How can I run a program on startup, minimized?

Question

I just want Telegram to be run and I have added it to startup apps. The point is that I need it to be minimized. Any commands?

Jacob Vlijm · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-28T19:34:56.840

Starting an application minimized

Starting up an application in a minimized way takes two commands:

starting the application
minimize its window

Therefore, the command or script needs to be "smart"; the second command should wait for the application window to actually appear.

General solution to startup an application minimized

The script below does that and can be used as a general solution to startup an application in a minimized way. Just run it in the syntax:

<script> <command_to_run_the_application> <window_name>

The script

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import subprocess
import sys
import time

subprocess.Popen(["/bin/bash", "-c", sys.argv[1]])
windowname = sys.argv[2]

def read_wlist(w_name):
    try:
        l = subprocess.check_output(["wmctrl", "-l"]).decode("utf-8").splitlines()
        return [w.split()[0] for w in l if w_name in w][0]
    except (IndexError, subprocess.CalledProcessError):
        return None

t = 0
while t < 30:
    window = read_wlist(windowname)
    time.sleep(0.1)
    if window != None:
        subprocess.Popen(["xdotool", "windowminimize", window])
        break
    time.sleep(1)
    t += 1

How to use

The script needs both wmctrl and xdotool:

sudo apt-get install wmctrl xdotool

Then:

Copy the script into an empty file, save it as startup_minimizd.py

Test- run the script with (e.g.) gedit the command:

python3 /path/to/startup_minimizd.py gedit gedit

If all works fine, add the command (for your application) to Startup Applications

Explanation

The script starts up the application, running the command you gave as first argument
Then the script checks the window list (with the help of wmctrl) for windows, named after your second argument.
If the window appears, it is immediately minimized with the help of xdotool To prevent an endless loop if the window might not appear for some reason, the script practices a time limit of 30 seconds for the window to appear.

Note

No need to mention that you can use the script for multiple applications at once, since you run it with arguments outside the script.

EDIT

recognizing the window by its pid

If the window title is unsure or variable, or there is a risk of name clashes in the window's name, using the pid is a more reliable method to use.

The script below is based on the use of the application's pid, as in the output of both wmctrl -lp and ps -ef.

The setup is pretty much the same, but the window title is not needed in this version, so the command to run it is:

python3 /path/to/startup_minimizd.py <command_to_run_application>

Just like the first script, it needs both wmctrl and xdotool

The script

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import subprocess
import sys
import time

command = sys.argv[1]
command_check = command.split("/")[-1]

subprocess.Popen(["/bin/bash", "-c", command])

t = 1
while t < 30:
    try:
        w_list = [l.split() for l in subprocess.check_output(["wmctrl", "-lp"]).decode("utf-8").splitlines()]
        proc = subprocess.check_output(["pgrep", "-f", command_check]).decode("utf-8").strip().split()
        match = sum([[l[0] for l in w_list if p in l] for p in proc], [])
        subprocess.Popen(["xdotool", "windowminimize", match[0]])
        break
    except (IndexError, subprocess.CalledProcessError):
        pass
    t += 1
    time.sleep(1)

Note on the second script

Although in general the second version should be more reliable, in cases when the application is started by a wrapper script, the pid of the command will be different from the application that is finally called.

In such cases, I recommend using the first script.

EDIT2 a specific version of the script for Steam

As requested in a comment, below a version, specifically made for starting up STEAM minimized.

Why a specific version for Steam?

It turns out Steam behaves quite different from a "normal" application:

It turns out Steam does not run one pid, but no less then (in my test) eight!
Steam runs on start up with at least two windows (one splash- like window), but sometimes an additional message window appears.
Windows of Steam have pid 0, which is a problem in the script as it was.
After the main window is created, the window is raised a second time after a second or so, so a single minimization won't do.

This exceptional behaviour of Steam asks for a special version of the script, which is added below. The script starts up Steam, and during 12 seconds, it keeps an eye on all new windows of the corresponding WM_CLASS, checking if they are minimized. If not, the script makes sure they will be.

Like the original script, this one needs wmctrl and xdotool to be installed.

