Delete start up apps in terminal

[not_Rich]

Hi
I have added something to the start up apps in mate control center that is causing problems with the desktop not starting up properly.

What file do I delete, I have taken a look in .config, but I am lost.

[ricmarques]

Hi, @not_Rich

You wrote:

@not_Rich

I have added something to the start up apps in mate control center that is causing problems with the desktop not starting up properly.

What file do I delete, I have taken a look in .config, but I am lost.

I may be wrong, but I think you need to go to the ~/.config/autostart directory and then do NOT remove the ".desktop" file that you consider to be "suspicious", but add the following line at the end of that "suspicious" file instead:

Hidden=true

Here's an answer written by @Bill_MI in a somewhat similar topic, posted a few years ago (in February 2018):

Accidentally deleted all startup applets

Hi @Ritesh_Rijal, I just learned something… and deleted my first post because it was probably useless. Here goes… In your home directory, navigate to .config/autostart That’s ~/.config/autostart and you can do this in Caja by showing hidden files and directories. Are the applets there as desktop files? I’m betting they are. Like blueman.desktop. It turns out when you delete an entry in Startup Applications a copy is placed here with a “hidden” line added inside. Believe it or not, deleti…

[ericmarceau]

In addition to the more elegant solution offered by @ricmarques and @Bill_MI ...

If there is no file there relevant to the application that you "started", then ...

Not sure ... but ... if you look at the directory

/etc/xdg/autostart

you may spot a reference to the application that you "toggled". Hopefully the developers were smart and gave it a name including the string "autostart", to make it that much easier to identify, but there is no guarantee that it does.

MAYBE ... (big maybe) ... if you rename that *.desktop file to something like *.desktop.HOLD, then reboot, it may solve the problem.

BUT ... make sure you correctly rename ONLY the file which is the offending application. Otherwise, you could create a different set of problems. If that happens, at least you can rename it back to what it was to restore its original functionality ... and "pick on" another file!

[not_Rich]

@ricmarques

Hidden=true

Thanks guys that did it. I already had "mate-panel --replace" since the panel was not starting at login I added compiz -- replace which caused the problem.

The second solution may have worked but as I see it if the first solution works why go back and break it to try the second.

[not_Rich]

It seems Picom in the startup apps causes problems with Compiz as I found out recently on my testing hard drive.
Panels missing and unable to right-click context menu on desktop.

@ericmarceau

/etc/xdg/autostart

This time the offending item was in the above directory, I edited the picom desktop file and added Hidden=true
Thanks guys.