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Dylibs are macOS's mechanism for shared libraries — compiled code loaded by applications at runtime. Every Mac app uses them: system frameworks, third-party libraries, and even parts of the operating system are dylib files. They live in `/usr/lib/`, framework bundles, and application packages.
Apple's dynamic linker (`dyld`) handles loading dylibs at application launch. The `otool -L` command shows which dylibs an application depends on. `install_name_tool` modifies library paths embedded in binaries — essential when distributing applications that bundle their own libraries.
With macOS's transition to Apple Silicon, dylibs may contain universal binaries (both x86_64 and arm64 code) or single-architecture slices. System Integrity Protection (SIP) prevents modification of system dylibs, and recent macOS versions require dylibs to be code-signed or notarized.