How to identify which process is running which window in Mac OS X?

Question

I’d like to know if it is possible to identify which process is responsible for creating/managing a window in Mac OS X.

For example, when multiple instances of an application are started, how can I get the process ID (PID) corresponding to one specific window? Or if there is a modal dialog window without a title, how can I get the PID of its owner?

I know in Windows it is possible using the Sysinternals Suite tool that provides a way to search for a library that is running with some data.

I’m looking for a mechanism similar to the one that appears in this blogpost.

In this case, using Sysinternals Suite (and Process Explorer), they found which DLL/program was using the webcam by searching for a DLL or substring (in this case, using the physical name of the device).

So is there any mechanism or program, or do you have any idea about how to search for something similar for Mac OS X? How I can identify which process has launched a window?

“…which process is showing which window…” This is confusing when compared to your Windows example of “…which DLL/program was using the webcam by searching for a DLL or substring.” Can you please edit your question to clarify. — Giacomo1968, Apr 17 '15 at 18:20
Some processes are running without any windows, and perhaps even without a controlling terminal. — Basile Starynkevitch, Apr 17 '15 at 19:09

echo on · Accepted Answer · 2021-02-07T00:10:53.007

39

I've used this Python 2 script. It isn't foolproof, but it works pretty well for me.

Here's a summary of what it does: It uses CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo, which is imported from Quartz, to collect window info from the system, then asks the user to move the desired window, then collects window info again, and shows info for the ones that changed. The info dumped includes the process ID, as kCGWindowOwnerPID.

Here is the code:

#!/usr/bin/env python

import time
from Quartz import CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo, kCGWindowListExcludeDesktopElements, kCGNullWindowID
from Foundation import NSSet, NSMutableSet

wl1 = CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo(kCGWindowListExcludeDesktopElements, kCGNullWindowID)
print 'Move target window'
time.sleep(5)
wl2 = CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo(kCGWindowListExcludeDesktopElements, kCGNullWindowID)

w = NSMutableSet.setWithArray_(wl1)
w.minusSet_(NSSet.setWithArray_(wl2))
print '\nList of windows that moved:'
print w
print '\n'

The script prints information for the window that changed position within a 5 second interval. So the output looks like this:

List of windows that moved:
{(
        {
        kCGWindowAlpha = 1;
        kCGWindowBounds =         {
            Height = 217;
            Width = 420;
            X = 828;
            Y = 213;
        };
        kCGWindowIsOnscreen = 1;
        kCGWindowLayer = 8;
        kCGWindowMemoryUsage = 406420;
        kCGWindowName = "";
        kCGWindowNumber = 77;
        kCGWindowOwnerName = UserNotificationCenter;
        kCGWindowOwnerPID = 481;
        kCGWindowSharingState = 1;
        kCGWindowStoreType = 2;
    }
)}

edited Feb 07 '21 at 00:10

answered Jul 12 '15 at 04:00

echo on

516
5
6

Well, it is not exactly what I was looking for, but it is a good starting point. Thank you @echo on! – Nacho Cougil Jul 13 '15 at 23:30
@echo on - I'm not sure how to apply what that site shows, could you elaborate? – C_K Oct 28 '15 at 00:45
1

Looks like the link to the python script is dead. I believe I found the same post on a new blog site here: https://cadebaba.blogspot.com/2014/04/what-process-owns-certain-window-mac-os.html – Mark Ebbert Oct 04 '17 at 14:43
1

This is an amazing script. It helped my find nasty software which I couldn't identify. – Samvel Avanesov Feb 16 '18 at 04:05
NICE!! This is indeed the clean, correct way to identify and remove malware which pops up alert windows. Much better than installing and running an antivirus program which, who knows, may itself be malware. – Jerry Krinock Oct 13 '19 at 02:57
1

You will need to install Quartz: `pip install pyobjc-framework-Quartz`. – Ferdinand Prantl Jun 10 '22 at 14:55
Python 2 is generally out of support and may introduce security risks. If someone converts this program to Python 3 in a separate answer, I'll be one to upvote it. – echo on Mar 16 '23 at 18:40

score 34 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 11 '23 at 15:43

I made a tool named lswin

#!/usr/bin/env python

# Install Quartz with 'pip install -U pyobjc-framework-Quartz'
import Quartz

#wl = Quartz.CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo( Quartz.kCGWindowListOptionOnScreenOnly | Quartz.kCGWindowListExcludeDesktopElements, Quartz.kCGNullWindowID)
wl = Quartz.CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo( Quartz.kCGWindowListOptionAll, Quartz.kCGNullWindowID)

wl = sorted(wl, key=lambda k: k.valueForKey_('kCGWindowOwnerPID'))

#print wl

print('PID'.rjust(7) + ' ' + 'WinID'.rjust(5) + '  ' + 'x,y,w,h'.ljust(21) + ' ' + '\t[Title] SubTitle')
print('-'.rjust(7,'-') + ' ' + '-'.rjust(5,'-') + '  ' + '-'.ljust(21,'-') + ' ' + '\t-------------------------------------------')

for v in wl:
    raw_chars = ( \
        str(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowOwnerPID') or '?').rjust(7) + \
        ' ' + str(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowNumber') or '?').rjust(5) + \
        ' {' + ('' if v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds') is None else \
            ( \
                str(int(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds').valueForKey_('X')))     + ',' + \
                str(int(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds').valueForKey_('Y')))     + ',' + \
                str(int(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds').valueForKey_('Width'))) + ',' + \
                str(int(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds').valueForKey_('Height'))) \
            ) \
            ).ljust(21) + \
        '}' + \
        '\t[' + ((v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowOwnerName') or '') + ']') + \
        ('' if v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowName') is None else (' ' + v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowName') or '')) \
    )
    print(raw_chars)

