28.12.2020

How To Run Apps In Background Mac

How To Run Apps In Background Mac Rating: 7,7/10 698 votes

Background apps don't have the power to hold on to memory. The system can kick them out at any time with little or no notice. The system always favours the foreground application. Apple wanted a solution that does not require any user intervention. If you.really. want to force a background app to close. However, if the app is still installed on your Mac, it will likely be reinstalled on next launch. So, in general, you want to remove processes after uninstalling the application. To see what’s currently running in the background, run launchctl list in Terminal.

All-mighty Mac system monitor
Control CPU, memory, and whatnot with iStat Menus app.

When your Mac slows down or starts behaving erratically, chances are it's because an application that's running, perhaps in the background, is misbehaving. And if it's not an application that's causing the problem, it will almost certainly be a process associated with macOS or an ancillary service.

Solving this problem is usually as simple as killing the process, but in order to do that you need to identify which one.Here's a comprehensive guide on how to view and kill processes on your Mac.

Best task killers for Mac

Try the best tools that help you find and kill processes hampering your Mac's performance.

How to show which processes consume a lot of memory

The easiest way to view all active processes running on your Mac is to launch Activity Monitor from your Applications folder. In the default CPU tab, you can see how much processing power every process takes, ranked by the most consuming. And if you switch to the Memory tab, you will see the same list ranked by the amount of used up RAM.

Apps

For more immediate and elaborate information on how your computer resources are consumed, use iStat Menus, which handily lives in your menu bar and, in its MEM table, shows you applications and processes that are consuming more than their fair share of RAM in real time.

How to kill process using Activity Monitor

  1. Launch Activity Monitor.
    The easiest way to launch Activity Monitor is to press Command and spacebar to call up Spotlight, then start typing Activity Monitor. When it appears in Spotlight, hit Return to launch it. Alternatively, go to Utilities in the Applications folder and double-click on its icon. Or open Activity Monitor in one click through iStat Menus app.
  2. View and filter tasks.
    You'll notice there are five tabs across the top of the Activity Monitor window: CPU, Energy, Memory, Disk, and Network. Clicking on any of those tabs organizes processes according to the percentage of the resource they are using. So, clicking on CPU lists tasks in the order of how much CPU capacity they're using. By default, processes are ordered starting with the one that's consuming the most of the resource at the top, so you can quickly see where problems are occurring or likely to occur. To flip the order, so that processes consuming the least of the resource are at the top, click the arrow next to Memory or CPU above the list of processes.
  3. Kill problematic processes.
    When you identify a process that's causing a problem, either because it's hogging lots of CPU cycles or memory, or because it's highlighted in the Activity Monitor as having crashed, you need to kill it. To do that, click on the process first and then on the X in the Activity Monitor toolbar. The process will quit and free up the resources it was taking up. If it's a critical process, it will restart. If it's an application, it will remain shut down.

Activity Monitor alternatives

Get an advanced system monitor for macOS – an improved alternative to the default program.

How to shut down processes using Terminal

  1. Launch Terminal. Press Command and spacebar to pull up Spotlight then start typing Terminal. When the Terminal app appears in Spotlight, tap Return to launch it. Alternatively, navigate to the Utilities folder in Applications and double-click Terminal.
  2. View processes. When Terminal has launched, type 'top' into the Terminal window. You'll see a list of currently running processes. At the top of the list is an overview of the processes that are running and the resources they're consuming.
  3. Kill an unwanted process. When you identify a process that's causing a problem or consuming too many resources, take note of the number in the PID column next to the name of the process. To kill the process, type 'kill -9' followed by the PID number. Press Enter. The problem process will now quit.

How to prevent problematic processes

You can pretty much avoid issues altogether by being a little bit proactive in hunting down the common culprits. Here, iStat Menus will help you identify which applications or processes are consuming finite resources, such as CPU and RAM.

Then, you can use CleanMyMac maintenance routines that, when run regularly, will keep you Mac running smoothly. Here's how to do that:

  1. Launch Setapp and search for CleanMyMac.
  2. Find the maintenance scripts. Under the Speed section in the left sidebar, click on Maintenance. You will see a list of tasks that CleanMyMac would suggest you to perform to optimize your Mac. You should try to run them all, but the one especially important for us is under Run Maintenance Scripts.
  3. Run the maintenance scripts. Click on the checkbox next to Run Maintenance Scripts and then click Run. Alternatively, choose another specific maintenance script such as Speed Up Mail or Reindex Spotlight and click Run. When it's finished, click Select Tasks to return to the list of maintenance tasks.

