Autostart

Autostart refers to the automatic initiation of software components when a device boots or a user logs in. It covers background services, daemons, and applications that start without user interaction in order to provide necessary functionality or improve convenience. Autostart can occur at system startup or at user login, and may run with varying privileges depending on the component and the operating system.

In Windows, autostart is commonly implemented through the Startup folder and through registry keys such as HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. For more complex scheduling or reliability, the Task Scheduler can be used. System administrators may also deploy autostart configurations via group policy or enterprise management tools.

In Linux and other Unix-like systems, autostart is typically managed by init or init-like systems. Modern distributions use systemd to enable services to start at boot or on demand. Other methods include traditional init scripts, rc.local, and per-user autostart via desktop environments using .desktop files placed in ~/.config/autostart. Timed or event-driven startup can also be configured with cron’s @reboot directive.

On macOS, autostart is handled by launchd, using LaunchAgents for per-user startup items and LaunchDaemons for system-wide services. Plist files placed in appropriate directories define the program to run, with options such as RunAtLoad and KeepAlive controlling behavior.

Mobile platforms impose different constraints. Android apps may request the BOOT_COMPLETED broadcast to run after device boot, while iOS restricts arbitrary autostart in favor of system-managed background execution.

Security and management considerations include the risk of unwanted autostart entries, impact on boot times, and the importance of auditing, signing, and limiting autostart to trusted components.