---
title: Run as a service on macOS · Cloudflare Zero Trust docs
description: You can install cloudflared as a system service on macOS.
lastUpdated: 2025-10-21T14:33:19.000Z
chatbotDeprioritize: false
source_url:
  html: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/as-a-service/macos/
  md: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/as-a-service/macos/index.md
---

You can install `cloudflared` as a system service on macOS.

## Prerequisites

Before you install Cloudflare Tunnel as a service on your OS, follow Steps 1 through 4 of the [Tunnel CLI setup guide](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/create-local-tunnel/). At this point you should have a named tunnel and a `config.yml` file in your `$HOME/.cloudflared` directory.

## 1. Configure `cloudflared` as a service

By default, Cloudflare Tunnel expects all of the configuration to exist in the `$HOME/.cloudflared/config.yml` [configuration file](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/configuration-file/). At a minimum you must specify the following arguments to run as a service:

| Argument | Description |
| - | - |
| `tunnel` | The UUID of your tunnel |
| `credentials-file` | The location of the credentials file for your tunnel |

## 2. Run `cloudflared` as a service

You can install the service to either run at login or at boot.

### Run at login

Open a terminal window and run the following command:

```sh
cloudflared service install
```

Cloudflare Tunnel will be installed as a launch agent and start whenever you log in, using your local user configuration found in `~/.cloudflared/`.

### Run at boot

Open a terminal window and run the following command:

```sh
sudo cloudflared service install
```

Cloudflare Tunnel will be installed as a launch daemon and start whenever your system boots, using your configuration found in `/etc/cloudflared`.

## 3. Manually start the service

Run the following command:

```sh
sudo launchctl start com.cloudflare.cloudflared
```

The output will be logged to `/Library/Logs/com.cloudflare.cloudflared.err.log` and `/Library/Logs/com.cloudflare.cloudflared.out.log`.

## Next steps

You can now [route traffic through your tunnel](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/create-local-tunnel/#5-start-routing-traffic). If you add IP routes or otherwise change the configuration, restart the service to load the new configuration:

```sh
sudo launchctl stop com.cloudflare.cloudflared
sudo launchctl start com.cloudflare.cloudflared
```
