Perpetual "Background Items Added"

I think I solved this – for myself, at very least.

Full disclosure: I am not an Apple developer. However, I am a software engineer with > 20 years experience working on UNIX and UNIX-Like systems (mainly Linux variants), similar to MacOS.

OK! All that being said, here's what I did:

1. Reboot in Safe Mode
2. Remove unwanted items from /Library/LaunchDaemons/
3. Remove unwanted items from /Library/LaunchAgents/
4. Remove unwanted items from /Users/username/Library/LaunchAgents/ (aka "~/Library/LaunchAgents")
5. Reset background task management database
6. Reboot and login normally

Before I did this, I was getting dozens and dozens of "Background Items Added" warnings. (Ventura 13.1 on a 2020 Intel MacBook Pro.) My logic for this was as follows:

• When the Mac fully boots up and the user logs in normally, the state of running apps is held in memory, and may be written out to disk at any time.
• Making changes in this state, therefore, may not have a permanent effect
• When booted in "Safe Mode" no background applications are started. (Or, at least, only the very essential ones.)
• Therefore, changes can be made which will survive a restart, from Safe Mode

Furthermore: Startup tasks may be run at system boot, at login of ANY user, and at login of a particular user account. As I understand it:

• /Library/LaunchDaemons : Run at system boot
• /Library/LaunchAgents : Run when any user logs in
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents: Run when that particular user logs in

TL;DR: JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO!

Ok, I feel you. Here is the step-by-step. Like I said, this worked for ME. YMMV. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Reboot in Safe Mode

Apple Menu -> Restart. Hold down the SHIFT key (Intel Macs) until you see the login screen.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

Remove unwanted startup items, reset BTM database, restart

1. Open up Terminal.app (link).
2. Make a directory into which you can move (rather than delete) the unwanted files by typing:
   1. mkdir -pv /tmp/DISABLED/LaunchDaemons
   2. mkdir -pv /tmp/DISABLED/LaunchAgents
   3. mkdir -pv /tmp/DISABLED/User-LaunchAgents
3. Go to your user LaunchAgents directory by typing: "cd ~/Library/LaunchAgents"
   1. List all files by typing: "ls -la"
   2. Move each file you want to disable by typing: "mv -v file.to.disable /tmp/DISABLED/User-LaunchAgents/"
4. Switch to the root (aka "admin") account by typing: "sudo su -" and then entering your admin password.
5. Go to the system LaunchDaemons directory by typing: "cd /Library/LaunchDaemons"
   1. List all files by typing: "ls -la"
   2. Move each file you want to disable by typing: "mv -v file.to.disable /tmp/DISABLED/LaunchDaemons/"
6. Go to the system LaunchAgents directory by typing: "cd /Library/LaunchAgents"
   1. List all files by typing: "ls -la"
   2. Move each file you want to disable by typing: "mv -v file.to.disable /tmp/DISABLED/LaunchAgents/"
7. Reset background task management database: "sfltool resetbtm"
8. Exit terminal and reboot normally

I know this looks like a lot. If anything goes sideways, /tmp/DISABLED contains the files you removed. Just move them back and restart.

Good luck!

This fault is a serious Pain-in the ***. I cleaned out my Launch items in ~/Library, turned off the Login Items as suggested, and just get the same notifications piling up on my screen, advising me to turn them on! This is OS-wide and needs a fix from Apple, not just a workaround.

I spoke with one of the Apple Support team members, and here's what I was suggested.

1. Reset using "sfltool resetbtm" from Terminal
2. Reboot

After this annoyed the heck out of me, I found the solution, by tracing the corrupt file that was causing the problem. In MacOS, there is a process called "backgroundtaskmanagementd" that reads from a database of background items. However, since it only updates the database infrequently, it took some poking around the console to find the location. After I found it, I deleted the database file and restarted, and the endless messages stopped.

The database location is: /var/db/com.apple.backgroundtaskmanagement/BackgroundItems-v8.btm

Since the location is hidden from the Finder, to get to it, in the Finder, select Go to folder... from the Go menu (or just press command-shift-G on your keyboard) and enter: /var/db/com.apple.backgroundtaskmanagement/

Then, drag the BackgroundItems-v8.btm file to the trash, enter your password, and then restart.

slps01, have you tried my solution yet?

Look in ~/Library/LaunchAgents (you can copy paste into go to folder from Finder), sort alphabetically and look for whatever the name of the application is that's bugging you with those pop-ups. Delete, empty trash, and restart.

