Macos Task Scheduler

What I do

Create and manage macOS launchd plist files for scheduled tasks. I handle the launchd configuration, scheduling syntax, and task lifecycle (load/unload/start).

When to use me

• Schedule scripts to run daily/weekly/hourly
• Set up recurring system tasks
• Automate background jobs on Mac

Related Skill

For sending prompts to Discord channels (Kimaki), see: kimaki-messenger

Quick Reference

Create a plist

<?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.yourname.taskname</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/bin/bash</string>
        <string>-l</string>
        <string>-c</string>
        <string>YOUR COMMAND HERE</string>
    </array>
    <key>StartCalendarInterval</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>Minute</key><integer>0</integer>
            <key>Hour</key><integer>9</integer>
        </dict>
    </array>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>/path/to/project</string>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
        <key>PATH</key>
        <string>/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin</string>
    </dict>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/path/to/project/taskname.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/path/to/project/taskname.error.log</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Key launchd fixes

1. Environment Variables: launchd doesn't inherit user PATH - set explicitly
2. Bash Login Shell: Use /bin/bash -l -c wrapper
3. Full Paths: Everything needs absolute paths

Commands

Schedule Examples

<!-- Daily at 9:30 AM -->
<dict>
    <key>Minute</key><integer>30</integer>
    <key>Hour</key><integer>9</integer>
</dict>

<!-- Every hour -->
<dict>
    <key>Minute</key><integer>0</integer>
</dict>

<!-- Weekly on Sundays at 10 AM -->
<dict>
    <key>Minute</key><integer>0</integer>
    <key>Hour</key><integer>10</integer>
    <key>Weekday</key><integer>0</integer>
</dict>

<!-- First day of month at midnight -->
<dict>
    <key>Minute</key><integer>0</integer>
    <key>Hour</key><integer>0</integer>
    <key>Day</key><integer>1</integer>
</dict>

List tasks

ls -la ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
launchctl list | grep -E "com\.yourname\."

Remove a task

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.yourname.taskname.plist
rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.yourname.taskname.plist