MacOS Startup Audit Overview | Generated by AI
Here’s the complete auto-start audit of your system — 6 categories, 35 items total.
1. macOS Login Items (System Settings)
Launched when you log into the GUI. Managed via System Settings > General > Login Items.
Steam | /Applications/Steam.app
RescueTime | (missing path — legacy item)
Google Drive | /Applications/Google Drive.app
- Steam — starts Steam client at boot. If you don’t game daily, can be disabled.
- RescueTime — productivity tracker. Needs to run if you use it.
- Google Drive — cloud sync. Keep if you use it.
2. Launch Daemons (root-level, run as system)
Auto-start at boot for all users. Located in /Library/LaunchDaemons/.
| Plist | What | Safe to remove? |
|---|---|---|
com.amazon.KindlePreviewerUpdater.plist |
Kindle Previewer updates | Yes — only if you don’t use Kindle Previewer |
com.canonical.multipassd.plist |
Multipass (Ubuntu VMs) | ✓ Keep if you use Multipass |
com.cleverfiles.cfbackd.plist |
Disk Drill backup daemon | Maybe — only if you use Disk Drill |
com.docker.socket.plist |
Docker | ✓ Keep if you use Docker |
com.docker.vmnetd.plist |
Docker networking | ✓ Keep if you use Docker |
com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist |
MS Office auto-updater | ✓ Keep if you use Office |
com.microsoft.teams.TeamsUpdaterDaemon.plist |
Teams background updater | Yes — if you don’t use Teams often |
com.west2online.ClashX.ProxyConfigHelper.plist |
ClashX proxy helper | Maybe — you have 3 proxy tools |
com.west2online.ClashXPro.ProxyConfigHelper.plist |
ClashX Pro proxy helper | Maybe — you have 3 proxy tools |
io.github.clashverge.helper.plist |
Clash Verge proxy helper | Maybe — you have 3 proxy tools |
us.zoom.ZoomDaemon.plist |
Zoom background service | Maybe — only if you use Zoom often |
3. User Launch Agents (your user, GUI context)
Auto-start when you log in. Located in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/.
| Plist | What | Safe to remove? |
|---|---|---|
com.amazon.kpr.ncd.plist |
Amazon Kindle related | Yes — if you don’t use Kindle |
com.google.GoogleUpdater.wake.plist |
Google updater wake trigger | Keep — Chrome/Google updates |
com.google.keystone.agent.plist |
Google Keystone (update infra) | Keep — Chrome/Google Drive updates |
com.google.keystone.xpcservice.plist |
Google Keystone helper | Keep — paired with above |
com.hp.devicemonitor.plist |
HP printer status monitor | Yes — if no HP printer |
com.hp.productresearch.plist |
HP telemetry/usage data | Yes — telemetry, unnecessary |
com.qiuyuzhou.shadowsocksX-NG.http.plist |
ShadowsocksX-NG proxy (HTTP) | Maybe — you have 3 proxy tools |
com.qiuyuzhou.shadowsocksX-NG.local.plist |
ShadowsocksX-NG proxy (local) | Maybe — you have 3 proxy tools |
com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist |
Steam cleanup background task | Yes — Steam removed this feature, orphaned |
homebrew.mxcl.nginx.plist |
Nginx (started) | Keep — actively running |
homebrew.mxcl.postgresql@14.plist |
PostgreSQL 14 (started) | Keep — actively running |
homebrew.mxcl.redis.plist |
Redis (started) | Keep — actively running |
netdisk_service.plist |
Baidu Netdisk background service | Yes — if you don’t use 百度网盘 daily |
yanue.v2rayu.v2ray-core.plist |
V2RayU proxy core | Maybe — you have 3 proxy tools |
4. System Launch Agents (all users)
Located in /Library/LaunchAgents/.
| Plist | What | Safe to remove? |
|---|---|---|
com.google.keystone.agent.plist |
Google Keystone (system-wide) | Keep — needed for Chrome |
com.google.keystone.xpcservice.plist |
Google Keystone helper | Keep |
com.microsoft.update.agent.plist |
Microsoft update agent | Keep — Office updates |
com.sogou.SogouServices.plist |
Sogou input method services | Keep — if you use Sogou input |
com.sogou.SogouTaskManager.plist |
Sogou task manager | Yes — unnecessary extra process |
us.zoom.updater.login.check.plist |
Zoom update check at login | Maybe |
us.zoom.updater.plist |
Zoom updater | Keep if you use Zoom |
5. Brew Services (running now)
nginx (started)
postgresql@14 (started)
redis (started)
All three are actively running and are standard dev tools. Keep unless you don’t need them auto-started.
6. Cron Jobs & Legacy
| Source | Status |
|---|---|
| crontab | Empty |
/Library/StartupItems/ |
Empty |
/System/Library/StartupItems/ |
Empty |
~/.zshrc (auto-start commands) |
None found |
Recommended cleanup list
Highest-value removals (no downside, these are likely unused or redundant):
| Item | Reason |
|---|---|
com.hp.devicemonitor + com.hp.productresearch |
Unless you have an HP printer |
com.valvesoftware.steamclean |
Orphaned — Steam removed this feature years ago |
com.amazon.kpr.ncd + KindlePreviewerUpdater |
If you don’t use Kindle Previewer |
com.sogou.SogouTaskManager |
Extra Sogou process, the main one handles everything |
netdisk_service |
If you don’t need Baidu Netdisk auto-starting |
| 4 out of 5 proxy tools | ClashX + ClashXPro + Clash Verge + ShadowsocksX-NG + V2RayU — that’s 5 proxy tools. You almost certainly use just one. The other 4 are wasting background resources |
Want me to remove any of these?