launchctl — Control Services and Daemons with launchd

launchctl is the command-line tool you use to control launchd – the central service manager of macOS that loads, starts and stops daemons and agents. Services are described by property list files (plists) living in the LaunchDaemons and LaunchAgents directories; launchctl registers them, unloads them again and shows you their status. This guide walks you through the commands you reach for most – from querying status to the modern bootstrap/bootout workflow and enabling services at startup.

List & Info

launchctl list — List all loaded services for the current user.

launchctl list

launchctl list | grep <name> — Search for a specific service.

launchctl list | grep ssh

launchctl print system/<label> — Show detailed info about a system service.

sudo launchctl print system/com.apple.sshd

launchctl print gui/$(id -u)/<label> — Show detailed info about a user service.

launchctl print gui/$(id -u)/com.apple.Spotlight

launchctl blame system/<label> — Show why a service is running or not.

sudo launchctl blame system/com.apple.sshd

Start & Stop (Modern)

launchctl bootstrap system <plist> — Load and register a system daemon.

sudo launchctl bootstrap system /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.example.myservice.plist

launchctl bootout system/<label> — Unload and deregister a system daemon.

sudo launchctl bootout system/com.example.myservice

launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) <plist> — Load a user agent.

launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.myagent.plist

launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u)/<label> — Unload a user agent.

launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u)/com.example.myagent

launchctl kickstart -k system/<label> — Force restart a service (kill and relaunch).

sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.apple.sshd

launchctl kickstart -p system/<label> — Start a service if it's not running.

sudo launchctl kickstart -p system/com.example.myservice

Legacy Commands

launchctl load <plist> — Load a service (legacy, use bootstrap instead).

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.myagent.plist

launchctl unload <plist> — Unload a service (legacy, use bootout instead).

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.myagent.plist

launchctl load -w <plist> — Load and enable a service permanently.

launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.myagent.plist

launchctl unload -w <plist> — Unload and disable a service permanently.

launchctl unload -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.myagent.plist

launchctl start <label> — Start an already loaded service.

launchctl start com.example.myagent

launchctl stop <label> — Stop a running service.

launchctl stop com.example.myagent

Enable & Disable

launchctl enable system/<label> — Enable a system service to start at boot.

sudo launchctl enable system/com.example.myservice

launchctl disable system/<label> — Disable a system service from starting at boot.

sudo launchctl disable system/com.example.myservice

launchctl enable gui/$(id -u)/<label> — Enable a user agent to start at login.

launchctl enable gui/$(id -u)/com.example.myagent

launchctl disable gui/$(id -u)/<label> — Disable a user agent from starting at login.

launchctl disable gui/$(id -u)/com.example.myagent

Plist Locations

~/Library/LaunchAgents/ — User agents: run when the user logs in.

ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

/Library/LaunchAgents/ — Global agents: run for all users at login.

ls /Library/LaunchAgents/

/Library/LaunchDaemons/ — Global daemons: run at boot (as root).

ls /Library/LaunchDaemons/

/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ — System daemons (Apple, do not modify).

ls /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/

Conclusion

launchctl bundles the entire service control of macOS into a single command – from a quick launchctl list to a targeted restart of an individual daemon. For day-to-day work, reach for the modern syntax with bootstrap and bootout; the old load/unload still works but is considered legacy and doesn't understand the domain separation (system, gui, user). The system domain requires sudo, and that's exactly where caution pays off: a bootout or disable on an Apple daemon can break core macOS functionality – so leave the plists under /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ alone. When a service misbehaves, launchctl blame often points you to the cause faster than digging through logs.