Because there is no single way Linux systems are configured, there are many ways to start Zettelstore automatically.

* One option is to treat your Linux desktop system as a server and use the [recipe to install Zettelstore on a server](00001003600000).
    * A lightweight alternative is described below.
* If you are using the [GNOME Desktop](https://www.gnome.org/), you can use [GNOME Tweaks](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-tweaks).
  It allows you to specify applications that should run automatically when you log in.
* [KDE](https://kde.org/) provides a system setting to [autostart](https://docs.kde.org/stable_kf6/en/plasma-workspace/kcontrol/autostart/) applications.
* [Xfce](https://xfce.org/) lets you specify [autostart applications](https://docs.xfce.org/xfce/xfce4-session/preferences#application_autostart).

If you're using a different desktop environment, try searching for its name together with the word “autostart”.

Alternatively, if your system uses [systemd](https://systemd.io/), you can configure it to start Zettelstore as a user service.
Many Linux distributions use systemd as their init system and service manager.
Adapt the following commands to your needs, then run them from a terminal:

    $ mkdir -p "$HOME/.config/systemd/user"
    $ cd "$HOME/.config/systemd/user"
    $ cat <<__EOF__ > zettelstore.service
    [Unit]
    Description=Zettelstore
    After=network.target home.mount
    [Service]
    ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/zettelstore run -d zettel
    [Install]
    WantedBy=default.target
    __EOF__
    $ systemctl --user daemon-reload
    $ systemctl --user enable zettelstore.service
    $ systemctl --user start zettelstore.service
    $ systemctl --user status zettelstore.service

The last command should show that the service is active and running.