FIELD NOTES

Get your background jobs back on track.

Start with the command line. Understand the cause. Keep the fix.

• Homebrew says “started,” but the service is not running

  Inspect the launchd job and its configured logs; a registered service is not necessarily a healthy server.

• Why does my launchd job keep restarting?

  Inspect KeepAlive and the last exit code, then unload the job if you need it to stay stopped while debugging.

• Where are my launch agent’s logs?

  Check StandardOutPath and StandardErrorPath in the plist; use Console for processes that log through the unified logging system.

• launchctl bootstrap failed: 5 — what to check

  Check plist syntax, target domain, existing registration, file ownership, and the executable before retrying bootstrap.

• How to stop a launch agent on a Mac

  Use launchctl kill for a temporary stop, or bootout to remove the job’s registration without deleting its plist.

• Find launch agents pointing to deleted apps

  Inspect Program and ProgramArguments for stale executable paths before removing an old launch agent.

• Why isn’t StartCalendarInterval running my script?

  Check the calendar dictionary, loaded state, executable permissions, and logs. launchd jobs do not inherit your interactive shell environment.