# The perl process NotchStar starts for Now Playing > NotchStar starts one Apple signed perl process to read Now Playing while the Home card is open. It ends when you leave Home or quit. Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-now-playing-helper-process/ Last updated: 2026-11-04 Published 2026-11-04. In Activity Monitor you may see `perl` running while NotchStar's Home tab is open. It is Apple's own `/usr/bin/perl`, started by NotchStar with a script bundled in the app. It reads what is playing. It runs only while the Now Playing card is on screen and ends when you leave Home, close the notch or quit NotchStar. ## Why perl at all Since macOS 15.4, third party apps cannot read Apple's private MediaRemote framework directly. Apple's own perl can. The open source MediaRemoteAdapter project (BSD 3 clause, by Jonas van den Berg) uses that to print the Now Playing state as JSON, and NotchStar reads that output. ## Lifetime 1. **Starts** when the Home card appears. 2. **Stops** when the card goes away, which includes closing the notch. 3. **Stops on quit.** When NotchStar quits, or is asked to end, it ends the helper first. 4. **Cleaned up after a force quit.** A force quit cannot be caught, so at the next launch NotchStar ends any leftover helper whose script lives in a NotchStar app and whose parent is gone. If the helper crashes or exits on its own, NotchStar switches to the AppleScript fallback so the card does not freeze. ## Short lived helpers Pressing a control starts a second, very short perl command that sends the key, then exits. Read [how notch apps read now playing](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/how-notch-apps-read-now-playing/) for the full background, [is NotchStar safe](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/is-notchstar-safe/) for the wider picture and the [Now Playing page](https://www.notchstar.com/features/now-playing/). ## Quick answers. ### Is the perl process malware? No. It is Apple's own /usr/bin/perl running a small script bundled inside NotchStar. You can see the script path in Activity Monitor. ## Keep reading. - [Now playing, with real album art](https://www.notchstar.com/features/now-playing/): See the song playing on your Mac with album artwork and controls in the notch. Live updates, and a progress bar when the player provides one. - [How notch apps read what is playing, after macOS 15.4](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/how-notch-apps-read-now-playing/): Why showing the current song got harder in macOS 15.4, how open source adapters work around it, and the tradeoffs. Tested, with real findings. - [Is NotchStar safe? Signing, permissions and what it sends](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/is-notchstar-safe/): NotchStar is signed and notarized by Apple, needs no account and sends nothing unless you opt in. See every permission it asks for and how to check it yourself. - [NotchStar Now Playing stopped working after a macOS update](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-now-playing-stopped-after-macos-update/): Apple changed Now Playing access in macOS 15.4 and could again. NotchStar falls back to AppleScript for Music and Spotify, so other apps may stop appearing. ## More in Home and Now Playing. - [Which apps show up in NotchStar Now Playing](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-now-playing-sources/): NotchStar shows any app that reports to the macOS Now Playing service. Music and Spotify also work through an AppleScript fallback. Other apps may not appear. - [Spotify is not showing in NotchStar Now Playing](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-spotify-not-showing/): If Spotify does not appear in the NotchStar Home tab, start a track, reopen the notch, and allow Automation for Spotify if macOS asks. Steps and the fallback. - [How NotchStar Now Playing works with Apple Music](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-apple-music-now-playing/): Apple Music tracks show with artwork and controls through the system Now Playing service. Radio style items have no duration, so there is no progress bar. - [Why album artwork is missing in NotchStar Now Playing](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-album-artwork-missing/): NotchStar shows a music note instead of a cover when the player gives no artwork, a new track has not sent its art yet, or in the AppleScript fallback. - [Why there is no progress bar in NotchStar Now Playing](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-now-playing-no-progress-bar/): NotchStar draws the progress bar only when the player gives a real duration and elapsed time. Radio style Apple Music items and some streams give neither. - [Why NotchStar asks to control Music and Spotify](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-automation-permission-music-spotify/): macOS may ask if NotchStar may control Music or Spotify when the AppleScript fallback runs. Allow it for Now Playing; the main route needs no prompt.