How to find the Windows 10/11 Startup Folder location

Some apps have a ‘Run at startup’ option in their settings which makes it easy to add them to the startup items list. Apps that do not have this option must be added to the startup item list manually by adding them to the Startup folder.

There are two types of Startup folders; a user specific folder, and a Startup folder for all users. The user specific folder will contain all items that a user wants to run at startup whereas the startup folder for all users will contain items that will run at startup for all users that log on to the system. 

Windows 10 Startup Folder location

To find the user specific Startup folder, follow these steps;

Option 1:

1. Tap the Win+R keyboard shortcut to open the run box.
2. In the run box, enter %AppData% and tap the Enter key.
3. In the folder that opens, go to Microsoft>Windows>Start Menu>Programs>Startup.

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Option 2:

Open the Startup folder via the Run command in Windows 10/11

Open the Run command box by simultaneously pressing the Windows logo and R keys.

To find the Startup folder for all users, follow these steps;

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Go to the View tab.
3. Enable ‘Hidden items’ to show hidden files and folders.
4. Open the C drive.
5. Go to ProgramData>Microsoft>Windows>Start Menu>Programs>StartUp

Alternatively, paste this in the location bar in File Explorer and tap Enter.

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp

How to add an apps to Windows 10/11 Startup folder

Adding apps to the Startup folder is simple. You can follow any of the above option to reach the Startup folder and copy the app link to the startup folder. To add an App into Startup folder for all users, you will need admin rights.