Run other tasks, as necessary. If you're having problems with Mail, repeat step 3, but this time click the checkbox next to Speed Up Mail. Likewise, if Spotlight is running slowly, run the Reindex Spotlight task.

How to kill a background process

To kill a background process, use Activity Monitor. While the steps are the same as described in the 'How to kill a running process using Activity Monitor' section above, the key difference is that background processes often have obscure names that don't clearly describe what they do.

Be careful when killing a background process and, if not sure, leave it alone or search online for its exact role in your system. Otherwise, you might risk causes problems for your macOS. Generally, background processes don't tend to consume significant RAM or CPU cycles, so if you spot one that does, it has probably got into trouble. Kill it using the X in the Activity Monitor toolbar.

How to easily remove startup items

One common cause of Macs running slowly or having problems is items that launch automatically at startup. These could be helper apps for something like iTunes or just complete apps in their own right. They are also frequently apps you once used but no longer need.

To review the apps and helpers that startup when you log in

  1. Launch System Preferences from the Apple menu and click on the Users & Groups pane.
  2. Click the padlock and type in your password.
  3. Then select your username in the left panel and click the Login Items tab.
  4. Look through all the login items that correspond to apps you no longer use and then click the minus button. The app will no longer start up automatically when you log in.

How to Force Quit an application that's not responding

If you see the dreaded spinning beachball, or an app just won't do anything, you should force quit it.

There are several ways to force quit an unresponsive application:

  1. Press Command-Alt-Esc and click on the application in the window that opens. Press Force Quit
  2. Control-click or right-click on the application's icon in the Dock and choose Force Quit
  3. Launch Activity Monitor, locate the application and press the 'x' in the toolbar
  4. Locate the process in Activity monitor, look for the entry in the PID column and launch Terminal. Type 'kill -9' followed by the PID number. Press Enter

Fix crashing apps with Spindump

While Force Quit will fix the problem, it’s a temporary solution. If you’re determined to identify the source of crashing apps and prevent them from happening, use Spindump on Mac. It’s a hang reporting tool that alerts you about the crash and helps share the details with the app developer.

Whenever the app crashes, it will trigger Spindump and send the information to Apple or the app developer. Not only does it help you understand what just happened, but it also helps the developer track the conditions of app misbehavior — and fix it accordingly. A win-win.

How to create a Spindump file on Mac

  1. Launch Activity Monitor via Applications > Utilities
  2. Pick the app for which you want to create a Spindump file, then click on the Settings icon
  3. Select Spindump or Run Spindump
  4. Wait a few seconds for the file to generate
  5. Click Save.


Reset a problematic app

There's one more thing you can try if an app keeps running slowly or crashing – reset it. Thanks to CleanMyMac, resetting an app is easy. Here's what you need to do:

  1. Locate the uninstaller. In the left hand sidebar of CleanMyMac, click on Uninstaller under Applications.
  2. Find the app that's causing a problem. Scroll through the list of apps until you find the one that's been crashing or running slowly. Click on it to highlight.
  3. Reset the app. With the app highlighted, you'll see all the files associated with it in the right-hand window. Click Application Reset at the top of the window and all the files, except the main application file, will be selected.
  4. Click Uninstall. All the selected files will be trashed, effectively resetting the application to its default state. When you launch it the next time, it will behave as if it has just been installed — so you'll need to recreate any custom settings or preferences.

If resetting the app doesn't work, the final resort should be to uninstall the app completely and reinstall it. To do that, click Complete Uninstallation in the same menu instead of Application Reset.

As you can see there are lots of different ways and apps that help you view and kill processes in macOS. iStat Menus is a great way to passively monitor which processes are causing problems, so you can launch Activity Monitor and quit them. And running CleanMyMac's maintenance scripts regularly prevents problems occurring in the first place. Best of all, all these apps are available to try for free on Setapp, along with over 200 high-quality macOS apps. So check your Mac for problematic processes now and see what you find.

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Everyone who uses computers daily develops a set pattern. They switch on their PCs, start their respective programs, and wait while they open up. What if you don’t have to start these apps manually, and they automatically launch when you login? Sounds great, right!! So let me tell you how to set applications to launch automatically on Mac startup.

