What are startup items?
Mac OS X: Change Which Apps Start Automatically at Login. OS X makes dealing with startup items really easy — you just head into the preferences and add or remove things from the list. But if you’re a recent convert to Mac, you might not know how to do it. But now you will. Open up System Preferences, and then click on the Users & Groups icon. Apr 14, 2019 Applications that run on Startup /Library/StartupItems Property list (plist) items running on startup /Library/LaunchDaemons /System/Library/LaunchDaemons Applications that launch on User Login. You should be able to add/remove most applications from your user account. Go to System preferences- Users and groups- Select user- Login Items. May 02, 2019 By default, at startup The Mac opens those applications that were open when it was shut down or restarted. This feature is designed to help users with ease of access and recover or continue with whatever they were doing by quickly reloading the apps that were loaded before the system rebooted. Jun 23, 2018 How to change or add Startup programs on Mac – MacOS Sierra: Startup programs running on your Mac (in this case, operating on MacOS High Sierra), give you an opportunity to initialize needed programs each time you boot the MacBook Pro.The login items consist of documents, applications, shared volumes and others. The simplest way to disable an app from launching on startup is to do it from the Dock. Right-click on the app and hover over Options in the menu. Apps that are set to open automatically will have. A kernel extension: Kernel extensions, or kexts, live in /System/Library/Extensions and load at startup. They provide low-level features such as processing audio and adding support for peripherals.
Startup items, or login items, are services and applications that launch every time you start your Mac. These are applications that sneak into startup items without notice, never asking if you need or want them there. This way you may end up with a dozen apps launching as soon as you turn on your Mac, weighing heavily on its processor and memory capacities and slowing it down. Such items can increase your Mac’s startup time and decrease its performance.
Plus, sometimes when you remove an application or a service, it leaves a login item with a broken link. These broken login items are completely useless, cause unwanted messages, and waste your Mac's resources (because they look for non-existent applications). Whether you're running macOS Catalina or El Capitan, or earlier — it's all the same, so just read on.
So, let's go over how to take control of login items, and how to get rid of unwanted, broken or hidden startup items.
How to disable startup programs?
Do you want to stop programs from running at startup? There’s an easy way to remove programs from startup and get your Mac to load faster on launch. The fastest way to turn off startup items on Mac is an app like CleanMyMac X.
- Download CleanMyMac for free.
- Launch the app.
- Open Optimization tab.
- Click on Login items.
- From the list of apps, disable the ones you don’t need on startup.
- Done!
How to change startup programs manually?
Disabling Mac startup programs is possible manually. Therefore, if you have some time and would like to do it yourself, follow the steps below.
Your login items are listed in settings. One of the easiest ways to control startup items is inside System Preferences > Users & Groups.
- Open System Preferences.
- Go to Users & Groups.
- Choose your nickname on the left.
- Choose Login items tab.
- Check startup programs you want to remove.
- Press the “–” sign below.
- You’re done.
- If you need to add an item back, press “+” and choose the app you’d like add.
- Then restart your Mac to see the changes.
How to fix broken startup items?
Broken Mac startup files are left there because some part of apps are left on your Mac long after you’ve moved the app to the Trash. To get rid of these parts and to fix your startup, you’re going to need CleanMyMac again. First, you need to check if they’re among startup items and disable them if so. You can do it following the instructions above. Then you need to remove app leftovers. CleanMyMac works fine on macOS High Sierra and earlier OS.
- Launch CleanMyMac.
- Choose Uninstaller tab.
- Scroll through the list of apps.
- If you spot any app that you’ve deleted, check them.
- Delete the app leftovers you’ve chosen.
You can also find and remove broken login items with the help of System Junk module:
- Choose System Junk tab.
- Click Scan.
- Review details and click Clean.
Finally, you need to clean your macOS startup items through launch services:
- Open Maintenance tab.
- Choose Rebuild Launch Services.
- Hit Run.
- Done.
Once you do it, all broken app data on your Mac will be fixed.
