When you reverse on your Mac , various apps , minimal brain damage - ons , and invisible background knowledge processes set out go all by themselves . This is usually what you need , but you may sometimes see items running that you do n’t call back adding yourself . Where do they add up from ?
Sometimes these processes and apps can cause problems , and you need to off them for your Mac to behave commonly . And even if there ’s not a job , such item can increase your Mac ’s startup time and may decrease performance , you ’ll want to verify your Mac is adulterate only items that are useful to you . Here ’s a agile priming on the various kinds of inauguration and login items and how to manage them .
Login items
MacOS 13 ( Venutra ) or by and by : Open arrangement options and come home onGeneral , then clickLogin Items . You ’ll see a list of apps that open up every time you sign in , trace by a list of the apps that are allow to ladder summons in the setting even when the app is not operate ( such as checking for updates or sync data ) .
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MacOS 12 ( Monterey ) or earlier : give organization Preferences and sink in onUsers & Groups , then theLogin Itemstab . You ’ll see a listing of apps ( and even files and folders ) that open every time you enter . This leaning is different for each drug user account on your Mac .
item usually end up on this tilt because an app you establish added them to it . Most apps that do so ask you for permission first or have an “ Open at login ” or similar checkbox in their preferences . In any case , you could add an item to the leaning manually by clicking the ( + ) button , or transfer an item by selecting it and click the negative planetary house ( - ) button . You ’ll in all probability also need to login into your Mac user profile to make change
StartupItems folder
earliest version of macOS rely on two folders—/Library / StartupItemsand / System / Library / StartupItems — to view as items destine to load when you start your Mac . Apple now deter the economic consumption of the StartupItems pamphlet , but some quondam apps might still apply them .
Normally your / System / Library / StartupItemsfolder should be empty , but if it contain something that you do n’t use any longer , you could drag the unwanted item to the Trash to preclude it from charge automatically the next time you take off your Mac .
Launch daemons and agents
Since OS 10.4 Tiger , Apple has give developers another mechanism for launching items automatically : launch daemons and agentsthat are controlled by thelaunchdprocess . This provides more flexibility for developer but it is less transparent to users .
Instead of open apps at once , launchdloads peculiarly formatted .plist documents that specify what should plunge and under what fortune . Sometimes these launching items run constantly in the background , sometimes they run at scheduled intervals , and sometimes they run as take — for example , in response to an case such as a change in a sure data file or folder — and then cease .
The .plist files thatlaunchduses can fill any of three booklet , and their location determines when each item adulterate and with what privileges :
Items in / Library / LaunchDaemonsand / System / Library / LaunchDaemonsload when your Mac initiate up , and run as the root drug user .
Items in / Library / LaunchAgentsand / System / Library / LaunchAgentsload whenanyuser logs in , and run as that user .
Items in / Users/[your - username]/Library / LaunchAgentsload only when that particular substance abuser logs in , and run as that substance abuser .
Do n’t vary System files : Of those folders , the two located in the / Systemfolder ( /System / Library / LaunchDaemonsand / System / Library / LaunchAgents ) are for components included as part of macOS , and you should reject the temptation to remove or alter them — they’re in all probability substantive to keep your Mac running correctly .
alter others as you wish : sense free to browse through the files in the other folders to see what ’s there . you could modify them — for example , to disable them or to change how often they run for — but before you do , you should understand a few things about how they work .
One of the enceinte annoyances of macOS has been the buildup and sustainment of these .plist files . With macOS 13 , Apple has cater a path for developers to keep these assistant file within the app bundle itself , so they go aside when you cancel the app . It ’s a slew cleaner and easier , but apps have to be specifically developed for macOS 13 to use this system , so it will be a while before it is the norm .
When you start your Mac or lumber in , the launch items in the relevant pamphlet areloaded(that is , registered with the organisation ) unless they have a Disabled flag solidifying . Thereafter , their instructions will be stock out until you resume , even if you drag the launch item to the Trash . To see a tilt of all the presently loaded launch items on your Mac , openTerminal(in /Applications / Utilities ) and typelaunchctl listand then press Return .
If you want to hold back a launch item from running without your have to re-start , launch the Terminal app and typelaunchctl unloadfollowed by a place and the full path to the launching item . For lesson , take this command :
It drop the launch agent that enable AppleScript brochure actions . reprize the statement withloadinstead ofunloadto turn it back on .
Tip : An well-fixed agency to add together an item ’s full path is to drag in the point from Finder to the Terminal windowpane .
Because most launch particular ladder on a schedule or on need , and because any of them could be disabled , the fact that something is present in one booklet does n’t necessarily signify the process it governs is presently running . To see what ’s running at the second , capable Activity Monitor — but bear in mind that the name of a given process as demonstrate in Activity Monitor might not resemble the name of the .plist data file that tells macOS to launch it .
Other explanations for mystery processes
Although these methods are the most common ways to launch apps automatically in macOS , they are n’t the only ace . If you have a mystery appendage that you ca n’t pass over down in any of these places , it could also be one of these :
Kernel file name extension : Kernel elongation , or .kext files , live in / System / Library / Extensionsand lode at inauguration . They provide low - level features such as processing audio and adding bread and butter for peripherals . Most kexts on your Mac are part of macOS . The safest way to remove a third - company kext is to ladder an uninstaller provided by the developer .
Cron : Cronis a Unix programming utility built into macOS . It ’s more - or - less not used any longer in favor oflaunchd , but you never know what might be lingering on a Mac that has gone through a mickle of updates or is run old computer software .
Login scripts : Login script , like inauguration items , were used in old edition of macOS but are now deprecate .
