How to Stop Discord from Opening on Startup

Discord will open automatically as soon as you boot up your computer from a shutdown. There is a way to prevent Discord from opening automatically as soon you start your PC

Discord automatic startup appearance

Discord is a multipurpose messaging application that lets people build a community with other users

Discord servers are a good communication hub among professionals and gamers. Because Discord servers are easy to use, many people install the Discord app on their PC

But if you install Discord on your PC, you will face an annoying issue. Discord will automatically run each time you start your PC. Each time you restart and shutdown your computer, Discord will bombard you with messages and notification

There is always a day when you don’t want to open Discord. Yes, you can close the application, but do you really need to do it every time you boot up your computer?

How to stop Discord from opening on startup?

There are three ways to prevent Discord from running automatically on startup. We will explore the methods with step-by-step instructions. 

Method 1: Stop Discord from opening on startup by changing Discord settings

  1. Open the Discord app on your PC
  2. Click the gear icon to open the “User Settings”
  3. Choose the “Windows Settings” menu on the left sidebar
  4. Deactivate the “Open Discord” option to stop Discord from opening on startup

First, open the Discord application on your PC and log in to your account. Open your User Settings by clicking the cog icon at the lower left corner beside your account name and avatar

Opening Discord User Settings

Next, click the “Windows Settings” menu 

Open Windows Setting on Discord App

On the “System Startup Behavior” section, toggle off the “Open Discord” option. Click the “X” icon to save the changes to your user settings

Toggle off the Open Discord Option

If you want Discord to start minimized at startup, toggle on the “Open Discord” option and the “Star minimized” option. 

Minimized Discord on Startup

We recommend using the first method because it applies to Windows PCs and Mac. 

Method 2: Disable Discord startup using Task Manager

Task manager lets you terminate applications and manage which applications launched on startup. Open task manager by right-clicking on your taskbar or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Escape

Follow these steps to use Task Manager to disable Discord startup:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Escape on your keyboard to bring up Task Manager

2. Click the “More Detail” option and click the “Startup” tab

Click more detail on Task manager

3. Find Discord from the list of the apps. Right-click Discord and choose “Disable” to disable Discord’s automatic startup

Disable Discord startup using Task manager

This method applies to both Windows 10 and Windows 11. If you can’t find Discord, then you need to open task manager as Administrator 

Run Task manager as administrator

To open Task Manager with a full admin privilege, Click Windows on your keyboard, type “Task Manager” on the search, and click “Run as administrator”

After disabling Discord on Task Manager startup, you won’t see Discord again each time you reboot your PC

Keep in mind if you change your Windows setting, you won’t find Discord on the task manager startup

Method 3: Disable Discord Opening on Startup on Mac

Disable Discord autostart on Mac OS
  1. Click the Apple icon at the top menu and open “System Preferences”
  2. Choose the “User & Groups” option
  3. Choose your main user account and click the “Login Items” tab
  4. Click Discord and click the minus button to stop the Discord automatic startup on Mac

The benefit of Stopping Discord from opening on startup

  • Faster boot-up time 

If you install your operating system on HDD, you should reduce the number of applications that start on startup. The more applications that run on startup you have, the longer your boot-up time will be.

  • Lower system load

Less running application means less likely to get lags on your PC

  • Saving internet bandwidth

Discord automatically checks for updates on startup. If you use cell data for internet, it will consume your internet bandwidth quickly

Philip Maynan is a hobbyist streamer and digital artist. What he loves most are writing, gaming, and drawing. Currently, he focuses on blogging and learning digital art.

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