How to stop apps from opening at startup on Mac

Turn off apps that open at login

On macOS 15 Sequoia, macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27, the steps are the same (Apple, Open items automatically when you log in):

1. Choose Apple menu › System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Login Items & Extensions.
2. Under Open at Login, select the app you don't want to open automatically.
3. Click the Remove button (–) below the list.

Removing an app here doesn't uninstall it or change how it works; it just stops opening by itself. Apple notes you need to be an administrator of the Mac to change these settings. A yellow warning triangle next to an item means it won't open because it was moved or deleted, so it's safe to remove (Apple).

Some apps add themselves back through their own setting, usually called "Open at login" or "Launch at startup" in the app's Settings. If an app keeps returning, switch it off there.

For one session only: press and hold Shift while you click Log In, and release it when the Dock appears. Login items won't open this time, and nothing changes for next time (Apple).

Background items: two names for the same list

Below Open at Login is a second list of helpers that run when their app isn't open. Apple describes it as letting apps "perform tasks when the app isn't open, such as checking for software updates or syncing data". Its name depends on your macOS version:

(Sources: Apple's guide for macOS 15, macOS 26 and macOS 27.)

Each entry has a switch. Turning it off stops that app's helpers from running in the background; turning it back on restores them. Some entries are named after the developer rather than the app, which is why an unfamiliar company name can appear here after you install something.

The "Background Items Added" notification

When an app registers a helper that can run in the background, macOS shows a notification titled "Background Items Added". It names the developer from the app's code signature, which is why you may see a company name rather than the app you just installed. It arrived with macOS 13 Ventura (Michael Tsai, July 2022). It's information, not a warning: something new can now run in the background, and you can review it and switch it off in Login Items & Extensions.

Apple has no consumer support article about this notification. Its deployment guide for IT departments covers the managed-Mac version of it, and adds one change: on macOS 26 and later, if an app's background tasks stay active after you quit the app, macOS can ask whether to let them keep running (Apple Platform Deployment). If you see it for an app you don't recognize, look the name up before allowing it, and remove the app if you didn't install it.

Helpers System Settings doesn't fully show

Launch agent and launch daemon folders

Underneath, background helpers are jobs that macOS's launchd starts. Each one is described by a small property list file in one of these folders (man launchd; Apple, Creating Launch Daemons and Agents):

To look, choose Go › Go to Folder in Finder (Shift-Command-G) and paste a path. File names usually start with the developer's reversed domain, such as com.microsoft.update.agent.plist, which makes them easy to match to an app. Apple's own jobs live under /System/Library; leave those alone.

Listing what's loaded

This read-only command lists the jobs loaded in your session, minus Apple's own:

launchctl list | grep -v com.apple

It prints three columns: a process ID if the job is running (a dash if not), its last exit status, and its label. On macOS 27.0.1, entries starting with application. are simply apps you have open, not startup items.

For the full picture of every login and background item macOS is tracking, Apple's deployment guide mentions sfltool dumpbtm. It needs an administrator password, only reads, and its output is long, so save it to a file:

sudo sfltool dumpbtm > ~/Desktop/background-items.txt

Apple doesn't document the format. Don't run the related sfltool resetbtm: it resets the whole list and removes third-party login items (Eclectic Light).

What's safe to switch off

A helper is only worth switching off if you don't need what it does. As a guide:

If you're not sure what something is, leave it on. Switching a helper off is reversible, so if an app misbehaves afterwards, turn it back on.

Stop apps reopening windows after a restart

Apps that come back after a restart often aren't login items at all; macOS is restoring what you had open. Apple's fixes (Apple, Prevent apps and windows from reopening on Mac):

• When you shut down, restart or log out, deselect Reopen windows when logging back in in the confirmation dialog. If the dialog is skipped, macOS uses your last choice.
• To stop apps reopening their old windows when you open them, turn on Close windows when quitting an application in System Settings › Desktop & Dock.
• For a one-off, hold Shift while you open the app.

If startup is only part of the problem, Why is my Mac so slow? covers the other causes.

How Tend helps

Tend's free Startup Items view lists the launch agents and daemons on your Mac with the app or vendor that installed each one, so com.example.helper shows up as the app you recognize. Each has a switch that turns it off now and keeps it off at the next login, and it's fully reversible. Helpers in your account and helpers installed for all users switch without a password; system daemons need an administrator password, which macOS asks for (how Startup Items works, and why the password). Apps that register through macOS stay in Login Items & Extensions, and Tend has a button that opens it.

Questions

Related guides

Sources

• Apple, Open items automatically when you log in on Mac
• Apple, Change Login Items & Extensions settings on Mac: macOS 15, macOS 26, macOS 27
• Apple Platform Deployment, Manage login items and background tasks on Mac
• Apple, Creating Launch Daemons and Agents (archived developer documentation), and man launchd, man launchctl on macOS 27.0.1
• Apple, Prevent apps and windows from reopening on Mac
• Eclectic Light, Manage login and background items (third party)
• Michael Tsai, Ventura notifies user of new login items (third party)

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