The script

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import subprocess
import time

command = "steam"
subprocess.Popen(["/bin/bash", "-c", command])

def get(cmd):
    return subprocess.check_output(cmd).decode("utf-8").strip()

t = 0

while t < 12:
    try:
        w_list = [l.split()[0] for l in get(["wmctrl", "-l"]).splitlines()]
        for w in w_list:
            data = get(["xprop", "-id", w])
            if all(["Steam" in data, not "_NET_WM_STATE_HIDDEN" in data]):
                subprocess.Popen(["xdotool", "windowminimize", w])
    except (IndexError, subprocess.CalledProcessError):
        pass

    t += 1
    time.sleep(1)

To use it

Simply copy it into an empty file, save it as runsteam_minimized.py
Run it by the command:
```
python3 /path/to/runsteam_minimized.py
```

Francis Chin · Answer 2 · 2016-09-24T16:12:56.457

It's good to have the scripts given by user72216 and Sergey as general solutions to the problem, but sometimes the application you wish to startup minimized already has a switch that will do what you want.

Here are a few examples with the corresponding startup program command strings:

Telegram (since version 0.7.10) has the -startintray option: <path-to-Telegram>/Telegram -startintray
Steam has the -silent option: /usr/bin/steam %U -silent
Transmission has the --minimized option: /usr/bin/transmission-gtk --minimized

In Unity these applications start minimized as icons in the top menu bar rather than as icons on the launcher, though the normal launch icon will still appear once you start using the application. Other applications may behave differently.

fermmm · Answer 3 · 2019-04-19T15:19:21.470

I needed the programs closed to tray, not minimized, and I've tried all the scripts posted here, the ones that worked, worked only for some programs and not for others. So I've coded one that works much better (you almost don't see the window appearing, only the tray icon, it looks native) and works for all the programs I've tried. It's based on the Jacob's one. With this script you may need to add an argument depending on the program (see below) but always worked for me with lots of programs it should also work with steam.

Usage:

sudo apt-get install wmctrl xdotool
Save the script as startup_closed.py give it execution permissions and then execute python3 ./startup_closed.py -c <command to open program>
If the program tray icon does not show or the window does not show then you need to add one of these arguments: -splash or -hide, by trial and error. For example: python3 ./startup_closed.py -hide -c teamviewer or python3 ./startup_closed.py -splash -c slack
There are more arguments but you probably don't need them. Also there are full details of exactly when and why the arguments are needed in the help: ./startup_closed.py --help

Script:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import subprocess
import sys
import time
import argparse
import random

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='This script executes a command you specify and closes or hides the window/s that opens from it, leaving only the tray icon. Useful to "open closed to tray" a program. If the program does not have a tray icon then it just gets closed. There is no magic solution to achieve this that works for all the programs, so you may need to tweek a couple of arguments to make it work for your program, a couple of trial and error may be required with the arguments -splash and -hide, you probably will not need the others.')

parser.add_argument("-c", type=str, help="The command to open your program. This parameter is required.", required=True)
parser.add_argument("-splash", help="Does not close the first screen detected. Closes the second window detected. Use in programs that opens an independent splash screen. Otherwise the splash screen gets closed and the program cannot start.", action='store_true', default=False)
parser.add_argument("-hide", help="Hides instead of closing, for you is the same but some programs needs this for the tray icon to appear.", action='store_true', default=False)
parser.add_argument("-skip", type=int, default=0, help='Skips the ammount of windows specified. For example if you set -skip 2 then the first 2 windows that appear from the program will not be affected, use it in programs that opens multiple screens and not all must be closed. The -splash argument just increments by 1 this argument.', required=False)
parser.add_argument("-repeat", type=int, default=1, help='The amount of times the window will be closed or hidden. Default = 1. Use it for programs that opens multiple windows to be closed or hidden.', required=False)
parser.add_argument("-delay", type=float, default=10, help="Delay in seconds to wait before running the application, useful at boot to not choke the computer. Default = 10", required=False)
parser.add_argument("-speed", type=float, default=0.02, help="Delay in seconds to wait between closing attempts, multiple frequent attempts are required because the application may be still loading Default = 0.02", required=False)

args = parser.parse_args()

if args.delay > 0:
    finalWaitTime = random.randint(args.delay, args.delay * 2);
    print(str(args.delay) + " seconds of delay configured, will wait for: " + str(finalWaitTime))
    time.sleep(finalWaitTime)
    print("waiting finished, running the application command...")

