How to Access the Startup Folder on Windows 11/10

The Windows operating system has featured a Startup folder since Windows 95, enabling users to configure specific applications and processes to launch automatically at system startup. While Windows 10 and Windows 11 provide excellent management tools—such as the Startup tab in Task Manager (learn more here)—there are still important scenarios where directly accessing the Startup folder is necessary.

In every modern Windows version (including Windows 10 and 11), there are two types of Startup folders:

• User Startup Folder: Launches items only for the currently logged-in user.
• All Users Startup Folder: Launches items for every account on the computer.

The methods for accessing these folders differ, as outlined below.

How to Open the Startup Folder for a Specific User

You can access the user-specific Startup folder using either File Explorer or the Run Command box.

1.  Access via File Explorer

Follow these steps to open the Startup folder for your user profile:

1. Right-click the Windows icon and select File Explorer.

   

2. In the navigation pane, select This PC, then double-click your system drive (usually the C: drive).

   

3. Open the Users folder, then select the folder that matches your username.

   

4. Locate and open the AppData folder. (If you do not see this folder, you may need to enable hidden files.) Next, open the Roaming directory.

   

5. In Roaming, open the Microsoft directory, followed by the Windows folder.

   

6. Continue by opening the Start Menu folder, and then the Programs folder.

   

7. Finally, open the Startup folder. You have now accessed the Startup folder for your user account.

   

The full path to the user Startup folder is as follows:

C:\Users\<yourusername>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

2. Access via Run Command Box

While File Explorer gets the job done, using the Run command box is significantly faster and more efficient.

1. Right-click the Windows icon and choose Run.

   

2. Type or paste the following command and press Enter:

   %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

   

3. The Startup folder for your user profile will open.
4. Alternatively, use this command for the same outcome:

   \users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

How to Open the Startup Folder for All Users

To open the Startup folder shared across all user accounts, use either File Explorer or the Run command box as described below.

1. Access via File Explorer

1. Right-click the Windows icon and open File Explorer.
2. Select This PC and open your system drive (usually C:).
3. Open the ProgramData folder. (If you don’t see this folder, make sure hidden and system files are visible.) Then, open the Microsoft directory.
4. Navigate to the Windows directory and open Start Menu.
5. Proceed to the Programs directory, then double-click the Startup folder.

   

6. You have now accessed the Startup folder for all users.

The full path to the All Users Startup folder is:

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

2. Access via Run Command Box

The Run dialog offers a swift way to open the Startup folder for all users:

1. Right-click the Windows icon and select Run.
2. Type or paste this command and press Enter:

   %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp

   

3. The Startup folder for all users will open instantly.

How to Add an Item to the Startup Folder

Adding a program to the Startup folder allows it to launch automatically at every system startup. Here’s a concise, step-by-step guide:

1. First, open the Startup folder (user-specific or all users, as required). Then right-click on any blank area inside the folder.
2. Hover over New and select Shortcut.

   

3. Click the Browse button and navigate to the executable file of the application or process you want to add. For example, to add Google Chrome, go to:

   This PC >> C: >> Program Files (x86) >> Google >> Chrome >> Application >>

   

4. Click OK, then select Next on the following screen.

   

5. Enter a name for the shortcut (for example, “Google Chrome”), and click Finish.