Running Prism
Auto-Start
Quick answer
Prism can start automatically when you log in on Windows, macOS and Linux. It uses each platform's per-user startup mechanism — the Windows registry, a macOS LaunchAgent, or a freedesktop autostart entry — so it needs no administrator rights and installs no system service.
Last updated Reviewed against Prism v0.3.26
Enable auto-start
Toggle Start at Login in the Admin UI's Proxy tab, or use the equivalent item in the system tray menu. An auto-started Prism launches minimised — only the tray icon appears, with no window.
There are no autostart command-line flags
Older documentation mentioned
prism --autostart and prism --no-autostart. Those flags do not exist. The only command-line flag Prism accepts is --serve; auto-start is controlled from the Admin UI or the tray.What Prism writes on each platform
| Platform | Mechanism | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Per-user registry Run entry | HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run → Prism |
| macOS | LaunchAgent property list | ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.prism.plist |
| Linux | freedesktop autostart entry | $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/autostart/prism.desktop (default ~/.config/autostart/prism.desktop) |
# Windows — registry HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run Name: Prism Value: C:\Tools\prism.exe # Per-user key. No admin rights, no service installation. # macOS — ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.prism.plist # Linux — ~/.config/autostart/prism.desktop # [Desktop Entry] # Type=Application # Name=Prism # Exec=/path/to/prism # X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
Moving the binary
If you move the Prism executable, the saved startup entry still points at the old path. On Windows the next launch repairs it automatically: Prism compares the registry value with its own location and rewrites a stale entry. On macOS and Linux, disable and re-enable auto-start to rewrite the plist or desktop file with the new path.
# macOS: verify the LaunchAgent cat ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.prism.plist # Linux: verify the autostart entry cat ~/.config/autostart/prism.desktop
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Check |
|---|---|
| Prism does not start at login (Windows) | Confirm the Prism value under HKCU\...\CurrentVersion\Run points at the current executable path. |
| Prism does not start at login (macOS) | Confirm com.prism.plist exists and its ProgramArguments path is correct. |
| Prism does not start at login (Linux) | Confirm the .desktop Exec= path is correct and the file is executable by your session. |
| Prism starts but only the tray appears | That is expected. Auto-started instances run minimised and show no window. |
| Auto-start will not disable | Toggle it off in the Admin UI Proxy tab, then confirm the platform file above was removed. |