title: Enable Zettelstore to start automatically on Linux
role: manual
tags: #installation #manual #zettelstore
syntax: zmk

Since there is no such thing as the one Linux, there are too many different ways to automatically start Zettelstore.

* One way is to interpret your Linux desktop system as a server and use the [[recipe to install Zettelstore on a server|00001003600000]].
** See below for a lighter alternative.
* If you are using the [[Gnome Desktop|https://www.gnome.org/]], you could use the tool [[GNOME Tweaks|https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-tweaks]].
  It allows you to specify applications that should run on startup / login.
* [[KDE|https://kde.org/]] provides a system setting to [[autostart|https://docs.kde.org/stable5/en/plasma-workspace/kcontrol/autostart/]] applications.
* [[Xfce|https://xfce.org/]] allows to specify [[autostart applications|https://docs.xfce.org/xfce/xfce4-session/preferences#application_autostart]].
* [[LXDE|https://www.lxde.org/]] uses ""LXSession Edit"" to allow users to specify autostart applications.

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

Yet another way is to make use of the middleware that is provided.
Many Linux distributions make use of [[systemd|https://systemd.io/]], which allows to start processes on behalf of a user.
On the command line, adapt the following script to your own needs and execute it:
```
# 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 output some lines to indicate success.