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launchd(8)                BSD System Manager's Manual               launchd(8)

NAME
     launchd -- Systemwide and per-user daemon/agent manager

SYNOPSIS
     launchd [-d] [-D] [-s] [-S SessionType] [-- command [args ...]]

DESCRIPTION
     launchd manages processes, both for the system as a whole (daemons) and for individual users (agents).
     The primary and preferred interface to launchd is via the launchctl(1) tool which (among other options)
     allows the user or administrator to load and unload jobs.  Where possible, it is preferable for jobs to
     launch on demand based on criteria specified in their respective configuration files.

     When run with a command, a specific instance of launchd is created and the command is implicitly added
     to the list of jobs maintained by launchd.  If the command exits, that instance of launchd will clean
     up all jobs maintained by itself and exit. All children of the command will use that instance of
     launchd.

     During boot launchd is invoked by the kernel to run as the first process on the system and to further
     bootstrap the rest of the system.

OPTIONS
     -D       Debug. Prints syslog messages to stderr and adjusts logging via syslog(3) to LOG_DEBUG.

OPTIONS WHEN RUN AS PID 1
     -s       Single user mode. Instructs launchd to give a shell prompt before booting the system.

ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES
     LAUNCHD_SOCKET
              This variable is exported when invoking a command via the launchd command line. It informs
              launchctl how to find the correct launchd to talk to.

NOTES
     In Darwin it is preferable to have your daemon launch via launchd instead of modifying rc or creating a
     SystemStarter Startup Item.

     At some point in the future, we hope to completely phase out the use of rc.

FILES
     ~/Library/LaunchAgents         Per-user agents provided by the user.
     /Library/LaunchAgents          Per-user agents provided by the administrator.
     /Library/LaunchDaemons         Systemwide daemons provided by the administrator.
     /System/Library/LaunchAgents   Mac OS X system-provided per-user agents.
     /System/Library/LaunchDaemons  Mac OS X system-provided daemons.

SEE ALSO
     launchctl(1), launchd.plist(5), rc(8), SystemStarter(8)

Darwin                        September 30, 2004                        Darwin