How To Control What Apps Open On Startup Mac

Does your Mac slow to a crawl thanks to apps that spring to life upon startup? Here's how to disable and manage startup items so you can stop them in their tracks.

By Jason Cohen

Does your Mac take a long time to boot up? And when it does start, are you bombarded with a series of programs you didn't open? Startup apps are convenient, but too many can eat up precious memory and slow down your computer. The good news is that you can fight back and manage your startup apps. If you love your Mac but hate waiting around for apps to load, here's how to disable them on startup.

Disable Startup Apps From the Dock

The simplest way to disable an app from launching on startup is to do it from the Dock. Right-click on the app and hover over Options in the menu. Apps that are set to open automatically will have a check mark next to Open at Login. Tap that option to uncheck it and disable it from opening.

Hide or Disable Login Items

You can also manage multiple startup items at once. Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items for a list of apps set to launch on startup. To remove a specific app, highlight it and click the minus button under the list.

If you prefer, certain apps can be set to launch at startup without necessarily popping up onto the screen. This ensures the program won't get in your way but will be ready to use when it's needed. You can hide a startup app to only run in the background until you're ready to use it by ticking the Hide box next to each app listed.

Temporarily Disable Startup Apps

You're starting up your Mac in a hurry and don't have time for the computer's normal boot process. Instead of waiting for all those startup apps to load, you can temporarily stop them for just this one session. Enter your login information as you normally would, but hold down the Shift key on the keyboard before submitting your credentials. Continue holding until the Dock appears, and the startup apps won't load this time.

Delay Startup Apps with Delay Start

You can delay the launch of startup apps rather than disable them entirely. The third-party app Delay Start lets you set a timer for specific apps to control when they start up. Delay Start works similarly to the Mac's own internal interface. Click the plus sign to add a program to the list. Change the time setting to indicate how long (in seconds) you want the apps to be delayed. On the next startup, the items you added will launch with the delay you set.