Launchagent Macos

macOS LaunchAgent

Plist Template

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.juliaz.my-service</string>

    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/bin/bash</string>
        <string>/Users/raphael/juliaz_agents/scripts/my-service.sh</string>
    </array>

    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>

    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <false/>

    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/Users/raphael/juliaz_agents/logs/my-service.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/Users/raphael/juliaz_agents/logs/my-service-error.log</string>

    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
        <key>PATH</key>
        <string>/opt/homebrew/bin:/opt/homebrew/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin</string>
        <key>HOME</key>
        <string>/Users/raphael</string>
    </dict>
</dict>
</plist>

Commands

# Install (load into launchd)
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.juliaz.my-service.plist

# Unload (stop and remove)
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.juliaz.my-service.plist

# Validate plist syntax
plutil ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.juliaz.my-service.plist

# Check if loaded
launchctl list | grep juliaz

Key Rules

• Location: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ (per-user, runs at login)
• Never use StartInterval: 0 — it's meaningless and confusing
• Always set KeepAlive: false for one-shot scripts
• Always include HOME and correct PATH in EnvironmentVariables
• Add sleep 30 at script start to let macOS settle after login
• Log stdout and stderr to separate files for debugging

Julia's LaunchAgents