title: Enable Zettelstore to start automatically on Linux
role: manual
tags: #installation #manual #zettelstore
syntax: zmk
back: 00001003300000
backward: 00001003300000
box-number: 1
copyright: (c) 2020-present by Detlef Stern <ds@zettelstore.de>
created: 20220114181521
forward: 00001003600000
lang: en
license: EUPL-1.2-or-later
modified: 20260707162000
published: 20260707162000
visibility: public

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.