Advanced DevOps Guide

Zero Ops on Mac Mini M4: Native CI/CD for C# APIs

Launchd Agents Automated Deploy Git-Driven

Transforming your Mac Mini into a self-healing, auto-deploying production server.

"The goal is simple: Git Push and forget. No manual terminals, no complex Docker layers—just pure macOS native resilience."

1 The Core: Deployment Script

We create a dedicated deploy.sh script. This "heart" of the system handles compiling the ARM64 binary and restarting the service.

Script Location: ~/code/csharp/be-real-doctor-api/deploy.sh

#!/bin/bash

# 1. Explicitly define PATH so Launchd can find git and dotnet
export PATH="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/share/dotnet"

PROJECT_DIR="/Users/ismael/code/csharp/repo-name"
PUBLISH_DIR="$PROJECT_DIR/src/publish"
PLIST_PATH="$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/com.appname.api.plist"

# 2. Use the absolute path for dotnet (adjusted based on 'which dotnet' output)
DOTNET_BIN="/usr/local/share/dotnet/dotnet"

echo "🚀 Starting automatic deployment..."
cd "$PROJECT_DIR/src"

# Execute publish using the absolute path
$DOTNET_BIN publish -c Release -r osx-arm64 --self-contained false -o "$PUBLISH_DIR"

if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    # 3. Restart the service
    launchctl unload "$PLIST_PATH" 2>/dev/null
    launchctl load "$PLIST_PATH"
    echo "✅ AppName updated and running."
else
    echo "❌ Build failed. Check for missing SDK or code errors."
    exit 1
fi

Don't forget to run: chmod +x deploy.sh

2 Resilience: The .plist Agent

Instead of using .zshrc, we use a Launch Agent. This ensures the API runs 24/7, restarts on crashes, and boots automatically with the Mac.

File: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.berealdoctor.api.plist

Set ASPNETCORE_URLS to http://0.0.0.0:5000 to allow external access within your network, and set KeepAlive to true for 100% uptime.

Initialize with: launchctl load [path_to_plist]

3 The Brain: Auto-Git Watcher

To achieve true Zero Ops, we set up a second agent that monitors your repository every 60 seconds. If it detects a change on GitHub, it pulls and triggers the deploy script.

CI/CD Logic:

git fetch origin && [ $(git rev-parse HEAD) != $(git rev-parse @{u}) ] && git pull && ./deploy.sh

This command compares your local HEAD with the remote. It only triggers a build when new code is actually present.

4 Why This is Superior

• Zero Terminal Dependency: No need to keep a terminal window open or use tools like fswatch.
• Git-Driven: Your only action is git push from your development laptop.
• Native Resilience: If the Mac Mini restarts after a power outage, the agents boot up automatically.

Zero Ops Achieved

Your Mac Mini M4 is now a professional-grade automated server.

PUSH CODE. STAY CALM.