I have a new MacBook Air and would like to ensure that I have a favorite music program running every time I log in to the computer. Running the latest MacOS. How can I add my own programs to the login sequence?
A lot of modern programs automatically either launch the main program itself on login or a smaller “helper” app, which is typically prompted as an option on first launch. You know, you start a program for the first time and it says “Automatically start on login?”. I surmise that many people click “No” without thinking about whether that’s needed for the app, but there are also some programs that run background tasks that may surprise you too, like Zoom and both the Microsoft and Adobe suites.
These programs also commonly have an option in the Settings that lets you decide whether to have it launch or not when you login to your Mac. It’s also worth noting that logging in and booting the computer are two different things: You boot up the computer to get to the point where you can log in, but if your Mac is set up for different users, each account can have its own startup items on login. You might like a desktop clock, for example, while someone else might want the Notes app to be started and ready to go. Doable!
APPS THAT OFFER START ON LOGIN OPTIONS
The first place to look for this capability, therefore, is in the Settings of your favorite apps. For example, ExpressVPN offers this:
You can see that I’ve opted to have ExpressVPN launch on startup. Easy enough!
Other programs offer this capability too. I am a long-time fan of the clipboard management utility Clipy [Web page is in Japanese but the app is in English] and it too offers a launch on startup option:
Yes, I have both of ’em start every time, as you’ll see. Where do you see? Let’s have a look…
MAC OS LOGIN ITEM SETTINGS
The easiest way to navigate your MacOS settings is to use Spotlight. It’s super easy, just press Command+Space and a little window pops up. When I type in “launch items” you can see what it suggests:
Conveniently the top match is the Login Items area in the Settings app. Perfect! A click or Return gets me to exactly the right spot in Settings…
You can see that I automatically start up Clipy, Dropbox, ExpressVPN (notice it’s the “Launcher”, not the main program that it utilizes), iDriveMonitor, and Sleeve. They all help create the environment I have come to find quite productive for my daily Mac tasks.
ADD A NEW PROGRAM TO LAUNCH ON LOGIN
If the program you want to launch doesn’t have a “Launch on Login” option, plan B is to add it yourself. That’s done on this very same Settings page. Click on the “+” on the lower left and it’ll allow you to pick a program (or file, which then launches the needed program to open the file too) to add…
You can see that I’m adding the Weather App (which isn’t the same as Apple Weather, shown as Weather) to my list. I select the app, then click on “Open” and it’s added to the Launch Items list:
You can see it’s added. This won’t launch the app simultaneously, so you can test it out by logging out and logging in again if you’re so inspired.
HANDY LOGIN ITEMS SECURITY TIP
If you ever see an item that you don’t recognize, keep in mind that you can Control-click on it to reveal:
If you look at the app in the Finder and it’s in a weird location or is otherwise unknown to you, delete it by selecting it and clicking on the “-” button on the lower left. You can also Google the name of the utility to see if it’s a known threat or something benign but poorly named.
Finally, scroll down in the Settings window and you’ll find a list of additional programs and utilities that are running in background:
Notice that I have disabled Adobe Acrobat Reader DC since I have Acrobat Reader installed, but never use it. You can turn off one of these, log out, log in, and try the app. In many cases it works just fine. If not, well, re-enable it and you’ll fix the problem with a click.
Hope that helps you get your login environment to match what you seek!
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about MacOS since the first release and have hundreds of helpful tutorials here on the site. Please check out my Mac help library for lots more useful content while you’re here!