How do I make Flick start when I log in?

Turn it on

Launch at login is off until you turn it on.

1. Open Flick's Settings

   Click Flick's icon in the menu bar and choose Settings. If you've hidden the icon, open Flick again from your Applications folder: while Flick is running, that opens Settings.

2. Turn on Launch at login

   It's the first switch at the top of General. The last screen of the welcome window, Setup Complete, has the same switch, called Start Flick at login.

3. Check the line below the switch

   If nothing appears below it, you're done: Flick opens by itself from your next login. If Waiting for approval appears, read on.

macOS keeps this choice, not Flick, which is why the switch always matches System Settings. The installation guide covers the same switch during setup, and every setting in General is explained in the settings reference.

Waiting for approval

Flick shows Waiting for approval, with the note “Allow Flick in Login Items.” and an Open Login Items button, when macOS has recorded Flick as a login item but won't open it until you allow it in System Settings. Apple's developer documentation says macOS reports the same state when someone turns the item off in System Settings later, so it can appear even if you allowed Flick before.

1. Click Open Login Items

   System Settings opens at General › Login Items on macOS 14, or General › Login Items & Extensions on macOS 15 and later.

2. Allow Flick

   Below the Open at Login list, apps that run in the background have a switch each, under Allow in the Background (called App Background Activity on macOS 26 and later). If Flick is there with its switch off, turn it on. Apple's guide describes these settings for administrators of the Mac, so on a standard account you may need an administrator to make the change.

3. Go back to Flick

   The Launch at login switch shows what macOS has on record, and Settings reads it again whenever its window comes to the front. Once Flick is allowed, Waiting for approval goes away.

Turn it off

Turn off Launch at login in Settings › General. Flick keeps running; macOS just won't open it at your next login. Reset All Settings… in Settings › About doesn't touch it: permissions, launch at login and your license stay as they are. If you're removing Flick altogether, turn this off first, as the uninstall steps describe.

Flick didn't start at login

• It started, but you can't see it. Flick has no Dock icon and, once it's set up, opens no window at login. Look for its icon in the menu bar, or press ⌥Tab (⌘Tab if you chose that trigger). If you turned off Show menu bar icon, the icon stays hidden: see how to get the menu bar icon back.
• The switch is off, or says Waiting for approval. Turn it on, or allow Flick as described above.
• You held Shift while logging in. Apple's guide notes that holding Shift as you click Log In keeps login items from opening that time. Log out and in again, or open Flick yourself.
• You moved or replaced Flick. Apple's Login Items guide says a warning icon next to an item means it was moved or deleted, and it won't open automatically. Open Flick from your Applications folder, then turn Launch at login off and on again so macOS records that copy. If Flick still runs from the disk image, move it to Applications first.
• An error appears below the switch. If Settings shows a line starting “Couldn't turn on launch at login”, quit Flick, open the copy in your Applications folder, and try again. If the error comes back, send the exact message to support.

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