How do I add/remove the "hidden" startup applications?

Question

How do I manage (add/remove) all the startup applications in Ubuntu 11.10 and up?

Startup Applications doesn't show all the applications which are started during boot.

@tijybba yes. I am using 12.04. However, after restarting, I can see list of programs. Thanks . This question is dublicate. Please give vote to close . — , Jun 18 '12 at 07:39

score 50 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 30 '13 at 21:17

50

As said above, you have to edit /etc/xdg/autostart/ and either:

remove the NoDisplay=true lines;
or make those same lines comments by adding # in front of them;
or replace true by false in those same lines.

The third solution can be easily done in three steps:

Summon the terminal with Ctrl + Alt + T.

Type the two following commands:

cd /etc/xdg/autostart/
sudo sed --in-place 's/NoDisplay=true/NoDisplay=false/g' *.desktop

After changing anything you want, you can go back to the previous state by typing this into the terminal:

sudo sed --in-place 's/NoDisplay=false/NoDisplay=true/g' *.desktop

This has been tested in 12.04, 12.10 and 13.04.

[Source: iloveubuntu.net, thank you Nikhil Sinha for the link]

edited Apr 30 '13 at 21:17

user154126

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answered Apr 02 '12 at 04:53

stragu

1,958

how can you disable them if you do not have root access? these start gnome apps for KDE which I don't want – xenoterracide Nov 22 '12 at 01:20
Can also be found here https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ShowHiddenStartupApplications – Stan Dec 30 '13 at 19:23
The first suggestion has worked for me. I just cd /etc/exdg/autostart and removed the program I wanted to remove from the autostart directory. You can view autostart programs by run ls and from the list you can see the application or program you want to remove. – Mercy Flicker Mar 12 '17 at 20:32
if you edit /etc/xdg/autostart/ be aware, that you should undo those changes before you upgrade your system, otherwise you will get a question if you want to keep the edited .desktop files or use the package maintainers default for each of those files! A better solution is to create files in ~/.config/autostart/ as suggested in @TormodVolden 's answer – rubo77 Oct 28 '19 at 07:14

score 16 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 20 '11 at 17:15

16

Remove the NoDisplay=true line from each entry in /etc/xdg/autostart/ Then just uncheck the ones you don't want in Startup Applications. Generally though the autostart apps are there for a reason so make sure you know what you're doing when you disable them.

There are also various services which store their configuration files in /etc/init. Most users shouldn't touch those files though.

answered Oct 20 '11 at 17:15

Jeremy Bicha

8,234

Jeremy - Thanks for the tip. BTW, used BUM (bootup-manager) to disable many of the services which I don't use and shaved the boot time. I liked Ubuntu, but 11.10 ignored some basic things, like adding users to groups from UI, screen savers, easily modifying unity launcher icons. I am not a big fan of UI, but a UI will easily get more people on-board. – Praveen Sripati Oct 21 '11 at 01:08

score 13 · Answer 3 · edited Oct 28 '19 at 07:16

13

The correct way to do this as a normal user is to copy the desktop file in question from /etc/xdg/autostart/ to ~/.config/autostart/ (create the directory first if needed) and edit this copy to state NoDisplay=false. Then open "Startup Applications Preferences" and uncheck the corresponding box.

Now you need to remove the NoDisplay=true key from the files after copying them, which can be done with sed for all of them with

sed -i '/NoDisplay=true/s/^/#/' ~/.config/autostart/*.desktop

edited Oct 28 '19 at 07:16

rubo77

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answered Apr 05 '13 at 19:10

Tormod Volden

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You still need to remove the NoDisplay=true key from the files after copying them, which can be done with sed -i '/NoDisplay=true/s/^/#/' ~/.config/autostart/*.desktop. – Hitechcomputergeek Jun 21 '17 at 08:35
1

I think this is the best way to do this, because it will ensure that changes are persisted even when the application updates. – kapad Apr 27 '19 at 14:24
remember to check the files in ~/.config/autostart/ after a system upgrade for any changes compared to the default files in /etc/xdg/autostart/ in case something was added during upgrade – rubo77 Oct 28 '19 at 07:49

score 9 · Answer 4 · edited Apr 06 '15 at 22:31

9

It's normal that you don't see anything listed. The Additional startup programs list is just for programs that start up for the current user (not necessarily for other users, and not all the services that start when Ubuntu boots). Furthermore, it doesn't list the normal parts of the desktop environment that start when the user logs in graphically.

You can check here

Anyone can check this by clicking "Startup applications". Its blank by default.

enter image description here

If you want to have the hidden startup entries shown (such as update notifier, orca screen reader, onboard, etc), just type/copy and paste the following in a terminal:

find /etc/xdg/autostart ~/.config/autostart -name \*.desktop -exec sudo sed –i -e '/^NoDisplay=/d' {} +

If you want to hide the normally hidden entries, just type/copy and paste the following

echo NoDisplay=true | find /etc/xdg/autostart ~/.config/autostart -name \*.desktop -exec sudo tee -a {} + >/dev/null

Source: How-To Geek

edited Apr 06 '15 at 22:31

David Foerster

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answered Jun 18 '12 at 07:35

BigSack

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when I click to program, it shows nothing . – Jun 18 '12 at 07:37
Yeah its blank by default. – BigSack Jun 18 '12 at 07:44
9

I recommend you delete this answer, @BigGenius -- the OP knows its blank which is why he's asking us :) – ish Jun 18 '12 at 07:47
If you read above comment. They are also doubt if its blank or populated by default. – BigSack Jun 18 '12 at 07:53
I think BigGenius is right. There are no StartUp programs enabled by default so the list is blank. – upapilot Jun 18 '12 at 08:02

score 5 · Answer 5 · edited Jun 19 '12 at 07:13

5

An alternative:

To view all startup applications at "startup applications" just open /etc/xdg/autostart and modifying the line NoDisplay=true to #NoDisplay=true. Just add an # . Then you will be able to see all at "startup applications" and disable what you want from there.

edited Jun 19 '12 at 07:13

Anwar

76,649

answered Nov 06 '11 at 01:16

Nik.

61

How do I add/remove the "hidden" startup applications?

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