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How-to: Launch Application on System Start in Mac OS X

November 29th, 2006 - How to, Mac OS X, Tips & Tricks

I recently had someone complain to me that they can’t figure out how to launch an application on boot in Mac OS X, “it was so easy in OS 9, you just dropped an alias in the Startup folder and it was done.” Yes, it was very easy in Mac OS 9, and it is just as easy in Mac OS X if you know where to look. Now I know some of you are saying this is super simple stuff (it is), but to someone who hasn’t done it, it’s only simple after they’ve been shown how. So here is a super simple how-to in three steps, complete with easy to follow screenshots!


In this example, we will use Stickies (the application this individual asked about).

Step 1) Launch your System Preferences (Apple Menu -> System Preferences) and click on the “Accounts” icon:

Step 2) Now visit the “Login Items” tab, and click the “+” icon in the lower corner:

Step 3) Now you’ll see the Applications folder contents in front of you, simply scroll through and select the application you want to load on start, and click “Add”:

Done. You can remove an application from launching at login by clicking on the “-” icon. Another method is to launch an application, and right-click or control-click on it’s icon in the dock, selecting “Open at Login”:

Posted by: Editor

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Comments:

Comments: 10

Comment from Charles Waddington
Time: November 29, 2006, 10:56 pm

You can also do a context click on an item in the Dock – it will give you the option to ‘Open At Login’.

Comment from Pliep
Time: November 29, 2006, 11:17 pm

Mind you, launching something at SYSTEM START is somewhat different from launching something AT LOGIN.

I was hoping to find here a hint explaining how to launch something at system startup, eg. for every user.

Comment from Barry Rueger
Time: February 25, 2007, 8:10 am

“Now I know some of you are saying this is super simple stuff (it is), but to someone who hasn’t done it, it’s only simple after they’ve been shown how.

God I am tired of hearing that. In the year since buying a Powerbook I have run into countless situations like this where simple commonplace tasks require me to jump though obscure or arbitrary hoops.

For a system that claims to be “intuitive” the Apple certainly has long list of things that are anything but.

A good rule in software design – if you need to dig three levels down to find it, it ain’t “intuitive”, it’s hidden.

Comment from Peter Reid
Time: May 7, 2007, 10:04 am

Well this might be super-simple, but it has had me baffled for the past hour. Just how to get stickies to load and appear on my desktop when I startup. I remembered the startup items folder from old, but that was a red herring, I added it via login items, but it still did not appear on my desktop. Squillions of webpages later, I found this page, and now realise that I had checked the hide checkbox, never looked at it, and checked it without thinking.

Dohhhhhhhh!

so thanks profusely a very clear and useful explanation -

Comment from Kim
Time: September 12, 2007, 6:47 am

Great tip. Took me far too long to find this tip. So thanks for this very useful tip. It’s been most helpful.

BR, Kim

Comment from Lloyd
Time: November 3, 2007, 9:57 am

THANK YOU! If you knew how long I’ve just spent trying to find how to do this today. It might be super simple to some but I only moved to a Mac in Sept and have just come to my first app I want to load on startup. It’s a damn nightmare trying to find out how to do it from the help.

Thanks!

Comment from Tony
Time: April 23, 2009, 1:09 pm

The author uses the term “this is super simple stuff (it is) then proceeds to answer how to start a program at logon instead of how to start a program when the “system” starts.

I agree with Pliep and Barry Rueger, and I’ve been using a mac for about 2 yrs now.

Comment from Tom Tyler
Time: April 23, 2009, 3:46 pm

I lived how I Googled “Application Launch Startup Mac How” and this was the first link. It’s exactly what I was looking for! THANK YOU! And thanks too for the comments differentiating system start vs. start at login.

Comment from Fred Bltuoggs
Time: September 21, 2009, 6:37 am

This has NOTHING to do with launching applications at STARTUP and is totally inaccurately titled.

This relates to LOGIN items, not the same thing at all.

Pingback from Track down all startup & login script and application launches in Mac OS X – OS X Daily
Time: February 17, 2010, 6:43 am

[...] under user accounts, if that’s what you’re looking for then the average user can see how to launch an application on system start in Mac OS X (which is actually upon user login) and that will likely cover their [...]

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November 29th, 2006