command_check = args.c.split("/")[-1]
subprocess.Popen(["/bin/bash", "-c", args.c])

hasIndependentSplashScreen = args.splash
onlyHide = args.hide
skip = args.skip
repeatAmmount = args.repeat
speed = args.speed

actionsPerformed = 0
lastWindowId = 0

if hasIndependentSplashScreen:
    skip += 1

while True:
    try:
        w_list = [l.split() for l in subprocess.check_output(["wmctrl", "-lp"]).decode("utf-8").splitlines()]
        proc = subprocess.check_output(["pgrep", "-f", command_check]).decode("utf-8").strip().split()
        match = sum([[l[0] for l in w_list if p in l] for p in proc], [])
        if len(match) > 0:
            windowId = match[0]
            if windowId != lastWindowId:
                if skip > 0:
                    skip -= 1
                    print("skipped window: " + windowId)
                    lastWindowId = windowId
                else:
                    print("new window detected: " + windowId)
                    if onlyHide:
                        subprocess.Popen(["xdotool", "windowunmap", windowId])
                        print("window was hidden: " + windowId)
                    else:
                        subprocess.Popen(["xdotool", "key", windowId, "alt+F4"])
                        print("window was closed: " + windowId)

                    actionsPerformed += 1
                    lastWindowId = windowId

            if actionsPerformed == repeatAmmount:
                break

    except (IndexError, subprocess.CalledProcessError):
        break

    time.sleep(speed)

print("finished")

score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 09 '19 at 19:14

I came with a rather elegant solution that relies exclusively on xdotool, and it's quite useful for applications that don't have a "start minimized" argument, like Telegram.

The only downside is that solution has to be manually crafted for each app, but assuming that's not a problem (e.g.: if you want to autostart a certain application without allowing it to pollute your screen after logging in), this is much simpler and straightforward.

Actual Examples

## Starts Telegram and immediately closes it
xdotool search --sync --onlyvisible --name '^Telegram$' windowclose &
telegram-desktop &

## Starts WhatsApp and immediately closes it
xdotool search --sync --onlyvisible --name '(\([0-9]*\) ){0,1}(WhatsApp$|WhatsApp Web$)' windowclose &
whatsapp-nativefier &

The Solution

At first glance, you might think it's better to use the process' PID or class to match against, however that's actually counterproductive as you frequently will get multiple results for the same PID. Examples are a 0x0 window that's actually waiting for a notification, a systray icon, or any other "hidden" window.

The solution is crafting a xdotool command that always returns only one unique window. In both my examples that was done using --name, however you can combine multiple selectors with --all (e.g.: match a given classname + a class name + a name regex). Usually a good --name regex does the trick.

After crafting your search conditions, simply spawn a instance of xdotool (detached from the shell) with the --sync parameter and your conditions, followed by windowclose. Run your app afterwards:

xdotool search --sync [... myapp-match-conditions] windowclose &
my-app

Check out xdotool search --help for all the possibilities of combinations you can arrange to be able to target the exact window you want. Sometimes it gets tricky and you have to combine several conditions, but once your finished, it'll rarely ever fail (unless an update changes the application and break your implementation, of course).

Sergey · Answer 5 · 2016-10-25T20:25:13.937

I took Jacob's scripts and modified them a bit to make a more universal one.

