Start script osx launch daemon

Question

I'm trying to run an executable on my machine (mbp retina osx mountain lion) on startup.

This is what the script looks like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> 
<plist version="1.0"> 
<dict> 
    <key>Label</key> 
    <string>com.netresponsibility.daemon</string> 
    <key>ProgramArguments</key> 
    <array> 
        <string>/usr/bin/net-responsibility</string> 
        <string>--daemon</string> 
    </array> 
    <key>OnDemand</key> 
        <true/> 
</dict> 
</plist>

I put it in the /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ directory. It's named com.netresponsibility.daemon.plist and has the same permissions as all the others.

-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel  420 Oct 11 12:39 com.netresponsibility.daemon.plist

When I restart the executable is not called. Any ideas as to what I'm missing?

Answer 1

First, you shouldn't ever put anything in /System/Library. That path is reserved for OS X files. You should put your files in /Library/LaunchDaemons/.

Second, you need to tell the system to load your plist, it's not enough to just put it there. To do that, you use launchctl:

$ sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.netresponsibility.daemon.plist

For more information, man launchctl.