🌐 Web query:

launchctl list output format PID field macOS how to detect running job

💡 Result:

launchctl list prints three columns (header often shows PID Status Label):

• PID: the job’s process ID if it is currently running; otherwise it’s shown as -. [1]
• Status: the job’s last exit status (negative values mean it was killed by a signal; e.g. -15 = SIGTERM). [1]
• Label: the launchd job label. [1]

Detect whether a specific job is running (using launchctl list)

If the job appears in the output and the PID column is not -, it’s running. [1]

Example:

label="com.example.myjob"
pid="$(launchctl list | awk -v l="$label" '$3==l {print $1}')"
if [ -n "$pid" ] && [ "$pid" != "-" ]; then
  echo "running (pid=$pid)"
else
  echo "not running (loaded but not running, or not loaded)"
fi

Note on stability / better check

Apple’s launchctl(1) warns the output is not an API and may change. [2] For more reliable state/details, use launchctl print <domain>/<label> (e.g., gui/$UID/<label> or system/<label>). [3]

Sources: [1] launchctl list description (man page excerpt) via Stack Overflow/Server Fault quoting man launchctl; [2] Apple launchctl(1) man page warning; [3] launchctl print description. [1] (stackoverflow.com) [2] (manp.gs) [3] (stackoverflow.com)

Citations:

• 1: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/29815537/how-to-check-for-a-launched-process-is-loaded-or-not-in-mac-os-x-from-shell-scri?utm_source=openai
• 2: https://manp.gs/mac/1/launchctl?utm_source=openai
• 3: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/29815537/how-to-check-for-a-launched-process-is-loaded-or-not-in-mac-os-x-from-shell-scri?utm_source=openai

🌐 Web query:

launchctl print alternative to launchctl list macOS check if job running

💡 Result:

Use launchctl print (Apple calls it the recommended alternative to the legacy launchctl list).[2]

Check whether a specific job is running

Pick the right domain, then look for a PID / running state in the output:

• LaunchDaemon (system-wide):

launchctl print system/<label>

• LaunchAgent (GUI login session for your user):

launchctl print gui/$(id -u)/<label>

If the job is running, print will include its current state and typically a PID (where applicable), since print “includes … its current state”.[1]

Practical one-liners

• “Is it loaded at all?” (errors if not loaded):

launchctl print gui/$(id -u)/<label> >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo loaded || echo not-loaded

• “Show just state/PID lines”:

launchctl print gui/$(id -u)/<label> 2>/dev/null | egrep 'state =|pid ='

Domain target forms you’ll commonly use are system/<service-name> and gui/<uid>/<service-name>.[1]

Sources:
[1] launchctl(1) man page (domain/service targets; print shows current state) (manp.gs)
[2] launchctl(1) man page (list recommended alternative: print; list PID column meaning) (keith.github.io)

Citations:

• 1: https://manp.gs/mac/1/launchctl?utm_source=openai
• 2: https://keith.github.io/xcode-man-pages/launchctl.1.html?utm_source=openai