Where Are macOS StartupItems Stored?
Legacy startup items live in StartupItems folders, superseded by LaunchDaemons on modern macOS.
Last updated
StartupItems folders once held boot-time scripts, one folder per item with an executable and a plist. Modern macOS ignores them in favor of LaunchDaemons, but the directories still exist on upgraded machines.
Leftover items there explain phantom boot behavior on old Macs. Nothing current should install into them; anything that does is either legacy software or a red flag. Audit the folders when tracking down slow or strange startups.
Where macOS stores this, by platform
/Library/StartupItems
Legacy per-item startup folders, ignored by modern macOS. Audit for leftovers when debugging slow boots; migrate live scripts to LaunchDaemons.
Frequently asked questions
My old startup script no longer runs. How do I migrate it?
Move it to a LaunchDaemon. StartupItems stopped running reliably years ago, and the system ignores them on current releases regardless of permissions.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.