Chrome/firefox/safari- browser does not auto-start on macOS unless Selenium Standalone is manually launched

Please share the macOS-supported codecept.conf.js file. With the current configuration below, the local automation does not automatically start ChromeDriver on macOS
Error | Error: Can't connect to WebDriver
We need to explicitly start standalone Selenium to launch the browser

node version-v14.15.5
npm version-6.14.5

exports.config = {
tests: "./*_test.js",
output: "./output",
/** -----------------------------
* :rocket: HELPERS
* ----------------------------- */
helpers: {
WebDriver: {
url: prop.url,
browser: browser,
restart: false,
smartWait: 10000,
waitForTimeout: 50000,
windowSize: windowSize,
/** Auto-start ChromeDriver on Mac */
services: ["chromedriver"],
capabilities: {
acceptInsecureCerts: true,
'goog:chromeOptions': {
excludeSwitches: ['enable-automation'],
prefs: {
download: {
default_directory: prop.downloadDir,
prompt_for_download: false
}
}
}
}
},
/** Custom Helpers */
ChaiWrapper: {
require: "codeceptjs-chai",
},
MyHelper: {
require: "./myHelper.js",
},
},
/** -----------------------------
* BOOTSTRAP + TEARDOWN
* ----------------------------- */
bootstrap: require("./dist/Bootstrap/bootstrap.js").bootstrap,
teardown: require("./dist/Bootstrap/bootstrap.js").teardown,
teardownAll: require("./src/get_all_reports.js"),
include: {
I: prop.stepFilePath,
},
/** -----------------------------
* PARALLEL EXECUTION
* ----------------------------- */
multiple: {
parallel: { chunks: 1 },
sanityCases: { chunks: 2 }
},
/** -----------------------------
* BDD (Gherkin)
* ----------------------------- */
gherkin: {
features: [
'./src/**/features/**/**.feature',
"./src/**/src/**/**/*.feature"
],
steps: "./dist/**/implementation/**/**/*.js"
},
name: prop.projectName,
/** -----------------------------
* PLUGINS
* ----------------------------- */
plugins: {
xpathValidate: {
require: "./src/xpathValidation.js",
enabled: true
},
retryFailedStep: { enabled: true },
tryTo: { enabled: true },
screenshotOnFail: {
enabled: true,
uniqueScreenshotNames: true
},
/** :x: WDIO plugin is removed – not needed */
// wdio: { ... } → deleted
autoDelay: {
enabled: true,
delayBefore: 1000,
delayAfter: 500,
methods: ['click', 'fillField', 'checkOption']
},
allure: {
enabled: true,
require: '@codeceptjs/allure-legacy'
},
selenoidOptions: {
sessionTimeout: "300s",
enableVNC: false,
enableVideo: false
},
require: ["ts-node/register"]
}
};

@danielrentz @davert