Kernel & Root

[Reality4711]

What is 'kernel_task' in activity monitor?
Why does it appear many times sometimes and hardly ever others?

Regards Sharkey

 

[!!!]

kernel_task is your operating system. It's the first process that launches, and it handles all the low level stuff, memory management, CPU management, hardware accesss, etc.

 

[frou]

It's the first process that launches

Strictly speaking, I think that would be `launchd` ... which is macOS's "init process" in conventional Unix speak.

Unlike all the other processes shown in Activity Monitor, I don't think `kernel_task` is a real process. Apple just chose to present it as a pseudo-process in the CPU tab so they could reuse that existing UI for an easy way to show some kernel statistics.

Nothing to worry about. There shouldn't be more than one instance of it, though!

 

[Reality4711]

Thank you both.

 

[!!!]

Strictly speaking, I think that would be `launchd` ... which is macOS's "init process" in conventional Unix speak.

Unlike all the other processes shown in Activity Monitor, I don't think `kernel_task` is a real process. Apple just chose to present it as a pseudo-process in the CPU tab so they could reuse that existing UI for an easy way to show some kernel statistics.

Nothing to worry about. There shouldn't be more than one instance of it, though!

The EFI Firmware starts the kernel, then the kernel starts launchd.

 

[frou]

The EFI Firmware starts the kernel, then the kernel starts launchd.

The power cable is plugged into the wall.