Sloth
Sloth is a macOS utility that shows which running processes have files, folders, sockets, devices, and pipes open on your system.
What is Sloth?
Sloth is a native macOS utility for inspecting which running processes are using files, directories, network sockets, devices, Unix domain sockets, and pipes. It is aimed at power users, developers, administrators, and anyone troubleshooting file locks, busy volumes, or unexpected network activity on a Mac. The app presents this information in a searchable, filterable interface so you can quickly see what a process has open and how resources are being used. It can sort results by details such as process information and item type, and it provides an inspection view with more detailed file, socket, and process data. Sloth is especially useful when you need to find out why a disk will not eject, which app is holding a file open, or what connections a process has established. It is published by Sveinbjorn Thordarson as a native desktop app for macOS.
Key features
- View open files, directories, devices, sockets, pipes, and other resources used by running processes
- Filter results by name, access mode, volume, type, location, or regular expression
- Sort items by process details such as process ID, user ID, type, and bundle identifier
- Inspect detailed information about files, sockets, and processes in a dedicated info view
- See socket protocol, IP version, and connection status for network activity
- Find which app or process is preventing a file operation or disk eject
- Use contextual file operations from within the app
- Run with elevated privileges when deeper system visibility is needed
Review app leftovers with diCleaner
Inspect caches, support files, containers, and login items before cleaning.
Safety overview
Status: Mostly safe
Sloth is a legitimate system inspection tool for macOS. Its access to process, file, and socket information is consistent with its purpose, and some advanced views may require elevated privileges to show more complete system details. Because it can reveal what apps are accessing files and network connections, use it on a Mac you trust and grant elevated access only when you need deeper troubleshooting. Removing it simply takes away the tool and does not normally affect macOS itself.
Recommendation: Keep Sloth if you use it to troubleshoot file locks, busy disks, or process activity on your Mac. If you do not use these diagnostics features, you can remove it without affecting normal operation of macOS.
Common paths
/Applications/Sloth.app
Preference paths
~/Library/Preferences/org.sveinbjorn.Sloth.plist
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