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Starting automatically at login

Updated

Written for Synergy 3 (v3.8.4) and Synergy 1 (v1.22.3), checked 20 October 2026.

Synergy 3

Synergy 3 starts automatically when you log in, with no setup needed. If it isn't running after you log in, contact our support team.

Installed Synergy 3 from the Flatpak on Linux? The Flatpak starts Synergy 3 only when you open it, so add Synergy 3 to the apps your desktop opens at login. On Ubuntu, the steps are in: Start an application at login

Rather start sharing yourself?

Pause sharing, and Synergy 3 stays paused each time you log in, until you resume it. Click Pause in the bottom-left corner of the Synergy 3 window, or choose Pause from the Synergy 3 icon in the menu bar on macOS (the system tray on Windows and Linux). When you want to share, click the same button, now Paused, or choose Resume from the icon. Pausing the primary computer stops sharing with all your computers. More about pausing: Finding your way around: window, menus, tray icon and pausing sharing

Synergy 3 has no setting to stop it opening at login. Its background service starts when you log in, so it is ready the moment you resume, and while it is paused it doesn't share your keyboard and mouse.

To use Synergy 3 on the login screen too, before anyone logs in, see: Sharing your keyboard and mouse at the login screen

Synergy 1

Synergy 1 starts sharing as soon as it opens, as long as it was running when it last closed. So to have it connect after every restart, make sure it opens at start-up and leave it running when you shut down.

Windows

Synergy 1's daemon starts it for you when the computer starts, as long as it was running when you shut down. Check that it's turned on:

  1. Open Synergy 1.
  2. Go to Edit > Preferences.
  3. On the Advanced tab, check Use background service (daemon) (it's on by default).
  4. Click Save.

To use Synergy 1 on the Windows login screen too, see: Sharing your keyboard and mouse at the login screen

macOS and Linux

  1. Add Synergy 1 to the apps that open when you log in: Apple's guide to login items covers macOS, and Ubuntu's guide to autostart covers Ubuntu.
  2. Optionally, to keep the window out of the way, go to Preferences (on macOS, in the Synergy menu; on Linux, Edit > Preferences).
  3. On the Window tab, under When the application starts, choose Send to background.
  4. Click Save.

On a Linux client computer you can run Synergy 1 without its window instead, as a service: Linux: run Synergy 1 without its window

For a Raspberry Pi, see: Starting at login on a Raspberry Pi

To use Synergy 1 on the Linux login screen, see: Sharing your keyboard and mouse at the login screen

For the connection to come back by itself

  1. Give both computers a static IP address, so the address set in Synergy 1 doesn't change each time a computer restarts.
  2. Keep the computers on the same network. If you move either computer to a different location, you will need to reconfigure Synergy 1.
  3. Don't have a VPN connection active.

Linux: run Synergy 1 without its window

These steps run the Synergy 1 core on a Linux client computer without opening the Synergy 1 window, so it connects to your server by itself after login. The core reads everything it needs (the server address, this computer's name, TLS and language sync) from the settings Synergy 1 has already saved, so set Synergy 1 up and get it connecting once in the normal way before you start.

The service below runs the same core command as running Synergy 1 by hand, explained for every version in: Running from the command line

These steps are for Synergy 1 (v1.21 and later), installed from its DEB, RPM or Arch package rather than the Flatpak. On Synergy 1 (v1.20 and earlier), change the line as in: Synergy 1 (v1.20 and earlier) on Linux

Once the service is running the core, don't also start sharing from the Synergy 1 window on that computer: only one core can run at a time.

  1. Open the terminal.
  2. Create the service file: 
    mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
nano ~/.config/systemd/user/synergy-session.service
  3. Copy and paste in the following: 
    [Unit]
Description=Synergy 1 client (user session)
After=graphical-session.target network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/synergy-core client --settings %h/.config/Synergy/Synergy.conf
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
  4. Press Ctrl+O to save, and Ctrl+X to close nano.
  5. Enable and start the service: 
    systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now synergy-session

To change the server address, computer name or TLS, change them in the Synergy 1 window and then restart the service with systemctl --user restart synergy-session.

Synergy 1 (v1.20 and earlier) on Linux

On these versions, the client runs as synergy-client with its settings on the command line. In the service file, use this ExecStart line:

ExecStart=/usr/bin/synergy-client -f --name [computer name] --enable-crypto [server IP address]

To change the server address or computer name, edit the service file, then run systemctl --user daemon-reload and restart the service.

What each option does, and how to leave out TLS: Running from the command line

Shared computers: start Synergy 1 for every user on Windows

The daemon already does this. Once Synergy 1 has been started on the computer, the daemon starts it again after every restart and keeps it running for whoever signs in, including at the login screen and on UAC prompts, without anyone opening the Synergy 1 window.

  1. In Synergy 1, go to Edit > Preferences.
  2. On the Advanced tab, check Use background service (daemon).
  3. Check Always run as system (work at login screen and UAC).
  4. Click Save.
  5. Click Start in the Synergy 1 window once, so the service records what to run.

The service runs Synergy 1 with the settings of the account that last started it. To give every account on the computer the same settings, use the "All users" settings profile, described in: Configure Synergy 1 for multi-user support

More about the service and the login screen is in: Sharing your keyboard and mouse at the login screen

More about the service and UAC prompts is in: How to make Synergy work with UAC prompts

Show the Synergy 1 window and tray icon for every user

The service doesn't open the Synergy 1 window or its tray icon. For every user to see them after signing in, add Synergy 1 to the startup folder that all users share:

  1. Open the installation folder, C:\Program Files\Synergy by default.
  2. Right-click synergy.exe.
  3. Choose Create shortcut (on Windows 11, choose Show more options first).
  4. When Windows offers to place the shortcut on the desktop, click Yes.
  5. Press Win + R.
  6. Type shell:common startup and press Enter.
  7. Move the shortcut from the desktop into the folder that opens.
  8. Sign out and back in to check that Synergy 1 opens.

To roll this out to many computers, create a Group Policy object that runs synergy.exe at login, assign it to an OU or user group, and test it with a non-admin account.

On macOS and Linux, Synergy 1 has no daemon, so it starts only once a user signs in. Set it up for each user with the macOS and Linux steps above.

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