What are startup items?

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.

How to Uninstall Applications on Mac using CleanMyMac X. CleanMyMac Discount (72% Off) Grab Discount Now on CleanMyMac (Use 4EDUCATION Coupon Code) CleanMyMac X the easiest way to completely remove the apps from your Mac. This tool automatically finds the associated files by scanning your Mac and delete them safely. Generally, we always drag the unwanted app into Trash directly to remove it away. However, does it work? Absolutely not as it couldn’t delete the software thoroughly at all! Look in your Applications folder, if you have applications you haven't used in a long time, if the app doesn't have a dedicated uninstaller, then you can simply drag it into the OS X Trash icon. IF the application has an uninstaller app, then use it to completely delete the app from your Mac.

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.

1. Download CleanMyMac for free.
2. Launch the app.
3. Open Optimization tab.
4. Click on Login items.
5. From the list of apps, disable the ones you don’t need on startup.
6. Done!

How to change startup programs manually?

How to stop startup apps mac. 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.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Go to Users & Groups.
3. Choose your nickname on the left.
4. Choose Login items tab.
5. Check startup programs you want to remove.
6. Press the “–” sign below.
7. You’re done.
8. If you need to add an item back, press “+” and choose the app you’d like add.
9. 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.

1. Launch CleanMyMac.
2. Choose Uninstaller tab.
3. Scroll through the list of apps.
4. If you spot any app that you’ve deleted, check them.
5. Delete the app leftovers you’ve chosen.

You can also find and remove broken login items with the help of System Junk module:

1. Choose System Junk tab.
2. Click Scan.
3. Review details and click Clean.

Finally, you need to clean your macOS startup items through launch services:

1. Open Maintenance tab.
2. Choose Rebuild Launch Services.
3. Hit Run.
4. Done.

Once you do it, all broken app data on your Mac will be fixed.

The Music app which was introduced in Catalina continuously starts automatically on my Mac. It launches suddenly while I use the mac. The system doesn’t launch the app at the time of the startup. I tried the followings: Shutdown and restart the system. SMC and PRAM reset. Video: Stop Apps from Opening Automatically on Mac If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below. Via Users & Groups Login Items. If you want to stop multiple apps from opening on startup, using. How to stop apps from opening automatically on mac. In my case, the AdobeResourceSynchronizer launches automatically at Mac startup and it is hidden and running at the background. To remove an app from the auto run list on Mac, click to select the app, then click the Delete (- icon) to disable the auto-run of the app. Auto launch apps on Mac. Choose the user you want to modify in the list, and click the “Login Items” tab. Select the app you want to remove from login, and press the “—” at the bottom of the list. For apps that control their startup behavior from within the app, you’ll want to visit the app directly.

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:

1. /System/Library/LaunchDaemons - note that besides preference files this folder contains other important system items that are recommended to keep untouched.
2. /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.

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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System Information User Guide

Use the sidebar of the Storage pane to sort through items by category, see how much space is used, and quickly find documents, apps, books, movies, backups, and other files. Then delete what you no longer need.

Note: The categories you see vary, depending on the apps and files on your Mac.

How To Uninstall App On Mac

1. Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, click Storage, then click Manage.

2. Click a category in the sidebar:

   • Applications, Music, TV, Messages, and Books: These categories list files individually. To delete an item, select the file, then click Delete.

     Note: If you delete an item that you got from the iTunes Store, the App Store, or Apple Books using your Apple ID, the item is still in iCloud, and you can download it again.

   • Documents: See all the documents on your Mac. You can quickly view large files or downloads by clicking the corresponding button, and sort files by clicking Name, Kind, Last Accessed, or Size near the top of the window. You can also click File Browser to view the contents and amount of storage used by various folders in your file system.

     Note: Some folders and files that are already represented by categories in the sidebar—other than Documents—are dimmed.

     To delete a file, select it, then click Delete; click Show in Finder to view the file in the Finder.

   • iCloud Drive, Photos, Music Creation, and Mail: These categories provide general recommendations for optimizing storage. To accept the recommendation, click the button.

   • iOS files: See iOS backup and firmware files listed individually. To delete an item, select the file, then click Delete.

   • Trash: Click Empty Trash to erase all the items in the Trash.

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