The best way to launch a macOS app at login?

WARN: Replace: it’s best to merely add the LaunchAtLogin library to your mission. It’ll handle all the things and it has another cool utility options.

Venture setup

Let’s begin this tutorial by creating a brand new Xcode mission with a macOS app template. Identify it for instance MainApplication, use storyboards and naturally choose Swift because the default language, we don’t want assessments for this mission in any respect.

Now that we have now the primary utility goal, there may be this good little perform obtainable known as SMLoginItemSetEnabled. With that perform you’ll be able to register an utility bundle identifier to auto begin when the consumer logs in, however you cannot register your individual app identifier. Sounds loopy, huh? 😜

You possibly can register a bundle identifier embedded into your foremost utility to get auto-launched by the system. To do that you’ll have to create a brand new launcher utility which might be launched later by your foremost utility.

You additionally must code signal your utility together with your Developer ID, in any other case it received’t begin after you log in to macOS. Sandboxing is an important a part of the method, so just be sure you observe each instruction fastidiously.

Targets & configurations

Create a brand new goal inside your present mission. Identify this new goal for instance LauncherApplication. Allow sandbox and code signing for each targets (foremost and launcher apps) beneath the Signing & Capabilities tab. For the LauncherApplication goal within the construct settings set skip set up to sure.

For the launcher app add a brand new entry to the Data.plist file: Utility is background solely with the worth: sure. This can set your utility as a background app, we don’t really want consumer interface for a launcher device, proper?

Add a brand new copy file construct section to your foremost utility goal to repeat your launcher utility into the bundle. The vacation spot ought to be wrapper and the subpath ought to be Contents/Library/LoginItems.

Hyperlink the ServiceManagement.framework to your foremost utility and double test that the launcher app is embedded into your foremost utility.

From the LauncherApplication‘s storyboard file delete your window and your view controller, additionally you’ll be able to take away the ViewController.swift file from this goal. This can be a background app in any case, so we don’t want these silly issues to put round.

Creating the launcher programmatically

Someplace in your foremost utility you must register your launcher utility’s identifier. When your foremost utility begins you must kill the launcher utility if it’s nonetheless working. You are able to do this by sending a notification to that particular app with the NSDistributedNotificationCenter class.

import Cocoa
import ServiceManagement

extension Notification.Identify {
    static let killLauncher = Notification.Identify("killLauncher")
}

@NSApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: NSObject {}


extension AppDelegate: NSApplicationDelegate {

    func applicationDidFinishLaunching(_ aNotification: Notification) {

        let launcherAppId = "com.tiborbodecs.LauncherApplication"
        let runningApps = NSWorkspace.shared.runningApplications
        let isRunning = !runningApps.filter { 
            $0.bundleIdentifier == launcherAppId 
        }.isEmpty

        SMLoginItemSetEnabled(launcherAppId as CFString, true)

        if isRunning {
            DistributedNotificationCenter.default().put up(
                identify: .killLauncher, 
                object: Bundle.foremost.bundleIdentifier!
            )
        }
    }
}

Within the launcher utility you must begin your foremost utility if it’s not working already. That’s it. You also needs to subscribe for the notifications from the primary app to terminate if the launcher isn’t wanted anymore.

import Cocoa

extension Notification.Identify {
    static let killLauncher = Notification.Identify("killLauncher")
}

@NSApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: NSObject {

    @objc func terminate() {
        NSApp.terminate(nil)
    }
}

extension AppDelegate: NSApplicationDelegate {

    func applicationDidFinishLaunching(_ aNotification: Notification) {

        let mainAppIdentifier = "com.tiborbodecs.MainApplication"
        let runningApps = NSWorkspace.shared.runningApplications
        let isRunning = !runningApps.filter { 
            $0.bundleIdentifier == mainAppIdentifier 
        }.isEmpty

        if !isRunning {
            DistributedNotificationCenter.default().addObserver(
                self, 
                selector: #selector(self.terminate), 
                identify: .killLauncher, 
                object: mainAppIdentifier
            )

            let path = Bundle.foremost.bundlePath as NSString
            var elements = path.pathComponents
            elements.removeLast()
            elements.removeLast()
            elements.removeLast()
            elements.append("MacOS")
            elements.append("MainApplication") //foremost app identify

            let newPath = NSString.path(withComponents: elements)

            NSWorkspace.shared.launchApplication(newPath)
        }
        else {
            self.terminate()
        }
    }
}

That’s it, we’re able to launch. Export your foremost utility and right here is an important factor: code signal it together with your Developer ID. Begin it, shut it, log off and again into the system. Hopefully your foremost utility might be working once more.