#!/usr/bin/python

import os
import subprocess
import sys
import time
import signal

WAIT_TIME = 10


def check_exist(name):
    return subprocess.Popen("which "+name,
                            shell=True,
                            stdout=subprocess.PIPE
                            ).stdout.read().rstrip("-n")


def killpid(pidlist):
    for pid in pidlist:
        args = ["xdotool",
                "search",
                "--any",
                "--pid",
                pid,
                "--name",
                "notarealprogramname",
                "windowunmap",
                "--sync",
                "%@"]
        subprocess.Popen(args)


def killname(name):
    args = ["xdotool",
            "search",
            "--any",
            "--name",
            "--class",
            "--classname",
            name,
            "windowunmap",
            "--sync",
            "%@"]
    subprocess.Popen(args)


sys.argv.pop(0)

if check_exist(sys.argv[0]) == "":
    sys.exit(1)
if check_exist("xdotool") == "":
    sys.stderr.write("xdotool is not installed\n")
    sys.exit(1)
if check_exist("wmctrl") == "":
    sys.stderr.write("wmctrl is not installed\n")
    sys.exit(1)

try:
    prog = subprocess.Popen(sys.argv, preexec_fn=os.setsid)
except OSError, e:
    sys.exit(1)

time.sleep(WAIT_TIME)
idlist = subprocess.Popen("pgrep -g " + str(prog.pid),
                          shell=True,
                          stdout=subprocess.PIPE
                          ).stdout.read().splitlines()

ps1 = os.fork()
if ps1 > 0:
    ps2 = os.fork()

if ps1 == 0:  # Child 1
    os.setpgid(os.getpid(), os.getpid())
    killpid(idlist)
    sys.exit(0)
elif ps2 == 0:  # Child 2
    killname(os.path.basename(sys.argv[0]))
    sys.exit(0)
elif ps1 > 0 and ps2 > 0:  # Parent
    time.sleep(WAIT_TIME)
    os.killpg(os.getpgid(int(ps1)), signal.SIGTERM)
    os.kill(ps2, signal.SIGTERM)
    os.waitpid(ps1, 0)
    os.waitpid(ps2, 0)
    sys.exit(0)
else:
    exit(1)

Main differences are:

Program sets group ID (GID) for the process. Thus, all the child processes and their windows can be easily found
xdotool --sync option is used instead of a while loop
Script allows passing arguments to the program

WAIT_TIME should be set big enough to allow program to fork its child processes. On my computer it is enough for big programs like steam. Increase it, if needed.

Addition

xdotool's option windowunmap may work funky with some applications and tray programs (linux mint's tray, for example), so here's an alternative version of the script for those exceptions.

#!/usr/bin/python

import os
import subprocess
import sys
import time
import signal

WAIT_TIME = 10


def check_exist(name):
    return subprocess.Popen("which "+name,
                            shell=True,
                            stdout=subprocess.PIPE
                            ).stdout.read().rstrip("-n")


def killpid(pidlist):
    for pid in pidlist:
        args = ["xdotool",
                "search",
                "--sync",
                "--pid",
                pid]
        for i in subprocess.Popen(args,
                                  stdout=subprocess.PIPE).\
                stdout.read().splitlines():
            if i != "":
                subprocess.Popen("wmctrl -i -c " +
                                 hex(int(i)), shell=True)


def killname(name):
    args = ["xdotool",
            "search",
            "--sync",
            "--any",
            "--name",
            "--class",
            "--classname",
            name]
    for i in subprocess.Popen(args,
                              preexec_fn=os.setsid,
                              stdout=subprocess.PIPE)\
            .stdout.read().splitlines():
        if i != "":
            subprocess.Popen("wmctrl -i -c " + hex(int(i)),
                             shell=True)


sys.argv.pop(0)

if check_exist(sys.argv[0]) == "":
    sys.exit(1)
if check_exist("xdotool") == "":
    sys.stderr.write("xdotool is not installed\n")
    sys.exit(1)
if check_exist("wmctrl") == "":
    sys.stderr.write("wmctrl is not installed\n")
    sys.exit(1)


try:
    prog = subprocess.Popen(sys.argv, preexec_fn=os.setsid)
except OSError, e:
    sys.exit(1)

time.sleep(WAIT_TIME)
idlist = subprocess.Popen("pgrep -g " + str(prog.pid),
                          shell=True,
                          stdout=subprocess.PIPE
                          ).stdout.read().splitlines()