Remove daemons and agents from startup process
If speaking of files, first go to the system folder /Library/StartUpItems. Here you’ll find all the startup files that are being launched with the system. You can delete the login item you think is necessary if you’re totally sure what you are doing.
Also, the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder contains a bunch of preference files that define how the application that is being launched along with the system should work. You might want to delete some of these files as well if you know you don’t need them and removing them is safe.
The /Library/LaunchAgents contains preference files responsible for the apps that launch during the login process (not the startup).
The above-mentioned folders contain app-related files. However, you can also check system folders to review whether you need some of the system applications to be running on startup:
Mac Os X Startup Programs
- /System/Library/LaunchDaemons - note that besides preference files this folder contains other important system items that are recommended to keep untouched.
- /System/Library/LaunchAgents - most probably, you won’t also find anything worth removing in this folder, however, keeping this location in mind might help you find files related to a problematic app that causes troubles on Mac startup. If you have a problematic application that messes about on login, you can try to trace it back from this folder.
Mac Os Remove Startup Items
But, if you’re looking for simple ways to remove login items, we suggest using a professional Mac utility. Download CleanMyMac X for free and make unwanted and broken login items a thing of the past.
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In case you have favourite Apps that you always go to on your Mac, then you can make these applications launch as soon you start your Mac by using steps as provided below in this article.
Make Applications Launch at Startup on Mac
If there are specific applications that you always open after starting up your Mac, then you can add these Apps to the list of Startup items on your Mac. This will make your favourite apps open automatically, as soon as you open your Mac.
For example, let us assume that you always open the Safari App as soon as you start your Mac. In such a case, you can Add Safari to the list of startup items on your Mac, making your Mac open Safari Automatically at startup.
In addition to having Apps Launch at Startup, you can also set Applications to Launch at Startup, but hide in the background. This will allow you to access your Desktop, while also keeping your favourite active app in the background and available for your immediate use.
In this article, we are taking a look at Making Applications Launch at Startup on Mac using two different methods as listed below.
Make Applications Launch at Startup on Mac Using Dock
If the application that you want to Launch at Startup is located on the Dock of your Mac, then you can follow the steps below to make the application automatically open during startup.
1. Right-Click on the App icon that you want to Launch at Startup on your Mac. This will activate a small pop-up menu.
2. On the pop-up menu, hover your mouse over Options and then click on Open at Login option (See image below)
That’s it, from now on the Application will automatically open when you start your Mac.
Make Applications Launch at Startup on Mac Using Settings
In case the App that you want to Launch at startup on Mac is not located on the Dock of your Mac, you can still make this Application Launch at Startup on your Mac using the Settings Menu on your Mac.
1. Click on the Apple Icon located in the top menu-bar on your Mac and then click on System Preferences in the drop-down menu (See image below)
2. On the System Preferences screen, click on Users & Groups option
3. On the next screen, click on the current user account option in the side-bar menu and then click on the Login Items Tab (See image below)
4. Next, click on the + button to add an application to the list of startup apps (See image above)
5. On the next screen select the application that you would like to Launch at Startup and then click on the Add button, located in the bottom right corner of your window (See image below)
The next time you start your Mac, the application that you just added to Login Items will launch automatically on your Mac.
Hide Applications that Launch at Startup on Mac
As mentioned above, you can also Hide Applications that launch automatically at Startup on your Mac. This will make the applications run in the background and ready to use, any time you want to.
1. Click on the Apple icon in the top Menu bar on your Mac and then click on the System Preferences option in the drop-down menu (See image below)
2. On the System Preferences screen, click on User & Groups option (See image below).
3. On the next screen, click on your User Account in the left sidebar Menu and then click on the Login Items tab (See image below)
4. On the Login Items tab screen, check the application that you want to you want to Hide on your Mac (See image above)
From now on, the Applications that you selected to hide on your Mac will open at startup, but they will continue to run in the background and remain hidden from your sight, until you click on them.