How to Set Applications to Launch Automatically on Mac Startup

The best part about automatically launching your most used applications is the time and effort saved in the process. Moreover, it is super simple to enable or disable. Along with some methods to automize your apps, I have also included some tips on managing them properly.

So make sure that you scroll all the way down. And while you are there, don’t forget to send us some love in the comment section below.

Quick Access:

How to Launch Applications on Mac Startup From the Dock

Step #1. Launch the app you want to launch automatically on Mac Startup. (Skip the step if the app is already in your Dock)

Step #2. Use secondary click (two-finger tap) or right-click to access the app’s options.

Step #3. Select Options from the listing and click on Open at Login. Sonos app mac itunes.

That’s it!! From now onwards, the applications will launch automatically on Mac startup. While quite a simple process, it can be difficult to add multiple apps individually. Don’t worry our next solution will resolve the issue in a jiffy.

How to Add Apps to Open at Mac Startup

Step #1. Click on Apple () icon and select System Preferences from the menu.

Step #2. Select Users & Groups.

Step #3. Here, switch to the Login Items tab from the top bar.

Step #4. Click Plus(+) from the bottom of the page.

Step #5. Select the app or press Command(⌘) key to select multiple apps from the window and click on Add.

You can also add a document, folder, server, or other items to the startup list. Just go to their location, select them, and click on Add.

Using Third-Party Apps to Open Applications at Mac Startup

Is there an app for this as well?? Of course, nowadays, there’s an app for anything. My suggestion is to use CleanMyMac X, an easy to use, efficient, and useful app.

The benefit of downloading such all-inclusive Mac cleaner apps is the whole array of intriguing features they offer. Whether it is deleting duplicate files or safe uninstaller, these apps enable you to optimize your usage as much as possible.

How to Manage Apps at Startup on Mac

How To Run Apps In Background Mac

While it is fun to have all your apps opened for you, this may significantly delay your log-in process. In short, use this feature wisely and moderately, or this will be more of a hindrance. Here are a few features that will make managing apps at startup simpler.

Hide Login Items at System Startup on Mac

If you want an item to launch at startup, but not to pop-up on the screen. The app/folder/document hides and runs in the background, ready for whenever you need it.

Mac Apps Download

For instance, apps like Photoshop or CorelDRAW can be prepped in the background while you check your mails or do some errands.

Step #1. Click on Apple () iconSystem PreferencesUsers & GroupsLogin Items.

Step #2. Add the app in the listing and tick the Hide box next to it.

Note: This feature is not applicable for servers, they will always appear in the Finder after login. /camviews-app-for-mac.html.

Temporarily Disable Startup Apps on Mac

There might be days when you don’t have time to enable your computer’s normal boot process. Thankfully you can temporarily stop them from launching when you log in.

How To Run Apps In Background Macbook

Start your laptop as per usual. Type in your log-in password, press and hold the Shift key before hitting enter. Release the shift key once you see the Dock. The startup apps will not load this time, though they will behave normally otherwise.

Delay Startup Apps on Mac Startup

A very simple and basic app dubbed as Delay Start lends you an exciting way to manage startup apps. Instead of temporarily stopping auto-launch apps, it starts to fasten the log-in process.

Just stop all apps from launching automatically and add just Delay Start in the list. Now open Delay Start and add the apps you want to launch automatically. Set the launch timing from the Time Setting section and close the app.

Mac How To Uninstall App

Next time when you log-in, the Delay Start app will run automatically. And after the set time limit, all the apps added to it will start simultaneously. Though, the developer calls it an over-engineered app, in my opinion it surely makes the login process faster.

I love automation. Do you?

Free Desktop Backgrounds For Mac

For quite some time, I have been using this feature to ease off my morning rituals. I start my Mac and leave the room for my tea. By the time I am back at my seat, my Slack, Safari, and Mail apps are alive and waiting for my attention. This gives me some precious time to relax and center myself for the day ahead.

If you pride yourself as a multitasker such as I, here are my favorite tips and tricks:

Suraj is a digital marketing expert on the iGB's team. He contributes to the social media section along with tips and tricks for iPhone, Apple Watch. Apart from blogging, he likes to work out as much as he can in his gym and love to listening to retro music.

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