StartupManager

A native macOS application for managing startup items, launch agents, launch daemons, and login items. Built with SwiftUI and featuring a modern Liquid Glass design.

Features

Core Functionality

• Login Items Management - View and manage applications that launch at login
• Launch Agents - Control user-level background services
• Launch Daemons - Monitor system-level background services
• Toggle On/Off - Enable or disable startup items with a single click
• Drag & Drop - Add applications to Login Items by dragging them into the app
• Remove Items - Delete unwanted startup items (user files only, system files protected)

Performance Analytics

• Startup Time Estimation - See estimated impact on boot time for each item
• Impact Indicator - Visual Low/Medium/High indicators based on service configuration
• Total Startup Impact - Real-time calculation accounting for parallel startup processes

Data Management

• Backup - Create JSON backups of your startup configuration
• Export - Export current startup items list
• Import - Restore configurations from backup files
• Batch Operations - Disable or remove multiple items at once

User Experience

• Search & Filter - Quickly find specific startup items
• Alphabetic Sorting - All lists automatically sorted for easy navigation
• Detailed Error Messages - Technical error output for troubleshooting
• Real-time Updates - Changes reflected immediately without full refresh
• Liquid Glass UI - Modern, translucent macOS design

Requirements

• macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel Mac

Installation

For Users (Recommended)

Download the latest release:

1. Go to Releases
2. Download StartupManager.dmg
3. Open the DMG file
4. Drag StartupManager.app to your Applications folder
5. Launch from Applications (Right-click → Open for first launch)

For Developers

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/StartupManager.git
cd StartupManager

2. Open in Xcode

open StartupManager.xcodeproj

3. Build and run (⌘R)

Permissions

StartupManager requires the following permissions:

• AppleScript Automation - To manage Login Items via System Events
• File Access - To read Launch Agent/Daemon plist files

The app will request these permissions on first launch.

Usage

Managing Login Items

• View all login items in the "Login Items" category
• Toggle items on/off using the switch
• Drag .app files directly into the window to add new login items
• Remove items using the context menu or batch remove

Managing Launch Agents/Daemons

• Browse user and system launch agents/daemons
• View startup impact and estimated time
• Toggle user agents (system agents require admin privileges)
• See detailed error messages for troubleshooting

System vs User Files

• User files (~/Library/LaunchAgents) - Can be toggled and removed
• System files (/Library/*, /System/Library/*) - Read-only, terminal commands provided

Technical Details

Architecture

• SwiftUI - Modern declarative UI framework
• Async/Await - Concurrent data loading for responsive UI
• AppleScript Bridge - Integration with macOS System Events
• launchctl Integration - Direct control over launch services

Performance Optimization

• Service Cache - Single launchctl list call cached for 5 seconds
• Parallel Loading - Login Items, Launch Agents, and Daemons load concurrently
• Local State Updates - No refresh needed after toggle operations

Startup Impact Calculation

The app estimates startup impact based on:

• RunAtLoad - Items that run immediately at startup
• KeepAlive - Items that stay running continuously
• Parallel execution model - Most items start simultaneously
• Formula: max_time + (sum_time * 0.3) to account for serial portions

Data Persistence

• Login Items - Local UserDefaults database for disabled state persistence
• Launch Agents/Daemons - Direct plist file parsing with validation

Limitations

• System Launch Agents/Daemons require admin privileges to toggle (terminal commands provided)
• Background Items (macOS 13+) require Full Disk Access (not implemented)
• Startup impact is estimated, not measured from actual boot times
• Priority changes via Nice values are not supported (startup order cannot be modified)

Security

• Validates plist files for malicious patterns before parsing
• Prevents modification/deletion of system-protected files
• No elevated privileges requested - runs entirely in user space
• Sandbox disabled for file system access (required for plist reading)

Troubleshooting

"Permission Denied" errors

Grant AppleScript automation permission in: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation

System files won't toggle

This is expected. Use the provided terminal command:

sudo launchctl load/unload <path>

Changes not persisting

• Login Items use local database - disable state is preserved
• Launch Agents require the plist file to exist

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! This app is designed for technical users who understand macOS startup processes.

License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify

Credits

Built with SwiftUI and native macOS frameworks. No third-party dependencies.

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Note: This is a technical utility for advanced users. Always be cautious when modifying system startup items.