How to Change Startup Programs on Mac

Most of the time, Mac startup programs are useful and won’t cause any problems, but having too many of them can reduce system performance. For that reason, we recommend you manage startup programs on Mac and routinely check what’s loading up when your system boots to stop anything that’s unnecessary.

In this article, we’ll look at the different types of startup apps, which ones are useful and which aren’t, and how to prevent apps from opening on startup on Mac when you just don’t need them to boot automatically.

Before we start:

 

You can quickly adjust startup programs on Mac using the Login Items tool inside MacKeeper. It scans your system to identify all processes that load automatically when you boot into macOS, then lets you disable all those you don’t need in one go.

 

Here’s how to use MacKeeper’s Login Items:

1. Download and setup MacKeeper.
2. Select Login Items in the sidebar when MacKeeper opens.
3. Click the Start Scan button.
4. Go through the list of startup processes and select any you don’t need.
5. Click Remove Selected Items to disable them.

What are Mac startup programs?

Startup programs are applications or processes that launch every time you start your Mac and boot into macOS. Often referred to as login items, startup programs typically come bundled with a piece of software and are installed automatically, so you may not notice they’re there if you don’t go looking for them.

Many startup programs perform useful functions or services and have no noticeable impact on system performance, so it’s beneficial to leave them to do their thing. In some cases, however, you may end up with startup apps that eat up too much processing power and memory, and they need to be stopped.

Types of startup apps

There are lots of different kinds of startup apps on Mac, such as antivirus scanners, software updaters, and helpful utilities that you may rely on. However, you may also encounter malicious startup programs that are installed with a macOS virus, and these should be deleted immediately to protect your security.

How to see what apps open when you start your MacBook

There’s an easy way to find out exactly what’s opening up in the background by default when you boot up a new session on your MacBook. Try this:

1. Open System Settings, then click General.
2. Select Login Items.

In the section titled Open at Login, you’ll see a list of all the applications and processes that autostart when your Mac boots. If you’re running a more recent macOS release, you’ll also see the Allow in the Background section. These are apps that can perform tasks even when they don’t appear to be running.

Which programs should be removed from startup?

Before you delete login items on Mac, it’s important to establish what should be removed and what should be allowed to run when macOS boots up. Although some of the apps and utilities may be useful, others won’t be, so it’s a good idea to remove them from your system—especially if your Mac is slow at startup.

These are the kinds of startup programs that should be removed on Mac:

• Anything that appears to be malicious or suspicious
• Any programs or tools that you don’t need, or no longer use
• Any processes that were left behind by software you’ve already uninstalled
• Startup apps that require too many resources and slow down your system

Hint from our team: 

 

If you’re not sure which startup apps might be slowing down your computer, open Activity Monitor on Mac to view a list of all active processes. Check the CPU and Memory tabs, and sort all processes by usage. Make a note of any startup apps hogging too much power so that they can be removed later.

How to change what apps open on Mac startup

There are many different ways you can change which apps open on startup on Mac, including:

1. Change startup programs in System Settings
2. Adjust startup apps from the Dock
3. Disable startup programs in Finder
4. Change MacBook startup items within apps
5. Manage startup programs on Mac using third-party programs

1. Change startup programs in System Settings

As we outlined above, you can see a list of all startup programs in System Settings. You can also control what opens on startup on Mac from here, too. Do the following:

1. Reopen System Settings.
2. Click General in the sidebar, then select Login Items.
3. Under Open at Login, select a startup app you want to configure, then click the – (minus) button at the bottom of the list to get rid of it.
4. To add a new login item, click the + (plus) button, then select the app in your Applications folder.

Note that the above steps are accurate for more recent macOS releases, such as Sonoma and Ventura. The process is slightly different for earlier versions of macOS, such as Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, and High Sierra, so see the difference:

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Go to Users & Groups.
3. Click on your account name in the sidebar, then select the Login Items tab. You may have to click the Lock icon before you can modify these settings.
4. To remove an app, click it and press the – (minus) button.
5. If you just don’t want to see the app when it starts, click the Hide box instead.

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2. Adjust startup apps from the Dock

You can enable or disable startup programs on Mac in just a few clicks via their Dock icons. First, ensure the app is running so that its icon appears in the Dock, then do this:

1. Right-click on the app’s icon in the Dock, then hover over Options.
2. Uncheck Open at Login to stop the app from running at startup. Check this option if you do want the app to load automatically when macOS launches.

3. Disable startup programs in Finder

Disabling startup apps via System Preferences and the Dock only deals with Login Items. However, you’ll notice some of the apps that autorun with your Mac can’t be disabled this way because they don’t appear as a normal application. Instead, these processes must be deleted manually in Finder, like so:

1. Open a new Finder window.
2. Click Go in the menu bar, then press and hold the Option key on your keyboard. This will make the Library folder appear.
3. Click Library to open it.
4. Open the LaunchAgents folder.
5. Delete any startup items you don’t want.

Important: We want to remind you that it’s crucial only to delete startup items from this folder if you recognize them and know exactly what they do. Deleting the wrong processes could cause important apps to become unstable or unusable.

4. Change MacBook startup items within apps

Occasionally, you’ll have to dig into individual program settings to make apps not open on startup on Mac. The process for doing this varies from app to app, but, generally, it goes like this:

1. Open the app you want to disable at startup.
2. Find and open the app’s Settings or Preferences menu.
3. Look for any options related to starting up when you log into your MacBook and disable them.

For example, in Spotify, in the advanced settings, there’s an option that says Open Spotify automatically after you log into the computer. It offers three choices: Minimized, Yes and No.

5. Manage startup programs on Mac using third-party programs

If you don’t want to disable startup programs on Mac manually, or you can’t find the app you want to stop, try using a third-party tool to take care of the task for you. Login Items in MacKeeper shows you all the processes that start automatically when your iMac boots up. Thus, you can easily delete any of programs you don’t need. Here’s how:

1. Open MacKeeper, then select Login Items in the sidebar.
2. Click Start Scan to find all startup processes on your Mac.
3. When the scan is complete, select any processes you don’t need. Be careful not to remove processes you don’t recognize because they could be important.
4. Click Remove Select Items to disable the unwanted startup items.

Note from our experts: 

 

Although this may not seem like an important task, some startup processes can eat up a lot of processing power and system memory (RAM). If your computer is no longer as fast as it once was, and you want to know how to speed up a Mac, removing startup apps you don’t need is a good place to start.

Be careful while removing your startup items

We don’t recommend deleting all startup items on your Mac since many of them will be useful to you, but you should check on your startup items occasionally and remove any that aren’t needed. This is especially true if your Mac is suddenly running slowly, since some startup apps can hog system resources.

The easiest and most effective way to turn off startup apps on Mac is to use the Login Items feature in MacKeeper. Our tool will show you all the startup processes that run automatically when your Mac boots. Moreover, within an app, you’ll be able to delete multiple items in just a couple of clicks.