Awesome
noTunes
noTunes is a macOS application that will prevent iTunes or Apple Music from launching.
Simply launch the noTunes app and iTunes/Music will no longer be able to launch. For example, when bluetooth headphones reconnect.
You can toggle the apps functionality via the menu bar icon with a simple left click.
Installation
Direct Download
Homebrew
brew install --cask notunes
Usage
Set noTunes to launch at startup
Ventura and later:
- Navigate to System Settings
- Select General
- Select Login Items
- Click the + under Open at Login and select noTunes
Before Ventura:
Navigate to System Preferences -> Users & Groups. Under your user, select "Login Items", click the lock on the bottom left and enter your login password to make changes. Click the plus sign (+) in the main panel and search for noTunes. Select it and click "Add".
Toggle noTunes Functionality
Left click the menu bar icon to toggle between its active states.
Enabled (prevents iTunes/Music from opening)
Disabled (allows iTunes/Music to open)
Hide Menu Bar Icon
Right click or control-click the menu bar icon and click Hide Icon.
Restore Menu Bar Icon
Quit noTunes, run the following command in Terminal and re-open the app:
defaults delete digital.twisted.noTunes
Quit noTunes
To quit the app either:
With menu bar icon visible
Right click or control-click the menu bar icon and click quit.
With menu bar icon hidden
Quit the app via Activity Monitor or run the following command in Terminal:
osascript -e 'quit app "noTunes"'
Set replacement for iTunes / Apple Music
Replace YOUR_MUSIC_APP with the name of your music app in the following command.
defaults write digital.twisted.noTunes replacement /Applications/YOUR_MUSIC_APP.app
Then /Applications/YOUR_MUSIC_APP.app will launch when iTunes/Music attempts to launch.
This can be used to open a website too, for example, YouTube Music.
defaults write digital.twisted.noTunes replacement https://music.youtube.com/
The following command will disable the replacement.
defaults delete digital.twisted.noTunes replacement
Support
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License
The code is available under the MIT License.