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This quick Mac tip will save you many clicks over time. Here’s how

Umito November 13, 2024

gettyimages-1347905692 — filo/Getty Images

I don’t restart my MacBook or iMac often. In fact, the only time this happens is when either gets an upgrade. But if you regularly turn off your Mac (either for traveling or just out of habit), you might want to consider allowing certain apps to start immediately after logging in.

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For example, you know You’re going to use your web browser right away, so why not start it as soon as you restart your computer? I usually configure my browser and email client to start upon login. I mean, why not skip a few clicks and save some time?

But how do you enable these applications to start automatically? Let me show you.

MacOS with Stage Manager running. — Jack Wallen/ZDNET

How to add apps to startup

What you will need: The only thing you will need for this is a running machine MacOS And whatever the applications you intend to run it when logged in. I will demonstrate on a MacBook Pro M1 and use Arc Browser and Apple Mail as examples.

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On my MacBook Pro and iMac I added apps like Rectangle (advanced window tiling) and Bartender 5 (top bar customizations) to start upon login. These are not apps I use directly, but background services I depend on. This should tell you that you can add applications that you will interact with as well as those that help give your machine the look or performance you need.

First, log in to your Mac. Once logged in, click the Apple icon in the upper left corner, then click System Settings.

The Apple menu in MacOS. — You can also open System Settings from Launchpad on your Dock.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

In the left pane of the System Settings app, click General. In this section, scroll down until you find Login Items and Extensions. Click on this entry.

The MacOS System Settings app. — You can also enable/disable apps running in the background on this page.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

Although you can add as many items as you want, I don’t suggest including too many as this could slow down the login process. Resource-intensive applications (such as larger applications that rely on databases) should probably not be added to start on your Mac.

Once you finish this process, close the system settings and you are done. You can either go back to what you were doing previously or restart your Mac to test if the setup works (it will).

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Congratulations, you’ve just saved a few seconds after a very busy day and set up your Mac so you can boot up as soon as you log in.