TaskZero reviews your running apps and verified background processes, then closes the ones you choose — safely, and entirely on your Mac.
A single panel in your menu bar shows what's running, groups it by what's safe to close, and leaves the decision to you.
A clear preview separates your apps, verified background processes, protected system services, and your exclusions.
Apps are asked to quit normally. Only verified, user-owned items that ignore the request are force-closed — and only if you allow it.
Anything TaskZero can't confidently identify is left untouched. Unknown means protected, never eligible.
Cancel a cleanup mid-run. Remaining items are skipped and no new signals are sent after you stop.
A live process monitor for inspection only — it never terminates anything. Right-click to add an exclusion.
Permanently skip VPNs, sync clients, or audio tools. Every cleanup is summarized and kept locally.
Every candidate passes a layered, default-deny check. Identity is re-validated again right before any force action.
Current-user GUI apps and Developer-ID / ad-hoc signed background processes are eligible.
launchd, WindowServer, Finder, Dock and friends are always protected.
Anything not owned by you is never targeted.
If the signature can't be confirmed, it stays protected.
Executable path, start time, and signature are re-checked before any signal — a reused PID is skipped.
Never uses sudo, never changes SIP or Gatekeeper, never unloads launch agents or daemons.
No account, no analytics, no telemetry, no network calls. Inspection and cleanup happen entirely on your Mac.
Open the ZIP to reveal TaskZero.app and drag it to Applications.
On first launch, allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
TaskZero lives in the menu bar. Click it, review, and clean.
This build is locally signed and not Apple-notarized, so macOS may ask you to approve it in Privacy & Security the first time. TaskZero is a menu-bar app — it does not open a window or appear in the Dock; look for its glyph at the top-right. Requires macOS 13 or later. Released under the MIT License.