launchd Pocket Reference
launchd is the system and service manager that ships with every Mac — the thing that boots the OS, runs your background services, and replaces cron, init.d, and the Login Items folder full of forgotten startup scripts. This pocket reference treats it as what it actually is in modern practice: a powerful, well-designed scheduler that most developers never learn properly. Plists, LaunchAgents vs LaunchDaemons, scheduling, file-watch triggers, and the launchctl commands that drive it all.
Table of Contents
- 1 What is launchd?
- 2 Agents, Daemons, and the Three Scopes
- 3 Anatomy of a plist
- 4 launchctl Command Reference
- 5 Common Patterns
- 6 Environment and Paths
- 7 Logging and Debugging
- 8 Real-World Examples
- 9 Quick Reference