macOS processes

What is ShipIt on Mac?

ShipIt comes from Squirrel.Mac. Electron apps use it to install updates. The app downloads the update first.

Process: ShipItApplies to: Electron apps that use Squirrel.Mac, on all current macOS versions. Seen on macOS 27.2.Checked: 29 October 2026

Where you see it

  • ShipIt is in the list in Activity Monitor › Network, in nettop or in Kilobat.
  • A firewall or network monitor asks if ShipIt can connect.
  • ShipIt runs after you quit an app such as a chat or code editor.

What it is

Electron's documentation says that its macOS updater is built on Squirrel.Mac. ShipIt is the part of Squirrel.Mac that installs the update.

Electron says that a downloaded update is applied when the app starts again.

Why it uses the network

  • Installation. ShipIt installs an update that the app already downloaded. The download shows under the app.

Is it normal?

Yes. ShipIt runs for a short time when an app updates.

See how much it uses

  1. Open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities. Click Network.

  2. Type ShipIt in the search field. The Sent Bytes and Rcvd Bytes columns show what it moved.

  3. In Terminal, watch only this process. Press d to show the change per second, and q to quit.

    nettop -p ShipIt -P

  4. Look at the app itself in the same list. The update download is there.

Reduce or pause it safely

  1. Open the settings of the app. Turn off automatic updates, if the app has that option.

  2. Update the app later, on your usual network.

With Kilobat

  1. Open the Kilobat app list and search for ShipIt. Its row shows the live rate and the bytes it moved.

  2. kilobat updaters lists the apps that update from inside their own process. To stop their downloads, block the app for a while.

  3. In Terminal, see the same live list. Press / and type the name to search.

    kilobat status --watch

  4. Show its traffic over one day. Names match kilobat report --summary.

    kilobat bandwidth ShipIt day

  5. Through MCP, an AI agent gets the same history with get_app_bandwidth and the name ShipIt.

  6. With Pro and the network filter, Kilobat pauses this updater on metered networks. The app keeps working. See Stop updates from using hotspot data.

    kilobat updaters

  7. The live view is free. History in the app needs Pro. Kilobat records history only while the app runs.

Questions

Why can Kilobat not pause these updates?

The app downloads the update inside its own process. Kilobat can only block the whole app.

Sources

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with man <name> in Terminal.