Launchd

Abstract

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• We usually interact with launchd through a convenient layer of abstraction provided by brew services

How does this work?

Homebrew maintains a .plist configuration file for every package it installs, typically located at /usr/local/Cellar/$pkgName/$pkgVersion/homebrew.mxcl.$pkgName.plist. On newer Macs, this file may be found at /opt/homebrew/Cellar/$pkgName/$pkgVersion/homebrew.mxcl.$pkgName.plist.

When starting a service, brew services reads the corresponding .plist file and copies it to a location like /usr/local/opt/$pkgName/homebrew.mxcl.$pkgName.plist. Editing this copied version of the .plist file does not affect the original, and therefore won’t alter the service’s configuration.

How to append command parameters

You can add <string> elements to the <array> to append command arguments.

However, be aware that brew services often employs a wrapper script for enhanced service management. This wrapper script might handle command-line parameters, potentially overriding or supplementing those specified in the plist file.

References

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• macos - How to pass arguments to homebrew service - Stack Overflow