Destroyed Apple Music app icon — cracked glass with blood dripping from the music note symbol

KILL APPLE MUSIC.

Apple Music keeps opening automatically on your Mac. When you connect AirPods. When you press play. When you breathe near your Mac. Stop it permanently with one command. Zero CPU. Works every time.

run one command

$ git clone https://github.com/beausterling/kill-apple-music.git && cd kill-apple-music && bash install.sh
Install Free from GitHub → ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee

WHY APPLE MUSIC KEEPS OPENING

If Apple Music keeps opening automatically on your Mac, you're not alone. Apple designed Music.app to launch in response to media events — and there's no built-in setting to turn it off.

AirPods & Bluetooth

Connecting AirPods or any Bluetooth headphones triggers Apple Music to launch and auto-play.

Play / Pause Key

Pressing the media key on your keyboard or Touch Bar opens Music, even if you use Spotify.

Handoff from iPhone

Ending a phone call or switching audio can wake Music.app on your Mac through Handoff.

Random Auto-Launch

Some users report Apple Music opening unprompted — at startup, after sleep, or at random.

Apple considers this intentional behavior, not a bug. No checkbox in System Settings will disable it. That's why Kill Apple Music exists.

Kill Apple Music is free and open source. If it saved you from going insane, consider buying me a coffee ☕️.

HOW IT WORKS

Kill Apple Music is a tiny compiled Swift binary that uses macOS native APIs to permanently prevent Apple Music from opening. Zero polling. Zero CPU. Pure event-driven execution.

1

Listens for app launches

Uses NSWorkspace.didLaunchApplicationNotification — the same native API macOS uses internally. Zero CPU while waiting.

2

Detects Music.app instantly

The moment Apple Music tries to open — from any trigger — the binary is notified by the system.

3

Kills it before it loads

Music.app is terminated immediately. No window appears. No audio plays. It never fully launches.

4

Survives everything

A macOS LaunchAgent starts it at login and keeps it running. Survives restarts. Survives macOS updates. Set it and forget it.

WHY KILL APPLE MUSIC

There are other ways to stop Apple Music from auto-launching on Mac. Here's how Kill Apple Music compares.

Feature Kill Apple Music noTunes Manual Fix
Stops all triggers Yes Yes Partial
Zero CPU while idle Yes No (polls) N/A
One command install Yes Homebrew No
No menu bar icon Yes No N/A
Intel + Apple Silicon Native Universal N/A
Open source MIT MIT N/A
Survives macOS updates Yes Yes Often breaks

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why does Apple Music keep opening automatically on my Mac?

Apple Music auto-launches in response to media events: connecting AirPods or Bluetooth headphones, pressing the play/pause key, Handoff from iPhone, or macOS restarting with "Reopen windows" enabled. Apple considers this intentional behavior — there is no built-in setting to disable it.

How do I permanently stop Apple Music from opening on Mac?

Install Kill Apple Music with one command: git clone https://github.com/beausterling/kill-apple-music.git && cd kill-apple-music && bash install.sh. It runs silently in the background, catches Music.app the instant it tries to launch, and kills it. Works across restarts.

Does this work on macOS Sequoia, Sonoma, and Ventura?

Yes. Kill Apple Music works on macOS 12 (Monterey) and later, including Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia. It compiles from Swift source on your machine, so it's always compatible with your macOS version and CPU — Intel or Apple Silicon.

Will this stop Apple Music from opening when I connect AirPods?

Yes. Kill Apple Music catches Music.app the instant it tries to open, regardless of the trigger — AirPods, Bluetooth headphones, the play/pause key, Handoff, or anything else. Music.app is terminated before it fully loads.

How is this different from noTunes?

Kill Apple Music is event-driven — it uses macOS native notifications to react instantly, using zero CPU while idle. noTunes uses polling (checks every second). Kill Apple Music compiles natively on your machine, requires no menu bar icon, and installs with a single terminal command.

How do I uninstall it?

Run ~/.kill-apple-music/uninstall.sh in Terminal. This removes the background agent and all installed files. Apple Music will launch normally again.

READY TO KILL IT?

Free. Open source. Takes 30 seconds.

Get Kill Apple Music → ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee