Where Are Mac Login Items Stored?
Login and background item stores on modern Macs, and the sfltool commands that read them.
Last updated
Since Ventura, login and background items live in a system store at /private/var/db/com.apple.backgroundtaskmanagement/BackgroundItems-v*.btm (version suffix increments per release), a serialized binary plist with bookmark data. Pre Ventura used a per user backgrounditems.btm that lingers vestigially after upgrades.
System Settings shows only a partial view; legacy launchd plists (LaunchAgents, Daemons, loginitems plists) now curate into BTM via SMAppService. Read with sudo sfltool dumpbtm (Terminal needs Full Disk Access), reset with sfltool resetbtm plus restart, and never hand edit the binary.
Where macOS stores this, by platform
/private/var/db/com.apple.backgroundtaskmanagement/
System BTM store since Ventura (BackgroundItems-vN.btm, suffix varies by release). Legacy per user ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.backgroundtaskmanagementagent/backgrounditems.btm pre Ventura. Inspect with sfltool dumpbtm (root plus Full Disk Access).
Frequently asked questions
How do I see all Mac login and background items?
Run sudo sfltool dumpbtm in Terminal (grant Full Disk Access first). Settings shows a partial list; the dump reveals every registered item including helpers.
How do I reset Mac login items completely?
Run sfltool resetbtm with sudo, then restart. Re-add wanted items afterwards; legacy LaunchAgents plists recurate themselves on next launch.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.