macOS process library
What is distnoted on Mac?
distnoted is the macOS server for distributed notifications, the messages apps and system services post to tell each other that something changed. These are internal messages, separate from the banners you see in Notification Center.
- Part of
- macOS’s distributed notification server.
- Safe?
- Yes. It is part of macOS and runs on every Mac.
- Can I quit it?
- No. launchd restarts it right away, and apps waiting on notifications can misbehave in the meantime.
The short answer
distnoted is normally tiny and quiet, and it is normal to see many copies, one for each system account and logged-in user. When one copy uses a lot of CPU or memory, an app is usually posting or listening for notifications in a loop. Quitting that app is the fix.
Normal use
What distnoted usually looks like.
Each distnoted process usually uses close to 0% CPU and a few megabytes of memory. A Mac often runs a dozen or more, each under a different system account, plus one for you.
Apple’s developer documentation calls posting a distributed notification an expensive operation, because a system-wide server has to pass each one on to every process that’s listening. That’s why a single chatty app can make distnoted busy.
Why distnoted uses so much CPU or memory
- An app posting notifications in a loop
A bug in an app or helper can make it send notifications many times per second, and distnoted has to deliver every one.
- Many apps listening
Each notification goes to every process registered for it. Lots of running apps and menu bar utilities add up.
- A long-running login session
Memory used by your copy of distnoted can grow over days of uptime with heavy app activity.
How to calm distnoted down
Start at the top. Each step is more disruptive than the one before.
- Note which copy is busy
In Activity Monitor, add the User column. If the busy copy runs as you, the cause is probably one of your apps.
- Quit recently opened apps
Quit apps and menu bar utilities you started around the time distnoted climbed, one at a time, and watch whether it drops.
- Update the culprit
Once you find the app, check for an update. Notification loops are usually bugs that developers fix.
- Log out and back in
Logging out restarts your copy of distnoted along with your apps. Save your work first.
- Restart your Mac
A restart resets every copy.
Seeing it in Spare
Find what it’s reacting to.
distnoted works on behalf of whatever app is talking. Spare groups your apps with their helper processes and shows them next to each other, which makes it easier to spot the app that was busy at the same time distnoted climbed.
Spare treats macOS processes like distnoted as system tasks and never offers to stop them.
Common questions
About distnoted
Why are there so many distnoted processes?
macOS runs one for each system account that needs notifications, plus one for each logged-in user. Many copies is normal.
Is distnoted related to Notification Center?
No. distnoted carries internal messages between processes. Banners and alerts are handled elsewhere.
Is distnoted a virus?
No. It is part of macOS at /usr/sbin/distnoted.
Why is distnoted using so much memory?
Usually an app is flooding it with notifications. Find and quit or update that app, or log out to reset your copy.
Related processes
Sources: distnoted(8) man page, macOS, Apple: Notification Centers (Notification Programming Topics). Reviewed October 6, 2026.
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