macOS Daemonology: Communicate with Daemons, Agents, and Helpers Through XPC

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to APress Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021

V. VashurkinmacOS Daemonologyhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7277-0_9

9. XPC Services

Volodymyr Vashurkin¹  

(1)

Dnipro, Ukraine

 

In this chapter, we’ll discuss the simplest type of daemon: an XPC service.

XPCService is probably the simplest form of daemon in macOS from the developer’s perspective. XPC services are usually lightweight helper tools that run and perform work on demand.

XPC Service Specifics

Here are some XPC service specifics:

• Tightly bound to a specific app

• Run as a user

• Always background; don’t show a UI

• Bundled executable

• May be embedded into the framework

• AppStore compatible

Naming Conventions

An XPC service in macOS has its own naming conventions ...