ps1 = os.fork()
if ps1 > 0:
    ps2 = os.fork()

if ps1 == 0:  # Child 1
    os.setpgid(os.getpid(), os.getpid())
    killpid(idlist)
    sys.exit(0)
elif ps2 == 0:  # Child 2
    killname(os.path.basename(sys.argv[0]))
    sys.exit(0)
elif ps1 > 0 and ps2 > 0:  # Parent
    time.sleep(WAIT_TIME)
    os.killpg(os.getpgid(int(ps1)), signal.SIGTERM)
    os.kill(ps2, signal.SIGTERM)
    os.waitpid(ps1, 0)
    os.waitpid(ps2, 0)
    sys.exit(0)
else:
    exit(1)

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 03 '17 at 09:18

If program is being closed to tray, one might actually want to close program window on startup instead of minimizing it. One example of such program is Viber. In this case one could use following script start_closed.sh:

#!/bin/bash

# Check that there is only one input argument
if [[ $# -gt 1 ]]; then
echo "Usage: $0 <program-to-start>"
exit 1
fi

$1 &                               # Start program passed in first argument
pid=$!                             # Get PID of last started program
xdotool search --sync --pid $pid | # Wait for window with PID to appear...
xargs wmctrl -i -c                 # ...and close it

Usage: <path-to-script> <program-to-start>

Psijic · Answer 7 · 2021-10-15T09:29:42.860

1

Just add -u to the launch command.

E.g. to run Slack minimized, use the command:

/usr/bin/slack %U -u

And autostart is in System Settings - Startup and Shutdown - Autostart for KDE 5.

edited Oct 15 '21 at 09:29

answered Oct 11 '21 at 12:47

Psijic

119

lxs602 · Answer 8 · 2025-03-25T18:18:20.227

1

All of the answers already posted close the window and then reopen it.

Based on emi's answer, the following minimizes the window, as the OP asked for.

 ## Minimize Telegram (based on emi's answer):
    xdotool search --sync --onlyvisible --name '^Telegram$' windowminimize

edited Mar 25 '25 at 18:18

answered Mar 22 '25 at 21:15

lxs602

41

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Apr 12 '19 at 11:01

I was just surfing and came across this question, so I was just wondering what is your operating system? As for me i'm using UBUNTU BUDGIE 18.04 LTS so in this operating system it is very simple.

Simply go to menu

From Menu go to Budgie Desktop Settings

and

From Desktop Setting go to Auto Start

It will give you 2 options, from "+" add

1. Add Application

2. Add Command

By selecting Add Application all applications will be listed select any application you want and it will start when you start your computer and it will also be minimized.

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Mar 28 '22 at 07:17

Similar to another answer, but using just one line of code and startup scripts (Menu > Startup Applications). wmctrl -c <WIN> naturally closes a window by matching a string to its title. For example, below I close the programs Autokey, Telegram, Pidgin, and Whatsapp:

/bin/bash -c "sleep 25 && wmctrl -c 'Autokey' && wmctrl -c 'Telegram' && wmctrl -c 'Buddy' && wmctrl -c 'Whatsapp'"

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Aug 24 '23 at 10:57

0

Adding & after the command does the job <command_to_run_the_application> &

answered Aug 24 '23 at 10:57

Crazy_Court651

1
1

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Jan 04 '24 at 16:22

I landed on this page recently so though I would post an updated answer this solution works for Wayland

APP_COMMAND & sleep 2 wmctrl -ic $(wmctrl -l | grep APP_WINDOW_TITLE | awk '{print $1;}')

example

qbittorrent & sleep 2 && wmctrl -ic $(wmctrl -l | grep qBittorrent | awk '{print $1;}')

Note that this is designed for apps that would be in the system tray when closed

How can I run a program on startup, minimized?

12 Answers12

Starting an application minimized

General solution to startup an application minimized

The script

How to use

Explanation

Note

EDIT

recognizing the window by its pid

The script

Note on the second script

EDIT2 a specific version of the script for Steam

Why a specific version for Steam?

The script

To use it

Actual Examples

The Solution

Linked

Related