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Version: 2.0

Autostart Apps

Dux Shell

Autostart Apps

DMS manages startup applications through XDG in ~/.config/autostart/. Entries are ordinary .desktop files, so entries created by other tools show up in DMS, and entries created in DMS work in any desktop that reads XDG autostart.

Entries are handled in Settings → Applications → Autostart apps.

Adding an entry​

Pick a Type in the Add entry card:

  • Desktop app starts an installed application. Choose it under App. The Command field wraps the app's command, and %command% is replaced by it. For example, env GDK_SCALE=2 %command% launches the chosen app with GDK_SCALE set to 2.
  • Command line starts any command. Give it a Name and the Command to run.

Add to autostart writes the entry.

In the Entries card, the toggle disables an entry without deleting it by setting Hidden=true in its file, and the delete button removes the file.

How entries start​

DMS only writes the files, it does not launch them.

On systemd, systemd-xdg-autostart-generator turns each entry into an app-<name>@autostart.service unit at login. These units start when the session activates xdg-desktop-autostart.target.

Without systemd, something else has to run the entries, for example dex -a started from your compositor config.

Target not active​

If the page says xdg-desktop-autostart.target is not active, your session does not start the target, so no entry runs at login. Check it with:

systemctl --user is-active xdg-desktop-autostart.target

The target cannot be started by hand (RefuseManualStart=yes), a session has to pull it in. Run your compositor as a systemd session if it supports one, or add the target to your compositor session target. Find the session target with:

systemctl --user list-units --type=target --state=active

Then add a drop-in to it, replacing <session> with its name, for example hyprland-session:

systemctl --user edit <session>.target
[Unit]
Wants=xdg-desktop-autostart.target

Log out and back in. DMS checks the target once at startup.

Tray icons​

If apps started at login are missing from the system tray, they probably started before DMS. Tray icon fix → Generate override writes ~/.config/systemd/user/[email protected]/override.conf with After=dms.service, so autostart entries wait for DMS. The card is only shown on systemd.

Troubleshooting​

An entry does not start​

List the units the generator created:

systemctl --user list-units 'app-*@autostart.service' --all

If an entry has no unit, the generator skipped it. It skips entries that have Hidden=true (disabled in DMS), an OnlyShowIn or NotShowIn that excludes your $XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP, or a TryExec binary that is not installed.