside the tools we now rely on.
A few themes emerged consistently across the sessions:
Apple Announcements: The recent Device Management Migration and Managed App Framework announcements were top of mind for attendees, with speakers exploring how these updates will reshape tooling.
GitOps for IT: There was a strong emphasis on treating device and software management as code, with reproducibility, auditing, and automation driving best practices.
Software Installation & Management: Speakers shared a range of approaches to installing, patching, and managing software using tools like Munki, Installomator, and MDMs. Homebrew and Workbrew were mentioned in several talks, with Workbrew gaining recognition as a developer oriented solution.
AI in IT: From AI-powered patch monitoring to local agents like Goose, it's clear that large language models and automation are becoming part of the admin toolkit.
Security Everywhere: Security was an ever-present theme throughout the conference—from SIP bypasses and ACME device attestation to privilege management and zero-trust MDM enrollment. Speakers shared real-world vulnerabilities, system architectures, and practical tools for defending fleets at scale.
FOMO: The Future of IT?
One of the most unique talk topics was from Katie Due, Manager of IT Platforms at Snap. Instead of using punitive enforcement to keep devices updated, Snap leaned into gamification and FOMO. By rewarding users with exclusive, limited-edition wallpapers for patching promptly, they created a fun, positive reinforcement loop that improved compliance and morale.
MacDevOpsYVR 2025 - Session Recordings
Here's a look at all the sessions that made this year's event so memorable.
Note: YouTube recordings are still being uploaded—links will be added as they go live. You can find all the MacDevOpsYVR videos from previous years on their YouTube channel.
🧠 Automation & GitOps in IT
Focus on using Git, pipelines, and automation to scale and secure IT operations.
Exploring, Understanding and Monitoring macOS Activity with osquery - Zach Wasserman (Fleet): Reflects on open-source tooling and declares 2025 the "Year of GitOps in IT."
Munki DevOps with Git and CI/CD Pipelines - Rod Christiansen (Emily Carr): Full DevOps pipeline for Munki using Git and Azure.
Introducing GitOps into IT Operations - Carmil Thelemarque (Drata): Using Git as a source of truth for managing IT infrastructure.
Living Off the Pipeline: GitOps for Real Security - Guillaume Ross (Caffeine Security): Emphasizes verifying artifacts in GitOps workflows, not just trusting pipelines.
🛡 macOS Security & MDM
These talks explore macOS fleet security, MDM enrollment, and vulnerability mitigation.
MDM Hygiene – How Safe is Your Mac Fleet?- Mykola Grymalyuk (RIPEDA): Highlights real MDM misconfigurations and vulnerabilities.
Securing macOS MDM Enrollments - Kory Prince & Victor De Souza (Airbnb): Uses attestation and contextual signals for secure onboarding.
AI-Powered Monitoring for Fleet Enrollments - Mike Meyer (Foursquare): Uses AI to monitor real-time enrollment status in Fleet.
Finding Vulnerabilities in Apple Packages at Scale - Csaba Fitzl (Kandji): AI + automation to find new SIP bypasses in 10,000+ packages.
M365 Conditional Access for macOS - Teg Bains (TBITS): Combines Addigy and Microsoft 365 to enforce security compliance.
💻 Device Management & User Empowerment
Talks that help IT teams manage endpoints while empowering or nudging users.
Cyprus – The Friendly macOS Self-Remediation Tool - Nindi Gill (Block) - Menu bar tool for users to fix their own Mac issues.
Reining in Applications - Nayt Brookes (Ro Health): – Combats software sprawl by guiding users through app removal.
Tips for Avoiding Munki Install Loops - Alan Siu (Snap): Practical fixes for common Munki issues.
Encouraging Patch Behavior with Exclusive Wallpapers - Katie Due (Snap): Turns compliance into a reward system with collectible wallpapers.
🧰 Open Source Tools & Infrastructure Evolution
Discussions around evolving or scaling key open-source tools in the Apple admin ecosystem.
Santa in the Summer - Russell Hancox (North Pole Security): Shares Santa’s open-source roadmap and SaaS evolution.
Modernizing Munki with Go - Brandon Friess (Stripe): A secure, scalable infrastructure using mTLS and CloudFront.
Santa’s Little Helper: Manage Mac Security w/ osquery - Harrison Ravazzolo (Fleet): Uses osquery to manage Santa without a sync server.
🤖 AI & the Future of IT
Insights into how AI and LLMs are already reshaping workflows and support for IT teams.
Wasting Some Time with LLMs in 2025 - Sam Keeley (DoorDash): A playful, practical look at LLMs solving (and creating) IT challenges.
A Not So Secret Agent - Wesley Whetstone (Stripe): Introduces Goose, an autonomous AI support agent powered by models like Cursor.
See You Next Time
MacDevOpsYVR 2025 truly “turned it up to 11.” I’m already looking forward to next year’s event. If you're a MacAdmin, DevSecOps engineer, or just someone who cares about managing Apple devices at scale, put this conference on your radar.
3. IT Admins have questions. We weren’t sure what to expect, but so many folks had specific implementation queries. Others were curious about what Workbrew is up to. It was a non-stop flow of awesome conversations, and we ran out of Homebrew Cheat Sheets and Implementation Guides.
4. MacAd.UK has great bean bag chairs – the Chill-Out Zone was a super comfortable place to talk about CVEs.
5. The wonderful MacAdmins Foundation offers grants for folks who want to attend but aren’t in a position to fund the trip. For those looking to attend MacAdmins PSU, their applications are open.
A big thank you to the MacAD.UK team and we’re excited to be back next year.
If you missed it, check out Brandon’s talk on Balancing the Needs of IT, Security, & Engineering Teams at Scale
3. IT Admins have questions. We weren’t sure what to expect, but so many folks had specific implementation queries. Others were curious about what Workbrew is up to. It was a non-stop flow of awesome conversations, and we ran out of Homebrew Cheat Sheets and Implementation Guides.
4. MacAD.UK has great bean bag chairs – the Chill-Out Zone was a super comfortable place to talk about CVEs.
5. The wonderful MacAdmins Foundation offers grants for folks who want to attend but aren’t in a position to fund the trip. For those looking to attend MacAdmins PSU, their applications are open.
A big thank you to the MacAD.UK team and we’re excited to be back next year.
If you missed it, check out my talk on Balancing the Needs of IT, Security, & Engineering Teams at Scale
Code Block
#!/bin/bash
# Check for Homebrew in supported installation paths.
if [[ -x "/opt/homebrew/bin/brew" ]] ||
[[ -x "/usr/local/bin/brew" ]] ||
[[ -x "/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew" ]]
then
echo "Homebrew is installed."
exit 0
else
echo "Homebrew is not installed."
exit 1
fi