What is mediaremoted?

mediaremoted is the process behind the media playback controls you see across macOS.

What is mediaremoted?

mediaremoted is the Media Remote daemon. It manages the Now Playing information and media playback controls on your Mac. That means the play/pause, skip, and volume controls that appear in Control Centre, the Touch Bar, and on the Lock Screen.

What does it do?

mediaremoted brings together media information from several sources:

• Now Playing widget: shows what is playing in Control Centre and the Lock Screen
• Media keys: routes keyboard play/pause, forward, and back keys to the right app
• Remote control: lets other Apple devices control playback on your Mac (and the other way round)
• AirPlay: works with AirPlay for remote media control
• Touch Bar: shows Now Playing information on MacBook Pro Touch Bars

Which apps does it work with?

Any app that uses Apple's media frameworks: Music, Podcasts, Apple TV, Safari (for web video), Spotify, VLC, and most media players. The app reports its playback state to mediaremoted, which then passes that information to Control Centre, the Lock Screen, and other places.

Why do the media keys sometimes control the wrong app?

mediaremoted decides which app gets media key events based on which app most recently started playing sound. If you are listening to Spotify and then play a video in Safari, the media keys switch to Safari. This can be confusing, but mediaremoted is doing its best to route controls to the app you are using right now.

Should you worry?

No. It is a normal macOS process that makes media controls work across apps and devices.

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