https://github.com/emorydunn/launchagent
Programmatically create and maintain launchd agents and daemons without manually building Property Lists.
https://github.com/emorydunn/launchagent
launchagent launchd macos swift swift-package-manager
Last synced: 3 months ago
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Programmatically create and maintain launchd agents and daemons without manually building Property Lists.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/emorydunn/launchagent
- Owner: emorydunn
- License: mit
- Created: 2018-02-19T20:20:28.000Z (almost 8 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2022-04-06T22:09:03.000Z (almost 4 years ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-10-16T22:46:20.711Z (3 months ago)
- Topics: launchagent, launchd, macos, swift, swift-package-manager
- Language: Swift
- Homepage:
- Size: 317 KB
- Stars: 63
- Watchers: 5
- Forks: 14
- Open Issues: 2
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- License: LICENSE.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# LaunchAgent
![SwiftPM] ![Swift5.2] ![license] ![build] ![coverage]
[SwiftPM]: https://img.shields.io/badge/SwiftPM-compatible-success.svg
[swift]: https://developer.apple.com/swift/
[Swift5.2]: https://img.shields.io/badge/swift-5.2-orange.svg?style=flat
[spm]: https://swift.org/package-manager/
[license]: https://img.shields.io/github/license/emorydunn/LaunchAgent.svg?style=flat
[build]: https://github.com/emorydunn/LaunchAgent/workflows/Swift/badge.svg
[docs]: https://emorydunn.github.io/LaunchAgent/
[coverage]: https://emorydunn.github.io/LaunchAgent/badge.svg
LaunchAgent provides an easy way to pragmatically create and maintain [`launchd`][launchd] agents and daemons without needing to manually build Property Lists.
Take a look at the full [documentation][docs].
[launchd]: http://www.launchd.info
## LaunchAgent
A LaunchAgent can be created with either an array of program arguments:
```swift
LaunchAgent(label: "local.PythonServer", program: ["python", "-m", "SimpleHTTPServer", "8000"])
```
or with variadic parameters:
```swift
LaunchAgent(label: "local.PythonServer", program: "python", "-m", "SimpleHTTPServer", "8000")
```
The agent can also be created with only a label, but will be invalid if loaded:
```swift
LaunchAgent(label: "local.PythonServer")
```
When creating a new agent it needs to be written to disk:
```swift
let agent = LaunchAgent(label: "local.PythonServer", program: "python", "-m", "SimpleHTTPServer", "8000")
do {
try LaunchControl.shared.write(agent)
try agent.load()
agent.start()
} catch {
print("Unexpected error:" error)
}
```
### Using LaunchControl to read and write LaunchAgents
The `LaunchControl` class can read agents from and write agents to `~/Library/LaunchAgents`.
When using either method the `url` of the loaded agent will be set.
### Controlling LaunchAgents
LaunchAgent has `load()`, `unload()`, `start()`, `stop()`, and `status()` methods which do what they say on the tin.
Load & unload require the agent's URL parameter to be set, or `launchctl` won't be able to locate them.
Start, stop, and status are called based on the label.
## Supported Keys
LaunchAgent does not currently support all keys, and there are some caveats to some keys it does support.
Most parameters in the `LaunchAgent` class are optional, and setting `nil` will remove the key from the encoded plist.
Some keys use their own type to encapsulate a complex dictionary value.
## Basic Config
| Key Name | Key type | Supported | Notes |
|------------------|----------|-----------|-------|
| Label | String | true | |
| Disabled | String | true | |
| Program | String | true | |
| ProgramArguments | [String] | true | |
| EnableGlobbing | Bool | true | deprecated in macOS |
### Program
| Key Name | Key type | Supported | Notes |
|----------------------|------------------|-----------|-------|
| workingDirectory | String | true | |
| standardInPath | String | true | |
| standardOutPath | String | true | |
| standardErrorPath | String | true | |
| environmentVariables | [String: String] | true | |
### Run Conditions
| Key Name | Key type | Supported | Notes |
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------|-------|
| runAtLoad | Bool | true | |
| startInterval | Int | true | |
| startCalendarInterval | StartCalendarInterval | true | |
| startOnMount | Bool | true | |
| onDemand | Bool | true | |
| keepAlive | Bool | true | |
| watchPaths | [String] | true | |
| queueDirectories | [String] | true | |
### Security
| Key Name | Key type | Supported | Notes |
|---------------|----------|-----------|-------|
| umask | Int | true | Use `FilePermissions.umaskDecimal` to get a valid value |
| sessionCreate | Bool | true | |
| groupName | String | true | |
| userName | String | true | |
| initGroups | Bool | true | |
| rootDirectory | String | true | |
### Run Constraints
| Key Name | Key type | Supported | Notes |
|------------------------|----------|-----------|-------|
| launchOnlyOnce | Bool | true | |
| limitLoadToSessionType | [String] | true | Always encodes as an array |
| limitLoadToHosts | [String] | true | |
| limitLoadFromHosts | [String] | true | |
### Control
| Key Name | Key type | Supported | Notes |
|---------------------|--------------------|-----------|-------|
| AbandonProcessGroup | Bool | true | |
| EnablePressuredExit | Bool | true | |
| EnableTransactions | Bool | true | |
| ExitTimeOut | Int | true | |
| inetdCompatibility | inetdCompatibility | true | |
| HardResourceLimits | ResourceLimits | true | |
| SoftResourceLimits | ResourceLimits | true | |
| TimeOut | Int | true | |
| ThrottleInterval | Int | true | |
### IPC
| Key Name | Key type | Supported | Notes |
|--------------|------------------------|-----------|-------|
| MachServices | [String: MachService] | true | |
| Sockets | | false | |
### Debug
| Key Name | Key type | Supported | Notes |
|-----------------|----------|-----------|-------|
| Debug | Bool | true | Deprecated |
| WaitForDebugger | Bool | true | |
### Performance
| Key Name | Key type | Supported | Notes |
|-------------------------|------------------|-----------|-------|
| LegacyTimers | Bool | true | |
| LowPriorityIO | Bool | true | |
| LowPriorityBackgroundIO | Bool | true | |
| Nice | Int | true | |
| ProcessType | ProcessType enum | true | |
## Custom Key Classes
### StartCalendarInterval
The `StartCalendarInterval` encapsulates the dictionary for setting calendar-based job intervals.
By default all values are set to `nil`, meaning the job will run on any occurrence of that value.
The Month and Weekday keys are represented by enums for each month and week, respectively.
Day, Hour, and Minute values are simply integers. They are checked for validity in their
respective time ranges, and will be set to the minimum or maximum value depending on which way they were out of bounds.
## inetdCompatibility
Encapsulates the `inetdCompatibility` `wait` key.
## ResourceLimits
Encapsulates the SoftResourceLimits and HardResourceLimits keys:
- cpu
- core
- data
- fileSize
- memoryLock
- numberOfFiles
- numberOfProcesses
- residentSetSize
- stack
## FilePermissions
Individual permission Unix bits for read, write, and execute.
## Unix Permissions
- Read: 4
- Write: 2
- Execute: 1
In addition you can get the [umask](https://ss64.com/osx/umask.html) value.
When setting permissions for a LaunchAgent use `.umaskDecimal` to get the value.
If you're reading a LaunchAgent `FilePermissions(umask:)` will read in the decimal so the permissions can be updated.