It's also worth looking in Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchAgents and Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchDaemons for those same applications. Again, delete, empty trash, and restart.

paul_melbourne wrote:

I cleaned out my Launch items in ~/Library

That's not possible. Or rather, whatever you were doing in ~/Library will have no effect or cause damage.

turned off the Login Items as suggested

Suggested by whom? Don't do that.

, and just get the same notifications piling up on my screen, advising me to turn them on! This is OS-wide and needs a fix from Apple, not just a workaround.

And to show I'm not picking on anyone in particular...

Look in ~/Library/LaunchAgents (you can copy paste into go to folder from Finder)

Nope. Not gonna work.

It's also worth looking in Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchAgents and Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchDaemons for those same applications.

Again, no. Don't do this. If may have an effect, but I'm positive it is not what you want.

Here's the story...

Many apps require some sort of background tasks running. Sometimes they are always running. Sometimes they only run in response to various system events. Regardless, they are part of 3rd party apps that you have installed on purpose, and possibly paid money for. If those files are deleted, your 3rd party apps will not work properly.

Perhaps, at some point in the future, 3rd party developers will adapt to this new interface and make their apps more robust in the face of this kind user "intervention". But for now, it would probably be a bad idea to delete these files or even to disable them. I realize Apple has provided an interface to disable these tasks. That being said, I strongly feel that very few developers are adequate prepared for this new behaviour. Use it at your own risk.

Furthermore, Apple has made fundamental changes to how these launch items work. These files that people are attempting to delete are migrating from those locations in ~/Library and /Library to inside their associated app bundles. If you try to modify the app bundles, the app may not launch at all.

And the bad news keeps on comin'. Even if you disable or delete these files, the app in question can always re-enable them or even reinstall them. I have seen reports that some popular apps are already doing this. I'm afraid that the only real solution is to uninstall apps if you do not agree with their behaviour.

There are reports that this repeated dialog may be a bug in Ventura. With this kind of software, it is very difficult to say. It could be buggy behaviour within the apps. Considering how difficult it is for regular people to diagnose these issues, it is very difficult to get meaningful information. And the new interface in Ventura doesn't help. It lists items by developer name. But it obtains this from developer signatures. But those apps most like to cause problems are the ones that don't have signatures. The are the items identified as "SCloudWatch", "SshResident", or even just "open". To even find out what those items really are is quite difficult. There are some easier methods, but I can't mention them. 😄

I wish I had something better to tell people. I thought this was going to be a royal can-o-worms and I'm being proven right. That had to happen eventually, eh?

Possible fix - this did it for me!

Look in ~/Library/LaunchAgents (you can copy paste into go to folder from Finder), sort alphabetically and look for whatever the name of the application is that's bugging you with those pop-ups. Delete, empty trash, and restart.

It's also worth looking in Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchAgents and Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchDaemons for those same applications. Again, delete, empty trash, and restart.

I'm sure that you are correct about this, but I am also fairly convinced that this is a Ventura problem--otherwise I would not have an Allow in Background for an item entitled "Joseph Siegrist". It doesn't relate to any app that I have installed, and someone on the internet suggested that Joseph Siegrist is a software developer at Apple. I did try trashing a bunch of apps that showed up on the notifications whenever I started my computer or opened System Setting, and that may have solved at least a part of the problem.

kefskis wrote:

the solutions provided in this thread don't work for me. If you have an update, could you share it?

If you scan through the first dozen or so pages on this thread, you should find many cases where I've tried and failed to discourage people from posting for this exact reason.

Every person's problem is unique. This is a complicated issue. You would go through a few layers of Apple Support engineers before you reached anyone who had any clue about it. With every post in this thread, there are people who go off and try the solution, causing unknown damage to their system, while never actually fixing the problem, and getting more and more frustrated.

I have also had this same problem. I've turned this off for specific items and they keep reappearing every time I start the app again. Very frustrating and makes me wish I hadn't upgraded to Ventura.

Is there another workaround?

This was enough of an annoyance for me to take my M1 Mac mini off my desk and switch back to using my Bee-Link mini PC and Windows 11. Apple seriously needs to tighten up on their quality control. When a $450 computer behaves better than a $1,000 Mac, we have a problem.

Since the latest update I got the notification only once, the first time I booted up. Since then nada.

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

Joseph Siegrist is the developer for LastPass. Do you have that installed?

For some reason Apple is showing the developer's name instead of the app's name. Tell Apple what missing features you'd like restored or new features added to the system via Feedback - macOS - Apple.  

For any others just do a Google search for "xxxxx software for mac".

We should get those notification onlly when we update or upgrade the system. Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

They should only appear once after an update or upgrade. Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.