launchd is the first process macOS starts (process ID 1) and the manager that starts and stops every other system service, agent and login job; it's essential and safe. If it shows high CPU, a job it manages is usually crashing and being relaunched, so look in Console for the service it keeps restarting.
Last reviewed · 2 sources
One Mac, macOS 26.5 (25F71) on Apple silicon, read with ps and codesign on October 29, 2026
| Path | /sbin/launchd |
|---|---|
| Runs as | root |
| Signed by | Apple (Software Signing), identifier com.apple.xpc.launchd |
| Note | Process ID 1. |
launchd is the first process that runs when macOS boots (PID 1) and serves as the system's init and service management framework. It is responsible for starting, stopping, and managing all other system daemons, agents, and user-level services. Every process on your Mac is ultimately a descendant of launchd.
High CPU from constantly restarting a crashing child service
Login items or launch agents failing to load at startup
Orphaned plist files causing error messages in Console logs
Third-party launch daemons conflicting with system services
Open Console.app and filter for 'launchd' messages. Look for repeated 'Service exited with abnormal code' or 'Throttling respawn' messages — these indicate which child service is crashing and being restarted by launchd.
Check ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Library/LaunchAgents/ for third-party plist files. Move suspicious or unneeded ones to the Desktop (not Trash) and restart. This prevents them from loading while keeping a backup.
Run 'launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u) /path/to/plist' to unload a specific service, then 'launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) /path/to/plist' to reload it. This can resolve stuck or misconfigured service states.
On a Mac with Apple silicon, shut down, press and hold the power button until the startup options appear, select your startup disk, then hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode. On an Intel Mac, hold Shift as it starts up. Apple says safe mode stops login items and extensions that macOS doesn't need from loading, which shows whether a third-party item is the cause.
launchd itself using noticeable CPU is abnormal since it's primarily a process manager. If you see launchd consuming significant resources, it usually means a child process is crash-looping and launchd is spending cycles restarting it. Investigate the child, not launchd itself.
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launchd is the foundational process management system in macOS, equivalent to systemd on Linux or the Service Control Manager on Windows. It is PID 1 — the very first process started by the kernel at boot — and it manages the lifecycle of all system services, background daemons, and user login agents.
launchd is the most critical process on macOS. Stopping it would crash the entire operating system immediately because every other process depends on it. You cannot and should not ever try to terminate launchd. If you're seeing issues related to launchd, the problem lies with one of its child services, not launchd itself.
Yes. One of the most common macOS malware persistence techniques is installing a Launch Agent or Launch Daemon plist that tells launchd to run the malware automatically at boot or login. These plists are stored in LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons folders. Startup items are one of the six checks in CoreLock's free scan.
CoreLock's scan of running apps, network, permissions, startup items, AI agents and Downloads is free, with no account.
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