What Login Items Do I Need?

[Mr. Monsieur]

Hello!
I was trying to speed up my Mac, and read an article about deleting login items (through System Preferences -> Users -> Login Items). I deleted a number of items accidentally, and now I'm concerned that some of them may be necessary for the proper functioning of my computer(?!)
Can anyone tell me what login items are absolutely necessary? (And how to get them back into this list?)

 

[prisstratton]

Any “absolutely necessary” (as in system critical) login items would not have been part of this list to begin with. The list contains user installed start-up items (e.g. caffeine, gfxCardStatus, Dropbox etc.).

Only you can tell what functionality you might be missing by removing these items.

 

[Mr. Monsieur]

*Excellent*! Thanks so much for confirming this...that was what I figured, but I wasn't certain...

 

[cosmo3]

I've always thought about login items as well and have a question. I have "AppCleaner Helper" as a login item and I know its running as its showing up on Activity Monitor, but there is no app on my dock open with that name. Should I have this open automatically with login and operate in the background?

Im operating a brand new rMBP with 10.9.5 and I installed all my data from the last macbook with time machine. I do not recall ever setting AppCleaner Helper as an automatic login item.

 

[prisstratton]

Some people say that you should leave the helper apps. in startup, personally I remove them and I do not have any problems.

You do not need to be running an application like AppCleaner, the user: GGJSTUDIOS has reported that the best way to remove an app. completely is manually. See his method, here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/best-way-to-fully-delete-a-program.999635/#post-11171082

 

[Weaselboy]

I've always thought about login items as well and have a question. I have "AppCleaner Helper" as a login item and I know its running as its showing up on Activity Monitor, but there is no app on my dock open with that name. Should I have this open automatically with login and operate in the background?

Im operating a brand new rMBP with 10.9.5 and I installed all my data from the last macbook with time machine. I do not recall ever setting AppCleaner Helper as an automatic login item.

Do you use the app AppCleaner? I believe that is a background process the app uses to keep track of application installs so it knows where to go to delete if you choose to. I suspect if you don't keep that process running the app won't work well.

 

[cosmo3]

Do you use the app AppCleaner? I believe that is a background process the app uses to keep track of application installs so it knows where to go to delete if you choose to. I suspect if you don't keep that process running the app won't work well.

Im not sure I completely follow you.

I don't remember ever installing an App Cleaner. and I definitely didn't do it on the new mac so if I had it on the old one it probably came over from time machine.

Are you suggesting its an apple product to help in installing/uninstalling apps? or are you suggesting its some app that I mistakingly installed?

I am a bit nervous about deleting something that I never recalled installing in the first place.

 

[Weaselboy]

Im not sure I completely follow you.

I don't remember ever installing an App Cleaner. and I definitely didn't do it on the new mac so if I had it on the old one it probably came over from time machine.

Are you suggesting its an apple product to help in installing/uninstalling apps? or are you suggesting its some app that I mistakingly installed?

I am a bit nervous about deleting something that I never recalled installing in the first place.

What I am thinking happened, and the reason for my question, is you installed the app AppCleaner at some point and this file monitoring daemon is left over from that installation.

If you no longer use AppCleaner it is safe to remove the startup item.