What is apfsd on Mac?
By Junaid, maker of Taskglass · Last reviewed
Housekeeping for APFS disks: encryption, defragmentation and other maintenance.
apfsd is the APFS volume management daemon. APFS is the file system macOS uses, and apfsd handles volume encryption and decryption, automatic defragmentation and other housekeeping. It's busiest when FileVault is encrypting or decrypting a disk.
- Category
- macOS system
- Made by
- Apple
- Safe to quit:
- No
Shown in Activity Monitor as apfsd
Why is apfsd using so much CPU or memory?
- FileVault encrypting or decrypting a disk
- Maintenance after connecting an external APFS drive
- Lots of disk activity
What to do
- 1If FileVault is encrypting, keep the Mac plugged in and let it finish
- 2Check progress in System Settings > Privacy & Security > FileVault
- 3Restart your Mac if it stays busy
Safe to quit? No.
Don't quit it: it manages your disks and encryption.
Related processes
Part of the Taskglass Process Library