What is loginwindow on Mac?
By Junaid, maker of Taskglass · Last reviewed
Handles logging in and out, the lock screen, and keeps your user session running.
loginwindow shows the login screen, starts your session after you log in, handles the lock screen and the Force Quit window, and manages logging out, restarting and shutting down. It keeps running for your whole session even though you don't see it.
- Category
- macOS system
- Made by
- Apple
- Safe to quit:
- No
Shown in Activity Monitor as loginwindow
Why is loginwindow using so much CPU or memory?
- Right after login, while your session and login items start
- Fast user switching, or locking and unlocking the screen
- An app that blocks logging out or shutting down
What to do
- 1Wait a minute after logging in
- 2Turn off login items you don't need in System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions
- 3Restart your Mac
Safe to quit? No.
Quitting loginwindow immediately logs you out and closes all your apps.
Typical usage
Rough ranges on Apple Silicon Macs. Yours will vary.
- CPU
- Near 0%
- Memory
- 30–150 MB
Related guides
Related processes
Part of the Taskglass Process Library