How to control Login and Background items in System Settings, how to identify those you might not recognise, and how to use sfltool for advanced diagnostics and reset.
LaunchDaemons
New to Tahoe is a folder containing three property lists for Launch Angels. What are they, how do the work, and where does RunningBoard come in?
There’s normally more than 500 background activities, like Time Machine backups and XProtect Remediator scans, waiting for dispatch in the list maintained by DAS. How this works.
What can you do when your Time Machine backups stop running regularly? Or another background activity has gone missing?
Login and Background Items are increasingly common, and can cause all sorts of problems. Diagnosing and fixing them is better in Ventura.
Current apps may need to install helper files in the main Library folder for Background Items. Ventura’s new scheme keeps everything in the app bundle.
Login Items can cause many unwanted notifications when you log in. Here’s how to gain control over them, including use of an undocumented command tool.
You’ve just installed an update to macOS security software, then it gives you a status of ‘Unknown’ caused by [] and stops working. What’s wrong?
While macOS uses DAS-CTS to schedule hundreds of background activities, third-parties normally use launchd. Comes with a full diagram explaining DAS-CTS.
How macOS schedules tasks like making automatic Time Machine backups, from property list to transactions between DAS and CTS.
The Eclectic Light Company 