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Whenever I log in to my Macbook, a terminal window pops up with what appears to be some Java CLI help text and a [Process completed] (or whatever) at the bottom. It doesn't cause any problems that I can see; I always just close the window and move on. I vaguely remember installing the thing a long time ago that caused this to start happening; but I don't remember what it was or how to find it.

I've Googled "Mac startup scripts" and checked various directories for any obvious culprits, but nothing jumps out. Is there any good way for me to definitively determine what startup item is causing this window to open, so that I can get rid of it? For example does the Terminal app provide any visibility into what command started it up (is that what's printed at the top)? And if so can I easily deduce from that where the startup script/daemon/agent/whatever is?

Basically, what would you do if you were me? Admittedly this is really just an aesthetic annoyance, nothing more. Maybe the sane answer is "I'd leave it alone rather than risk screwing something up." Just seems irritating that I can't even figure out how to stop a window from popping up whenever I reboot my computer.

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    A screen shot of the Terminal window might be helpful in determining what program is executing and could help in locating where it's being triggered from. The usual places are Login Items shown in System Preferences > Users & Groups > $USER > Login Items. Other possibilities could be ~/Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons. There is also /System/Library/LaunchAgents and /System/Library/LaunchDaemons, however it's more likely to be in either Login Items or in the first three paths mentioned over the last two mentioned. – user3439894 Aug 15 '16 at 14:48
  • Depending on your OS X version don't forget /Library/StartUpItems, ~/Library/StartUpItems, ~/.bash_profile, ~/.bashrc and ~/.profile! – klanomath Aug 15 '16 at 14:54
  • As you don't keep unmanaged or obsolete machines within your appartment, you should'nt keep unmanaged pieces of software within your computer :). – daniel Azuelos Aug 15 '16 at 15:02
  • @user3439894 D'oh! Turns out the offender really was just in that "Login Items" list (saw a mysterious Java entry, removed it, and on next restart no Terminal window)! I think I had looked at that before but didn't look carefully enough: the checkbox was unchecked, so I thought that item was disabled. But it turns out the checkbox is to hide the item. – Dan Tao Aug 15 '16 at 18:47
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This might not be too helpful, but you can always check the date you downloaded things in your Applications folder and (if you remember the date, even vaguely) if you delete it, or anything non-essential near that date, then go by the process of re-installing what you want to find out what is causing the problem (or just leave them uninstalled).

This is my recommendation, and if you are still seeing problems I would recommend Apple Tech Support (the official one).

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  • If you need more elaboration, Dan Tao, let me know, and I'll be happy to explain more. – Drena The Eliatrope Aug 15 '16 at 14:38
  • Please don't repeatedly mention Apple Tech Support in all of your answers. – klanomath Aug 15 '16 at 15:01

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