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Use when adding, reviewing, or debugging Launch at Login in a macOS app — SMAppService registration, the requiresApproval state, a Settings toggle that reflects reality, and migration off deprecated login-item APIs.
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
Based on SOC occupation classification
Use when shipping a macOS app outside the App Store — Developer ID signing with hardened runtime, notarization with notarytool, stapling, building a clean drag-to-Applications DMG, and verifying the result launches on a stranger's Mac.
Use when reading, writing, or watching the macOS clipboard — NSPasteboard types and multiple representations, the changeCount polling pattern, the transient/concealed pasteboard conventions clipboard tools must respect, and the Sequoia paste-privacy alerts.
Use when adding or reviewing keyboard shortcuts in a macOS app — in-app vs global, RegisterEventHotKey vs the KeyboardShortcuts package vs NSEvent monitors, user-configurable recording, conflict handling, and which defaults won't collide with the system.
Use when adding or reviewing macOS user notifications — UNUserNotificationCenter permission flow, categories and action buttons, click routing through the delegate, foreground presentation, and rules that keep notifications from becoming spam.
Use when a macOS app needs a TCC permission or touches private data — the map of which API, Info.plist key, and entitlement each permission needs, pre-prompt explanation patterns, denied-state recovery with System Settings deep links, and honest privacy copy.
Use between coding-agent runs (Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, Aider, etc.) to stop the project from drifting, overbuilding, or accumulating dead weight. Forces a read-only audit that classifies every active item as KEEP / DELAY / REMOVE and ends with a single, unambiguous next action. Trigger on "audit before continuing", "what should I do next", "this project got too big", "between runs", "trim scope", "stop adding stuff", or any signal that the project feels noisy and the next step is unclear. Do NOT load for trivial one-line fixes, when the next action is already obvious, or when you're mid-run and just need to keep going.
| name | macos-launch-at-login |
| description | Use when adding, reviewing, or debugging Launch at Login in a macOS app — SMAppService registration, the requiresApproval state, a Settings toggle that reflects reality, and migration off deprecated login-item APIs. |
Add Launch at Login with SMAppService (macOS 13+), expose it as an honest Settings toggle, and handle every status the system can return — including the one where the user said no.
Use this skill when the user says:
SMAppServiceSMLoginItemSetEnabled (migration)Do not use this skill for launch daemons or privileged helpers (SMAppService.daemon + launchd plists are a different, root-level topic), or for iOS.
Launch at Login is opt-in, visible in Settings, honest about its
current state, and trivial to turn off. The app never registers
itself without the user asking.
One import, one service, three calls:
import ServiceManagement
// Register (adds the app to System Settings > General > Login Items)
try SMAppService.mainApp.register()
// Unregister
try SMAppService.mainApp.unregister()
// Current truth — always read this, never cache your own flag
SMAppService.mainApp.status
register() takes effect immediately and persists across reboots. No helper bundle, no Library/LaunchAgents plist, no deprecated API.
SMAppService.Status is the part most implementations get wrong. Handle all four:
| Status | Meaning | What your UI shows |
|---|---|---|
.enabled | Registered and allowed | Toggle on |
.notRegistered | Not a login item | Toggle off |
.requiresApproval | Registered, but the user disabled it in System Settings | Toggle off + a "Needs approval in System Settings" hint with a button |
.notFound | System can't find the registration (rare; moved/renamed app) | Toggle off; re-register on next enable |
The killer detail: the user can flip your login item in System Settings > General > Login Items at any time, behind your back. A cached boolean in UserDefaults will lie. Read status every time the Settings view appears and every time the app becomes active.
For .requiresApproval, send the user to the right pane:
SMAppService.openSystemSettingsLoginItems()
import SwiftUI
import ServiceManagement
@MainActor
@Observable
final class LaunchAtLogin {
private(set) var status: SMAppService.Status = .notRegistered
var isEnabled: Bool { status == .enabled }
var needsApproval: Bool { status == .requiresApproval }
init() { refresh() }
func refresh() {
status = SMAppService.mainApp.status
}
func setEnabled(_ enabled: Bool) {
do {
if enabled {
try SMAppService.mainApp.register()
} else {
try SMAppService.mainApp.unregister()
}
} catch {
// Registration can fail (e.g. translocated app run from a DMG).
// Fall through to refresh() so the toggle snaps back to the truth.
}
refresh()
}
}
struct LaunchAtLoginToggle: View {
@State private var model = LaunchAtLogin()
var body: some View {
VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 4) {
Toggle("Launch at Login", isOn: Binding(
get: { model.isEnabled },
set: { model.setEnabled($0) }
))
if model.needsApproval {
HStack(spacing: 6) {
Text("Waiting for approval in System Settings.")
.font(.caption)
.foregroundStyle(.secondary)
Button("Open Login Items…") {
SMAppService.openSystemSettingsLoginItems()
}
.buttonStyle(.link)
.font(.caption)
}
}
}
// The user can change this in System Settings while we're not looking.
.onReceive(NotificationCenter.default.publisher(
for: NSApplication.didBecomeActiveNotification)) { _ in
model.refresh()
}
}
}
Notes that keep this correct:
status. If registration failed or needs approval, the toggle reflects that instead of lying.didBecomeActiveNotification so a trip to System Settings and back updates the UI.register() on a translocated build (running straight from a DMG) is expected; the fix is "move the app to /Applications", not a crash.If the app launches at login, it should not shove a window in the user's face at boot.
LSUIElement = YES and don't open a window on launch — nothing else needed. This is the common case (see macos-menubar-swiftui).If the codebase still uses any of these, replace them with SMAppService.mainApp:
SMLoginItemSetEnabled + a separate login-item helper bundle in Contents/Library/LoginItems — delete the helper target entirely.LSSharedFileList (ancient, removed).~/Library/LaunchAgents/*.plist for a GUI app — user-visible, fragile, and now shown with a scary "background item added" notification. Login items belong to SMAppService.There is no data to migrate: on first run of the new version, read SMAppService.mainApp.status and treat it as the truth. Don't try to auto-re-register based on the old preference — that's registering without the user asking.
General
[ ] Launch at Login
Waiting for approval in System Settings. Open Login Items… (only when required)
[ ] Start hidden (windowed apps only)
.requiresApproval state.[ ] Uses SMAppService.mainApp — no helper bundle, no SMLoginItemSetEnabled
[ ] Toggle reads status from the system, not from a cached UserDefaults flag
[ ] All four statuses handled, including .requiresApproval with a
"Open Login Items…" path
[ ] Status refreshes when the app becomes active
[ ] register()/unregister() errors leave the toggle showing the real state
[ ] App never registers itself without an explicit user action
[ ] Launch-at-login start is quiet (no window thrown at the user at boot)
[ ] Turning it off works and survives a relaunch