Mac Getting Slower to Start Up? Manage Login Items and Background Items

When your Mac was new, it was ready to use moments after you logged in. Now you wait a while. One common reason is that more and more apps have set themselves to start automatically: chat apps, cloud drives, input methods, updaters and helper tools. Some open windows at login, others keep running in the background.

Not everything that starts automatically needs to go, but it's worth reviewing every so often. Here's what the different kinds are, and how to manage them in System Settings and in WashBear.

#The kinds of startup items

• Items that open at login: apps, documents or server connections that open after you log in. These are the easiest to notice.
• Background items: helpers with no window that run in the background, such as services that check for updates or sync data. They may be login items bundled with an app, or come from launchd configurations.
• launchd configurations: .plist files. Those in ~/Library/LaunchAgents apply only to you; those in /Library/LaunchAgents apply to every user and run after login; those in /Library/LaunchDaemons are system-wide services that run without anyone logging in. The folders with the same names under /System/Library belong to macOS, so leave them alone.

#Manage them in System Settings

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Login Items & Extensions. In macOS 14 and earlier, it's called Login Items.
2. In the Open at Login list, select an item you don't need and click the Remove button below the list.
3. Turn off the background items you don't need. This section is called Allow in the Background in macOS 13 through 15, and App Background Activity in newer versions.

On macOS 12, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items instead. Many apps also have a "launch at login" style option in their own settings, and turning it off there works too.

If you suspect a login item is slowing down startup, Apple suggests removing all login items and restarting. If that fixes it, add them back one at a time, restarting after each, until you find the culprit. To skip login items just once, press and hold Shift while you click Log In in the login window, and release it when the Dock appears. If your Mac logs in automatically, restart, hold Shift when the progress bar appears, and release it once the desktop shows.

#What to turn off and what to leave alone

Usually fine to turn off:

• Open at Login for chat, music or video apps you only use now and then;
• helper programs bundled with apps you rarely use;
• startup configurations left behind by apps you've deleted.

Think before turning off: if you disable an app's updater, the app may stop updating itself in the background, so you'll need to watch for new versions yourself.

Best left on:

• security software and input methods;
• cloud sync and backup tools, which stop syncing or backing up automatically once turned off;
• drivers and helpers for mice, keyboards, docks and other accessories;
• password managers, VPNs and other tools you rely on to run automatically.

If you're not sure about an item, leave it as it is.

#See every startup item in WashBear

Background items in System Settings often show only a developer name, which doesn't tell you what actually runs, and checking LaunchAgents means opening configuration files one by one in Finder. Startup Items in WashBear brings them all into one list:

1. Open Startup Items and click Scan Startup Items. The scan only reads the current configuration and doesn't change any settings.
2. Results are grouped by app. Search by program or publisher, or filter by All, Enabled, Disabled or Leftovers. Items that come with macOS are hidden until you select Show system items.
3. Click a row to see details such as When it starts, Startup type, Runs, Current runtime state and Digital signature. Click Show in folder to find the configuration file in Finder.
4. Use the switch at the end of each row to turn off automatic startup. When an app has several startup items and you switch the whole group, WashBear first shows Confirm changes with the change for each one.

A few things to know:

• Turning off automatic startup doesn't uninstall the app or stop a program that's already running. Items marked Startup disabled; still running stop starting automatically after your next restart or login.
• You can turn any item you've switched off back on at any time.
• Items in /Library apply to all users, so macOS asks for an administrator password before they change. If you cancel, nothing changes.
• Items managed by macOS are view-only. Click Open Login Items Settings to handle them in System Settings.
• If you see Check Full Disk Access, some background login items couldn't be read. Click Open Full Disk Access settings, allow access for WashBear, then scan again.

If you don't recognize an item, hover over its row and click AI explanation to learn which app it belongs to and how turning it off could affect syncing, updates or other features. AI only explains; the decision is yours. See AI Explanations to set it up.

#Remove leftover startup configurations

When an app is gone but its startup configuration remains, the item shows up under Leftovers. For items stored as configuration files, click Delete Startup Item. This deletes only the startup settings, not the app's files. The deletion is permanent and skips the Trash, and some apps create the configuration again the next time they open. Some login records can only be removed in System Settings; expand the item and follow How to handle this.

Every time you turn a startup item on or off or delete it, the result is recorded in Operation History. For the full guide, see Startup Items.

#After you turn things off

• Restart and see whether your Mac is ready sooner after login. To check what's still using CPU and memory after login, put system status in your menu bar.
• If something stops working, such as a cloud drive no longer syncing or a shortcut tool not responding, go back to Startup Items and turn that item on again.

#Other reasons startup feels slow

• Reopening windows: when you shut down or restart, the confirmation dialog has a "Reopen windows when logging back in" option. If it's selected, every app you left open comes back after login. Deselect it if you don't need that.
• A nearly full disk: when your startup disk is short on free space, macOS and your apps slow down. See Mac storage full? for where to start.

#Checklist

1. Remove items you don't need from Open at Login in Login Items & Extensions.
2. Turn off background items you don't need.
3. Scan with WashBear to see what each startup item actually runs.
4. Before turning something off, make sure it isn't security software, an input method, or a sync or accessory tool.
5. Delete leftovers, then restart and see the difference.