Macos – How to start programs automatically when Mac OS X boots up? Specifically VMWare Fusion’s vmrun to start VMs

bootmacmacosvmware-fusion

How do I configure programs to run automatically when (after) Mac OS X boots up?

Specifically I am trying to get VMWare VMs to start automatically after an OS X reboot but running any (non-graphical) program would be useful.

(Note that vmrun starts VMware VMs in the background and the Fusion GUI can pick them up later. So this is not about starting the VM on the desktop after I log in!)

Best Answer

On a Mac, if you want to run a script or application on boot (not on login), add it to /System/Library/StartupItems. In the case of vmrun, I would write a shell script to set the path correctly (to include the VMWare Fusion directory) and start the particular VMs you wish to run.)

If you prefer to run it on login, you can add items to the 'Login Items' under the users section of the System Preferences.

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