Windows 10 Startup Programs: Adding One to Auto-Start

Adding a Program to Start Up Automatically on Windows 10

In earlier versions of Windows, adding a program to run at startup was as simple as dragging a shortcut into the Start Menu’s Startup folder. Windows 10 hides that folder a little more than it used to, but the process is still nearly as simple once you know where to look. Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog, and type:

shell:startup

This opens the Startup folder for your current user account directly in File Explorer. Drag a shortcut to the program you want to launch automatically into this folder, and it’ll run every time you sign in. If you want a program to start for every user on the machine rather than just your own account, use shell:common startup instead, which opens the all-users Startup folder — you’ll need administrator rights to add shortcuts there. Alternatively, for finer control (delaying a startup item, or disabling one without deleting its shortcut), Task Manager’s Startup tab lets you enable or disable existing startup items with a right-click, without needing to touch the Startup folder directly.

Windows 10 End of Life and What Changes Here (Updated for 2026)

Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025. Devices enrolled in the consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme keep receiving security patches beyond that date, but this doesn’t affect anything covered above — the Startup folder, shell:startup/shell:common startup, and Task Manager’s Startup tab all continue to work exactly the same on a Windows 10 machine whether or not it’s enrolled in ESU. If you’ve since moved the machine in question to Windows 11, the same shortcuts still open the same folders, but Microsoft has also pushed a chunk of this functionality into Settings > Apps > Startup Apps, which now shows a per-app toggle and a “startup impact” rating similar to what used to live only in Task Manager — worth checking there first if the Startup folder approach ever feels unreliable on a newer build.

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