There's a [pull request](https://github.com/sjitech/mac_list_windows_pids/pull/5) to bring the code to Python 3. Raw file from the PR can be found [here](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sjitech/mac_list_windows_pids/e0dd8a3510d3447f843c7ab8aa229d75c7f99b2f/lswin.py), to install the dependency use `pip3 install pyobjc-framework-Quartz` — DarkDust, Feb 08 '22 at 10:27

score 12 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 26 '17 at 09:53

@kenorb I combined your 2 versions of the script, basically it works like the first one, showing difference but formatting is from the second. Also if window is not on the screen - it's not being printed, otherwise it gives too much garbage

import Quartz
import time
from Foundation import NSSet, NSMutableSet
def transformWindowData(data):
    list1 = []
    for v in data:
        if not v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowIsOnscreen'):
            continue


        row = ( \
            str(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowOwnerPID') or '?').rjust(7) + \
            ' ' + str(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowNumber') or '?').rjust(5) + \
            ' {' + ('' if v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds') is None else \
                ( \
                    str(int(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds').valueForKey_('X')))     + ',' + \
                    str(int(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds').valueForKey_('Y')))     + ',' + \
                    str(int(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds').valueForKey_('Width'))) + ',' + \
                    str(int(v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowBounds').valueForKey_('Height'))) \
                ) \
                ).ljust(21) + \
            '}' + \
            '\t[' + ((v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowOwnerName') or '') + ']') + \
            ('' if v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowName') is None else (' ' + v.valueForKey_('kCGWindowName') or '')) \
        ).encode('utf8')
        list1.append(row)

    return list1;

def printBeautifully(dataSet):
    print 'PID'.rjust(7) + ' ' + 'WinID'.rjust(5) + '  ' + 'x,y,w,h'.ljust(21) + ' ' + '\t[Title] SubTitle'
    print '-'.rjust(7,'-') + ' ' + '-'.rjust(5,'-') + '  ' + '-'.ljust(21,'-') + ' ' + '\t-------------------------------------------'

    # print textList1
    for v in dataSet:
        print v;

#grab initial set
wl = Quartz.CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo( Quartz.kCGWindowListOptionAll, Quartz.kCGNullWindowID)
wl = sorted(wl, key=lambda k: k.valueForKey_('kCGWindowOwnerPID'))

#convert into readable format
textList1 = transformWindowData(wl);

#print everything we have on the screen
print 'all windows:'
printBeautifully(textList1)

print 'Move target window'
time.sleep(5)

#grab window data the second time
wl2 = Quartz.CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo(Quartz.kCGWindowListOptionAll, Quartz.kCGNullWindowID)
textList2 = transformWindowData(wl2)

#check the difference
w = NSMutableSet.setWithArray_(textList1)
w.minusSet_(NSSet.setWithArray_(textList2))

#print the difference
printBeautifully(w)

Note that the script doesn't work 100% with multi-monitor set ups. If you run this in a terminal on one screen and then move the window on another screen, you will see many windows listed in the diff. All of them seem to be system windows and icons in the menu bar, etc. Best to move your terminal and the mystery window to the same screen before running. — DaveBurns, Jan 24 '19 at 20:28

score 12 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 12 '20 at 19:56

12

There's a direct user-friendly OS-native tool for inspecting each window which provide comprehensive information in addition to related process, such as originating code hierarchy : it's found under Xcode Developer Tools, and called Accessibility Inspector

answered Oct 12 '20 at 19:56

Zohar81

273
2
9

3

Spotlight "Accessibility Inspector" took me right to it. Crosshairs for selecting window of interest. Thank you!! – mike Nov 16 '20 at 20:18

ccpizza · Answer 5 · 2023-04-25T16:57:59.190

You can use the Automator.app for this:

Start Automator (in spotlight type Automator.app + Enter)
Create a new workflow.
On the menu select Workflow > Record (or click the [Record] button on the toolbar).
Interact with the window you wish to inspect and then click the ⬛️ [Stop] button in the recording toolbar when done. (❗️ If the system prompts you about missing accessibility access then grant it in System Settings)
Drag the recorded steps of interest from the Watch Me Do section to the empty panel below (a plus button will appear during drag). HINT: You can also select all steps and drag them all together in order to create a single script.
Inspect the generated AppleScript to get the details you need.

NOTE: You can use this method to generate AppleScript code for locating windows, dialogs, setting text, clicking buttons, etc.

^{Here is a random example video for recording UI actions.}

TheDudeAbides · Answer 6 · 2023-04-25T15:54:47.337

This might not be foolproof, but it's probably the simplest solution, if and when it works. No software to install.

Have Activity Monitor open to the "CPU" tab, sorted descending by "% CPU"
Press and hold Tab, or press it repeatedly.
Watch for which application rises to the top of the list and make a note of its PID.

I'm not sure if that that setting for tabbing between controls under System Preferences → Keyboard → Shortcuts will factor in here. I don't think it will, but for what it's worth, mine is currently unchecked.

How to identify which process is running which window in Mac OS X?

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