Tidy My Mac
Guide · Updated November 4, 2026
LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons on Mac: what they are, and which to remove
Most of what runs in the background on a Mac is started by small files in the LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons folders. Here is where they are, how to read one, how to stop one safely, and how to spot one that doesn't belong.
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The short answer: a launch agent or daemon is a .plist file that tells macOS to start a program at login or at startup. Yours are in ~/Library/LaunchAgents; ones for every user are in /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons. Apple's own are in /System/Library, protected, and should be left alone. To stop one, turn it off in System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions, or move its file out of the folder and restart.
Agents and daemons: the difference
- A launch agent runs for one user, after that user logs in, and can show things on screen. Updaters, sync helpers and menu bar helpers are usually agents.
- A launch daemon runs for the whole Mac, from startup, before anyone logs in, usually as the system's own user. Drivers' helpers, VPNs and backup services are usually daemons.
Both are started by launchd, the first process macOS runs. It reads these files at startup and login and starts, restarts or schedules the programs they name.
Where they are
| Folder | What is in it |
|---|---|
~/Library/LaunchAgents | Agents for your account only, added by apps you use. You can move these without a password. |
/Library/LaunchAgents | Agents for every user on the Mac, added by installers that asked for your password. |
/Library/LaunchDaemons | Daemons for the whole Mac, also added by installers with your password. |
/System/Library/LaunchAgents, /System/Library/LaunchDaemons | macOS's own. They are on the sealed system volume and can't be changed. |
To open one in the Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder and paste the path. Since macOS 13, System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions also lists most of them under the app or developer they belong to, with a switch to turn each off.
How to read one
Each file is named after its owner, such as com.google.keystone.agent.plist for Google's updater or com.microsoft.update.agent.plist for Microsoft AutoUpdate. To see what it starts, run plutil -p in Terminal followed by a space and the file dragged into the window. The lines that matter:
- Program or ProgramArguments: the program it runs, with its full path. This tells you which app it really belongs to.
- RunAtLoad: whether it starts at login or startup.
- KeepAlive: whether macOS restarts it whenever it quits.
- StartInterval or StartCalendarInterval: whether it runs on a schedule, such as every hour.
To see which are running in your session right now, run launchctl list; the first column shows a process ID for the ones that are running.
How to stop one safely
- First try System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions and turn off the app's switch under Allow in the Background. This can be undone at any time.
- If it isn't listed, or keeps turning itself back on, move its file from the folder to your Desktop, rather than deleting it, and restart. Files in /Library ask for your password.
- If an app you still use stops working properly, put the file back and restart.
When you no longer use the app at all, uninstall it with its leftovers instead; see how to uninstall apps on Mac completely. Never move files out of /System.
Signs a launch agent doesn't belong
- Its name is random letters, or imitates Apple with a com.apple name outside /System.
- The program it runs is in a hidden folder, in /Users/Shared, in /tmp, or in a folder named after no app you have.
- It has KeepAlive set and belongs to no app you installed.
- It came back after you removed it: something else, usually another agent or the app that installed it, puts it back.
If you find one, follow how to remove malware from a Mac, and see startup items on Mac for the login items around it.
Launch agents and daemons with Tidy My Mac
- Background Services lists every launch agent, daemon and Homebrew service on your Mac, shows which are running right now, and stops or disables the ones you don't want.
- Startup Items shows what starts at login with the app each item belongs to, and your Mac's measured boot time.
- Antivirus scans the programs a suspicious agent starts.
Questions about launch agents and daemons
For one in your own ~/Library/LaunchAgents folder, usually yes: the worst case is that an app's helper stops starting. Move it to the Desktop first rather than deleting it, so you can put it back. Leave everything in /System alone.
distnoted is part of macOS: it passes notifications between apps and system services. It isn't malware. If it uses a lot of CPU, an app is usually sending it a flood of messages; quit apps one at a time to find which, or restart.
A login item opens an app or document in front of you when you log in. A launch agent starts a program in the background, often without any window, and can also run on a schedule or restart itself.
Dragging an app to the Trash doesn't remove the files it put in your Library. The leftover agent tries to start a program that no longer exists, which does no harm but clutters your logs; remove it, or use an uninstaller that finds leftovers.
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