What is Background service?
By Junaid, maker of Taskglass · Last reviewed
A background service started by macOS or an app to handle a specific task.
Processes ending in 'Service' are usually background helpers that macOS or an app starts on demand to do one kind of job. If the name starts with 'com.apple.' or the file lives in /System or /usr/libexec, it's part of macOS. Otherwise, the name or file path usually points to the app it belongs to.
- Category
- macOS system
- Safe to quit:
- With care
Applies to processes whose name ends with "Service".
Why is Background service using so much CPU or memory?
- The feature or app it serves is busy
- A task it's handling is large or stuck
What to do
- 1Check its file path to see whether it's part of macOS or an app
- 2Quit and reopen the related app
- 3Restart your Mac if it stays busy
Safe to quit? With care.
It's usually restarted on demand; the feature it serves may stop briefly.
Part of the Taskglass Process Library