Slow Mac Startup: How to Speed Up Your System
Discover how login items, extensions, and background agents slow down your Mac and learn how to disable them to boost performance.
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An Apple Silicon Mac turns on in a few seconds, so if startup is taking a long time, the problem is rarely hardware. More often, it’s software that has accumulated over the years: sync apps, updaters, and tools installed once and then forgotten.
The Login Items panel #
Open System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions (on Ventura and Sonoma, this item is simply called Login Items). There are two sections, and many people don’t know about the second one.
If you have macOS Monterey or earlier, the same items are in System Preferences → Users & Groups → Login Items tab, and they apply to the account you are logged into.
Open at Login lists the apps that start with the system. To remove one, select it and press the − button. This is where you should quickly remove programs you only use once a week: you can just open them when you actually need them.
Allow in the Background is the most useful part: it lists support processes that programs install on their own—such as updaters, sync services, and helper components—grouped by app. Turn off the switch and the process will no longer start, without having to uninstall anything.
System extensions #
These are the deepest level and have the most impact. Antivirus, VPNs, backup software, and virtualization programs install components that load with the system and remain active at all times.
You can find them on the same page by scrolling to the bottom: they are divided by type, such as network extensions, content filters, Finder extensions, and security extensions. Click the i next to a category to see what it contains.
Two categories to watch closely:
- Network Extensions & Content Filters: these belong to VPNs, firewalls, and protection software. You only need one: having two tools filtering the same connection slows everything down and can sometimes cause them to crash into each other.
- Finder Extensions: these add items to the right-click menu and status icons to files. Sync service extensions that you no longer use often stay there for years.
On older Macs, third-party kernel extensions (kexts) still exist in /Library/Extensions: drivers for old sound cards, outdated virtualization software, or antivirus. On Apple Silicon, these only load if you lower the security settings during startup, and Apple is replacing them with the system extensions you see in this panel.
If an extension belongs to a program you no longer use, don’t just disable it: uninstall the program using its official uninstaller. Dragging the app to the Trash does not remove these components.
LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons #
Behind the Allow in the Background switches are files .plist that launchd, the system that manages process startup on macOS, reads every time you boot up. They are located in three folders:
| Folder | Contents |
|---|---|
~/Library/LaunchAgents | Third-party processes that start when you log in with your user account |
/Library/LaunchAgents | Third-party processes for all users |
/Library/LaunchDaemons | Third-party services that start with the system, before login |
Folders with the same name inside /System/Library belong to Apple and should not be touched: they are protected, and modifying them can prevent the system from booting.
In third-party folders, however, you sometimes find files from programs that were uninstalled a long time ago. The filename usually reveals the developer (for example, com.azienda.aggiornatore.plist). If the program is no longer there, move the file to your desktop instead of deleting it and restart: if everything works fine, you can then delete it.
You can see loaded processes from the Terminal using launchctl list. To stop an agent for your user without deleting it:
launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.azienda.aggiornatore.plist
To reactivate it, use bootstrap instead of bootout. The old launchctl unload and load still work, but Apple considers them deprecated. Finally, the StartupItems folder from very old versions of macOS is no longer read by the system: if you find something there, it’s just a leftover.
What is slowing down startup #
Before turning things off at random, look at the data.
Activity Monitor (found in Applications → Utilities) tells you what is consuming CPU, memory, and disk. In the first few minutes after booting up, sort by % CPU and see what’s at the top: those are the culprits.
Also check the Energy tab and the Disk tab: a program that is constantly reading and writing will slow down startup more than one using the processor.
If you see mds or mdworker working hard immediately after an update or a restore, it’s normal: that’s Spotlight rebuilding its search index. It will finish on its own, taking as long as it takes depending on how many files you have.
Other frequent causes #
Disk too full. When free space drops below 10%, the system slows down noticeably. You can check this in System Settings → General → Storage, where you’ll also find suggestions for freeing up space.
Reopening windows. If you leave “Reopen windows when logging back in” checked when shutting down, your Mac will reload everything upon startup. Unchecking it significantly shortens the boot time, and the same applies to apps: there is no need to reload what you closed before shutting down.
Cloud syncing. iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive all start up together and begin working at the exact same time. If you have more than one, removing some from startup and opening them manually can help.
Pending updates. Sometimes the slowness is caused by an update working in the background. Check this under General → Software Update.
What not to do #
You don’t even need to clear the cache manually or “repair permissions,” an operation Apple removed with El Capitan in 2015.
If after all this it is still slow #
- Boot into Safe Mode. On Macs with Apple silicon, hold down the power button until startup options appear, select your disk, then hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode. On Intel Macs, hold Shift immediately after powering on. If the Mac is fast in Safe Mode, a third-party software is to blame.
- Try another user account. If the new account starts up quickly, the problem lies in your profile configuration.
- Compare your Mac’s age with your macOS version. Recent versions demand more from an older Mac, especially regarding memory.
- Check your hardware and disk. Disk Utility → First Aid verifies the disk; Apple Diagnostics is launched by holding D during startup on Intel Macs, or by holding the power button and then Cmd + D on Apple silicon Macs.
FAQ #
Does disabling a background item break the program? #
Usually no: the program will still work when you open it; it just loses its autonomous component. In practice, synchronization won’t start automatically and updates won’t be checked. However, for some security and backup programs, the background component is the program: turning it off means turning off the service.
Why do items with names I don’t recognize appear? #
Because the panel shows the developer’s name instead of the program’s name. Usually, a quick search is enough to find out who it belongs to; if it remains a mystery, leave it enabled and instead look at which apps you have installed recently.
Can I just disable everything to make things faster? #
It’s better not to. Some entries belong to system components or protection software. Proceed in groups: turn something off, restart, and check the result. This way, you’ll always know what improved startup speed and what caused a potential problem.
Does Safe Mode delete anything? #
No. It boots the system with only the bare essentials, without third-party components, and clears certain caches that will simply recreate themselves later. It is meant for troubleshooting, not repairing: after a normal restart, everything returns to how it was.
Will adding more memory fix slow startup? #
Rarely, because startup speed depends primarily on how many programs launch at startup and the disk speed. More memory helps when you have many apps open simultaneously. Furthermore, on Apple silicon Macs, the memory is integrated into the chip: it cannot be added after purchase.
If I move an app to the Trash, does it also disappear from startup? #
Not always. Its background agents and extensions may remain, attempting to launch at every startup without finding the application. Use the developer’s uninstaller if one is available, or check the LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons folders described above.
